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Cates
MOUNT VERNON – St. Clair County Circuit Judge Robert Haida improperly sentenced Leondre McClendon to 80 years in prison for rape and other crimes he committed at age 16, Fifth District appellate judges ruled on July 20.
They relied on a fresh opinion of the Illinois Supreme Court, finding a sentence longer than 40 years for a juvenile offender violates the U.S. Constitution.
The Supreme Court found a shorter sentence provides a meaningful opportunity to obtain release based on maturity and rehabilitation.
According to background in the ruling, McClendon walked Belleville’s streets after dark on May 5, 2016, with a cousin the same age and a brother two years younger.
Cates
BELLEVILLE – Lawyer David Cates almost eluded a state trooper and upon his arrest for driving under the influence told the trooper he’d call the courthouse and have the ticket dismissed.
A report of trooper Nicholas Weilbacher, which state police released on Feb. 21, showed Cates put other drivers at risk over a course of several miles.
Weilbacher wrote that on Nov. 4, around 12:35 p.m., a white Ford Expedition truck veered across the right boundary line eastbound on Interstate 64 near milepost 5.6.
“I observed a cloud of dust shoot up from the Ford. The Ford then corrected and returned to the roadway,” Weilbacher wrote.
Gleeson
MOUNT VERNON – Chief Judge Andrew Gleeson correctly barred testimony of orthopedic expert Peter Anderson as a sanction for discovery violations, Fifth District appellate judges ruled on Jan. 7.
They affirmed Gleeson’s entry of judgment on a jury verdict awarding about $130,000 to Tyree McKinney for injuries from a crash on Interstate 64.
The Justices blamed both sides for discovery breakdowns that left Anderson’s status uncertain as trial began.
Justice Judy Cates wrote, “Here, the parties placed the trial court between the proverbial rock and a hard place, a situation which was easily avoidable.”
McKinney sued Daniel Newgent in 2018, after Newgent’s vehicle struck the rear of McKinney’s vehicle while he sat in traffic.
BELLEVILLE – Lawyer David Cates of Swansea agreed to plead guilty of driving under the influence in exchange for regaining his license, prosecutor John Barnard of Quincy said on Dec. 22.
Cates, age 39, had previously beaten two charges of driving under the influence by pleading guilty to lesser charges.
Barnard, who took the case by special appointment, found state trooper Nicholas Weibacher didn’t test Cates’s breath or apply for a warrant to test his blood.
“Given that he didn’t blow and there was no search warrant, those are always iffy to prove,” Barnard said.
He said his policy in his former position of Adams County state’s attorney would have required an application for a warrant.