by: Diane Benjamin
h/t CS
The “not recommended” opinion on Judge Reynard came from the Illinois Civil Justice League. The “recommended” opinion came from lawyer surveys. It’s up to you to decide if “not recommending” a judge that may hear your case has any impact on opinions.
Finding out why ICJL issued their opinion took some research. This link may be the reason: http://www.scribd.com/doc/119506709/Illinois-Judge-Charles-Reynard-screwed-Alan-Beaman-and-Donna-Gaston-Pt-2
You probably remember the Alan Beaman case. It not only cost the taxpayers a lot of money, but it cost a young man 13 years in jail. Beaman has since been declared innocent.
I didn’t remember the Donna Gaston case. It involves a foreclosure on her home.
The Beaman case is an obvious travesty of justice. There may be other cases involved in the ICJL decision, unfortunately they didn’t say why Reynard is “not recommended”.
There are many possible reasons Reynard wasn’t recommended. I’m only sorry they didn’t include Freitag in their evaluation.
Charles Reynard was SAO in McLean County for many years, and we know of two wrongful convictions under his belt, as well as at least 2 with strong evidence of wrongful conviction, and at least 3 who are claiming innocence – ALL are asking for some type of DNA testing.
Cases Overturned:
Alan Beaman: While SAO, he hid evidence of alternative suspects among other things, such as timeline issues, etc.
Eric Drew: Under Reynard’s SAO, Freitag (then ASA, now judge) hid evidence of paying a witness to testify.Detective Dan Katz was also in on this misconduct. Both of their testimonies at the post conviction hearings were found to be “incredible.” You can the transcript of how Freitag and Katz pointed the finger at each other here: http://blog.freejamiesnow.com/docs/Ex28_Drew.pdf
Questionable Pending Cases:
Jamie Snow: Represented by the Exoneration Project. Much evidence of wrongdoing has been uncovered – in the form of hiding evidence of correspondence with a jailhouse informant, hiding fingerprints, lying to the court about fingerprints, failed polygraphs from witnesses, it goes on and on. New evidence is explained here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNDF-66V74o
Barton McNeil: Represented by the Illinois Innocence Project. McNeil was arrested or his daughter’s murder within 48 hours of the crime. They never looked at anyone else. McNeil always claimed it was his ex girlfriend. Within the past 3 years, his ex girlfriend was convicted of luring her mother in law to Joliet and murdering her. McNeil is asking for DNA testing in his case. You can learn more about his case here: http://freebart.org/
Donald Whalen: Accused of murdering his father at the bar he owned. He has been fighting on his own for years for DNA testing.
Michael Carlos: Convicted of a gang related shooting. He is asking for ballistics testing, thus far, he has been denied.
Mind you, there were NOT that many murders during that time in McLean County. Although, all of these men were convicted based on faulty witness ID, jailhouse informants, etc. But NO physical evidence.
As a judge, Reynard fairly recently required a woman who was found guilty of battery to register as a sex offender, despite the fact that she was acquitted of “molestation” charges, just because he didn’t agree with the jury verdict.
Trina Hall: http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/judge-lifts-order-for-woman-to-register-as-sex-offender/article_d2e2c1d6-1443-11e0-9116-001cc4c03286.html
He is known for over-sentencing defendants. He consistently usurps his authority as a judge. I hope you don’t take my word for it, but explore these cases on your own and come to your own conclusions. Neither he nor Freitag belong on the bench!
He did it again yesterday Oct 29, 2015 it’s not over. I am fighting back, to have him removed from office. After reading all of this I am very upset he is still a judge. Anyone that cn and willing to help please let me know. Let’s stand up together.
I need details! Email me [email protected]
I have had Reynard as a judge since 2011 in our divorce. Going in I had heard that judges in McLean County favor women but I refused to believe it. Prior to 2011, we had judge Souk. Souk did not always rule in my favor, but I felt his decisions were very well explained, in the best interest of our children, and fair.
I cannot say the same for Reynard. Some of the things I have seen from him and some of the things I have heard, it makes me wonder how he remained a judge as long as he has. He is as crooked as the letter ‘S’.
Some that I have seen:
– Having me pay 32% when she has custody, but when that is reversed only having her pay 10% despite her making more money than me.
– Talking about my case to attorneys outside the courtroom.
– Putting words in the mouth of a witness. I could not believe he actually interrupted our GAL when she was testifying and provided the answer for her when my attorney questioned her.
– Allowing “expert” witnesses to testify against me despite them never talking to me or my family. It was apparently under the guise of an extremely hypothetical circumstance.
– Favoritism toward some lawyers and prejudice against others. Specifically the ones who were involved in his divorce.
– Telling attorneys in a one-on-one side conference what they need to do to win their case with him.
– Treating people on the stand differently. Hollering at one (me) and being all sweet to the others.
– Allowing a ton of leeway regarding hearsay to one party and not the other.
– Changed the motive of the court to be from the best interest of the kids into an vindictive charge of false accusations where the accused is guilty without evidence no matter what.
It became obvious to anybody attending that Reynard would never rule in my favor. So much for unbiased.
The list goes on and on. I have transcripts from many of our court appearances which I may publish at some time.
For now, let’s just say I have literally done many happy dances knowing he is being removed – though not fast enough.
The voters obviously didn’t do their job before saying keep him.
I just found out new things in my case that was hidden from me. I would love to talk to the reporter and show you my proof of fraud in my case.
send info to [email protected]