State's Attorney wants law firm off underage drinking case

McHenry County prosecutors are asking a judge to disqualify a prominent local law firm from representing a McHenry woman accused of giving beer to an underage friend who later suffered fatal injuries when driving home drunk.

In court papers filed Friday, prosecutors say Woodstock-based Gummerson & Rausch have a conflict that should bar partner Mark Gummerson from defending Jenna Christopherson on a charge of unlawful delivery of alcohol to a minor.

The conflict, the state contends, stems from firm associate Jamie Wombacher's representation of two witnesses during the trial of Christopherson co-defendant Edward Jungmann.

Those witnesses, one of whom is Christopherson's brother, testified against Jungmann after Wombacher negotiated an immunity deal on their behalf. That relationship, prosecutors say, could influence those witnesses' testimony in Christopherson's case and prevent a fair trial for both sides.

Gummerson Friday disputed that there would be a conflict.

"I don't believe there will be any contradictions between what those witnesses say and what I believe Jenna Christopherson's testimony will be," he said.

Christopherson, 21, was charged in connection with party she hosted on St. Patrick's Day 2005. Authorities say Christopherson, then 17, had Jungmann, 25, of McHenry, buy beer for the party and made it available to friends.

One of those friends, 17-year-old Jamie Lyn Smith of Hebron, later lost control of her car while driving home and slammed into a utility pole. She died of her injuries eight months later.

A McHenry County judge dismissed the charge in 2006, saying the law was not meant to be used against minors who give alcohol to other minors. But the Illinois Supreme Court overturned that ruling last year, sending Christopherson's case back for trial.

Jungmann was found guilty in 2007 of unlawful delivery of alcohol to a minor and sentenced to three months in the McHenry County jail and one year of probation.