Criminal charges dropped against lawyer facing disorderly conduct case over courthouse filing
All charges have been dropped against a suburban Chicago lawyer facing a criminal disorderly conduct case over a filing he attempted to make at the Lake County courthouse in December.
Soon after the Dec. 19 incident, a sergeant with the Lake County sheriff’s department said Lee Fainman, 37, had been behaving in a “loud or aggressive manner” at the court clerk’s office and had refused to provide identification to deputies who responded to a panic button pushed by a clerk. However, a spokeswoman for the Lake County state’s attorney’s office now says it has decided not to pursue the case, reports the Chicago Tribune.
“Based upon the initial investigation of this case, there was probable cause to arrest this offender with the offense of disorderly conduct,” said Cynthia Trujillo Vargas in an email to the newspaper. “However, upon a full review of the case file, the evidence does not allow our office to proceed to trial and support our burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”
In addition to disorderly conduct, Fainman had also been charged with obstructing a police officer. That charge also is being dropped.
Fainman told the newspaper “I was never belligerent or disrespectful,” and said he had gotten hold of a videotape of the incident. It resulted from a clerk’s refusal to accept a filing, based on her interpretation of a judge’s order, he explained.
The attorney questioned why the state’s attorney’s office issued a press release about his arrest, resulting in news coverage of the case, and said his reputation had been damaged by the incident.
Earlier coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Lawyer Is Criminally Charged, Accused of Causing Disturbance While Making Courthouse Filing”
