The First District Appellate Court recently affirmed summary judgment in favor of the defendants, an Illinois municipality and two of its police officers. The case arose from the arrest and prosecution of plaintiff for the murder of his one-month-old niece. After a jury found the man not guilty of first degree murder, plaintiff filed a complaint against defendants alleging malicious prosecution and intentional infliction of emotional distress, claiming that defendants commenced the criminal proceedings without probable cause and with knowledge that plaintiff was innocent of the crime. Defense argued that probable cause existed to prosecute plaintiff, including medical examiner’s initial opinion that death was caused by blunt trauma and the totality of circumstances. Trial court granted summary judgment in favor of defendants on the malicious prosecution charge and ruled plaintiff had exceeded statute of limitations in filing the claim of emotional distress. Johnson & Bell Shareholder, Brian P. Gainer, represented the defendants at trial. Johnson & Bell Shareholder, Garrett L. Boehm, Jr., represented defendants during the appeal process.
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