Ex-Lake County chief judge's DUI case on hold after officer's death

The DUI and resisting arrest case against Lake County Circuit Judge David Hall was put on hold Wednesday following the death of the arresting police officer.

Assistant Attorney General David Nikolic said prosecutors are assessing how the death of Vernon Hills police officer Jesse Goldsmith will affect the case. The 42-year-old Goldsmith, of Round Lake Beach, died June 2 from an apparent heart attack.

"We're still going ahead with the case; we have another officer who was at the scene and can put Judge Hall behind the wheel of the car," Nikolic said. "What is important right now is to remember that this is a tragic death of a good young man."

Reports say Goldsmith stopped Hall's car at 1:45 a.m. on April 26 because Hall was driving erratically on Route 60 west of St. Mary's Road.

Sometime after the stop, Goldsmith was joined at the scene by officer Mark Sosnoski. Reports say Hall was pepper-sprayed when he refused to get out of his car.

Defense attorneys Jason Mercure and Douglas Zeit have filed a challenge to Hall's arrest that claims Goldsmith did not have a good reason to stop Hall's car.

No hearing date has been set for the motion. Attorneys on both sides declined to speculate how the fact Goldsmith will not be able to testify would affect the motion.

Nikolic turned over to the defense results of tests on blood taken from Hall at Condell Medical Center, where he was taken after his arrest for treatment of an irregular heartbeat.

Neither side would comment on the results of those tests, and Kane County Judge F. Keith Brown has ordered they be kept under seal.

Brown scheduled a telephone conference call with the attorneys for June 25 for the scheduling of further dates in the case.