First jury in county sees entire interrogation on tape

The most interesting movie playing over the past two weeks in Waukegan was not in any of the theaters.

It was instead in Courtroom 201, where Delia White was on trial in the Nov. 11, 2005, murder of Audelia Bogard in the Mundelein apartment the women shared.

The case was the first one tried in Lake County in which the entire interrogation of the suspect was on videotape, not simply the suspect's confession.

Jurors saw long portions of the questioning of White, who was ultimately found not guilty, over two days before she admitted beating Bogard to death.

State's Attorney Michael Waller said his prosecutors are still in the process of adapting to the innovation, but believes it to be a positive step.

"As with any other new process, there is a learning curve but I believe the interrogation tapes will prove to be beneficial," Waller said.

"It will certainly cut down on the time our prosecutors and the witnesses have to spend explaining what went on in the interview room, as we will be able to simply show the jurors what happened."

White's defense attorney, Christopher Lombardo of Waukegan, also said he felt the videotape of the questioning was a good addition to the trial process.

"Instead of having to guess what questions were being asked and what responses were given, the jurors were able to see the exchanges," Lombardo said. "The exact words, the body language and the emotional impact were right up on the screen."

State law requires, as of June 1, 2005, that once police become convinced someone they are questioning in a murder case is a possible suspect, all conversations they have with that person must be video recorded.

The law was one of a number of measures enacted after a commission studied the handling of murder cases in the state and made recommendations to the legislature.

Project expands:ŒA county board committee this week signed off on a significant expansion of the renovation of the public defender's office on County Street in Waukegan.

The move will give the 34 attorneys who represent indigent people charged with crimes more working space and more privacy.

Public Defender Joy Gossman told the Law and Judicial Committee that a redesign of the basement of the building at 15 S. County will allow her to have two traffic and misdemeanor assistants sharing an office instead of the current five.

A modular wall system will be used to construct offices for the felony assistants who now work in cubicles without ceilings.

"They literally have to whisper when they are talking on the phone to people or have clients in their offices to preserve confidentiality," Gossman told the committee. "In offices that have doors they can close and walls that reach the ceiling, they will be able to conduct their business in a professional manner."

The redesign will add approximately $475,000 to the $1.9 million cost of renovating the building, which the public defender's office used to share with the probation department.

Settlement reached:ŒA Joliet man who was injured in an on-the-job accident has received a $2.5 million settlement, thanks to the efforts of the Waukegan-based law firm of Salvi, Schostok and Pritchard.

Refugio Martinez was burned on May 3, 2002, while working on a job site maintained by Sand Springs Metal Processing Corp. and other defendants, attorney Donald McGarrah said.

Martinez had been required to fix a leaking fuel line and fuel leaked onto his pants during the repair.

Later in the day, a piece of steel caught on Martinez's pants and when he used a torch to cut the pipe free his pants caught fire.

Martinez suffered burns to his lower body and the lawsuit alleged the defendants were negligent in maintaining an unsafe work site.

The settlement was approved last week in Cook County Circuit Court.