Why Melissa Calusinski's next stop may be federal court
Melissa Calusinski, the former suburban child-care worker whose fight for a new trial on charges she killed a toddler a decade ago has earned national attention, is asking the federal courts to get involved in her case.
In court documents filed last week in U.S. District Court, an attorney for the 32-year-old former Carpentersville resident argues she was unconstitutionally convicted and is being unlawfully imprisoned because of perjury and prosecutorial violations.
The attorney wants a judge to order Calusinski's case brought to federal court for a hearing on those and other claims - in the hope her conviction and 31-year sentence will be thrown out.
The request comes after the Illinois Supreme Court last year declined to review the case, essentially exhausting Calusinski's options at the state level.
The petition for what's known as a writ of habeas corpus (that's Latin for "that you have the body") seeks to take advantage of federal law allowing a person to argue he or she is being held in state custody in violation of the Constitution.
"The state courts' denial of relief on this issue involves both an unreasonable application of clearly established federal law and an unreasonable determination of the facts," Calusinski attorney Kathleen Zellner wrote in the 22-page filing.
How we got here
Calusinski was convicted in 2011 of first-degree murder in the death of Benjamin Kingan, a 16-month-old boy in her care at a Lincolnshire day-care center. Authorities say Calusinski threw Benjamin to the floor, causing a fatal head injury.
The case took several twists from there, beginning in July 2015 when then-Lake County Coroner Thomas Rudd reclassified the boy's death from a homicide to "undetermined." Rudd - who was not in office when Benjamin died - said the change came after he discovered new evidence indicating the boy died from a 4- to 6-week-old head injury, not a skull fracture inflicted shortly before death as initially believed.
Eupil Choi, the forensic pathologist who conducted the autopsy after the boy's 2009 death, then signed an affidavit stating he missed a previous brain injury suffered by Benjamin. However, he later wrote a letter saying his opinions had been distorted and reiterating his belief that Benjamin died as a result of violent, catastrophic blunt-force trauma.
Despite the claims of new evidence, Lake County and state appellate courts have twice denied Calusinski's requests for a new trial, and the state supreme court has been unwilling to take on her case.
All of which is leading her to the federal courts.
What's ahead
Calusinski hopes to persuade a federal court to throw out her conviction based on two main contentions: that her constitutional rights were violated when authorities reduced the size and quality of X-rays before turning them over to defense lawyers, making it impossible to detect the earlier head injury, and when a prosecution witness perjured himself by falsely testifying he examined Benjamin's body and discovered a skull fracture, when he in fact only reviewed medical records.
"The prosecution's knowing use of perjured testimony deprived Melissa of her right to due process," Zellner wrote in the petition.
Lake County State's Attorney Michael Nerheim, who's consistently opposed a new trial for Calusinski, was not available to comment on her petition this week.
The case has been assigned to a federal judge, but no hearing dates have been scheduled. We'll report back.
Eyes on the road
It's always a good idea to put down your phone, ignore those incoming texts and resist the urge to scroll through your social media while you're behind the wheel.
But you might want to pay extra attention to your driving this month. Because police across the suburbs will be.
April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and more than 100 law enforcement agencies in Illinois will be reminding drivers to drop their phones or pay up.
Drivers can expect to see increased patrols and enforcement zones throughout the month, with officers, deputies and state troopers on the lookout for those who text or use their cellphones while driving.
"Every day, you can look out your car window and see a driver using their cellphone," Arlington Heights police Cmdr. Greg Czernecki said. "People know texting and driving is dangerous and illegal, but they do it anyway, and it puts others at risk."
Police say distracted driving has become one of the leading causes of vehicle crashes over the past decade. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Association, 3,166 people died in crashes involving distracted drivers in 2017. And sending or receiving a text takes a driver's eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the equivalent of driving blind at 55 miles per hour for the length of a football field.
Don't say we didn't warn you.
Taxing situation
It's tax season, which means it's also tax scam season. So be prepared in the next few weeks to receive a threatening robocall saying you owe the government money and might be arrested soon if you don't pay up.
Of course, the calls are bogus. The IRS doesn't call, text or email to demand immediate payment, threaten to have a person immediately arrested for not paying, or demand payment without first giving you an opportunity to question or appeal the amount owed.
According to a recent study from the website AllAreaCodes.com, Illinois ranks 12th in the nation when it comes to robocall tax scams. The study analyzed 15 million consumer complaints released by the Federal trade Commission over the last three years.
The analysis also found that the number of scam calls will peak between April 15-21.
If you think you've received a scam call, call the IRS at (800) 829-1040.
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