Lake Co. hospital ordered to turn over documents in judge's DUI case

Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville was ordered Thursday to turn over most of the information subpoenaed by attorneys defending Lake County Circuit Judge David Hall against a DUI charge.

Circuit Judge F. Keith Brown, a Kane County judge assigned to hear the case, said the hospital must tell the attorneys how blood taken from Hall after his arrest was handled and who developed the policies that dictate care for the blood.

Hall was charged with DUI and resisting arrest April 26, 2008 in Vernon Hills, and was taken to the hospital when he complained of chest pains after being pepper-sprayed. Police said Hall was pepper-sprayed because he refused an order to get out of his car.

Defense attorneys Jason Mercure and Douglas Zeit asked the hospital to provide the names of all people who handled Hall's blood and those who were involved with its storage.

The blood was tested several days after Hall's arrest and indicated he had a blood-alcohol content of .107 percent, above the legal definition of intoxication of .08 percent.

The attorneys also asked for the names of the supervisors and directors of the emergency room and laboratory, as well as all the policies governing how and where blood samples are stored.

An attorney for the hospital resisted, arguing the subpoenas amounted to a "fishing expedition" and that much of the requested information was not relevant to the case.

But Mercure argued all the facts concerning how his client's blood was handled were critical to the defense, especially because the testing took place so long after the arrest. Court documents show the blood was tested at the Illinois State Crime Lab 18 days after Hall's arrest.

Brown agreed with most of Mercure's argument, although he said the hospital did not have to produce other policies related to the handling of blood in situations where DUI is not suspected.

Hall's attorneys also filed a motion Thursday claiming the hard drive of an in-car video recording system was erased by Vernon Hills police after Hall's arrest. Police have said since shortly after the arrest the computer did not record the traffic stop because the hard drive was full.

The attorneys asked Brown to give a special instruction to the jury at Hall's trial to assume if the video was available, it would have provided evidence to establish Hall's innocence.

Assistant attorneys general William Elward and Daniel Nickolic said prosecutors will argue against that motion, as well as a defense motion to bar the use of the blood-alcohol level, at a hearing scheduled for March 1.

Brown said Hall's trial would begin March 8.