Page 13 - FOP_Magazine_ February2019

If you watched Jason Van Dyke’s sentencing hear- ingliveonTV,youwouldhavenoticedattorneysyou hadn’t seen before in Jason’s court proceedings — Darren O’Brien and Jennifer Blagg.
In the days following the guilty verdict rendered in Jason’s trial, Pat Murray, Martin Preib and I start- ed looking for appellate attorneys for him. We asked around for recommendations. Several attorneys suggested that we employ the help of one attorney in particular. That attorney was Darren O’Brien.
Before going into private practice, Darren had been a state’s attorney for almost 30 years. He is also the author of the Guide to Sentencing and Bond Hearings in Illinois. This manual is used by attorneys and judges throughout the state for sentencing pur- poses.
In our initial conversation with Darren to see if he was inter- ested, he suggested that we also talk to Jennifer Blagg. Before she went into private practice, Jennifer had worked for the state as an appellate defender for almost 10 years.
Jennifer and Darren had worked together on Chicago Police Officer Dante Servin’s case. Dante was charged with manslaugh- ter stemming from a shooting he was involved in. A direct ver- dict was rendered in Dante’s case, acquitting him of the charges. It was a big win for these attorneys.
We set up a meeting. After sitting down to talk with them, it was clear that they would make a formidable team for Jason’s appeal and, after speaking with Jason, he agreed.
They got right to work on Jason’s case, putting together their argument for his sentencing. I had an opportunity to read their sentencing argument as well as listen to the oral argument. They made a very good argument for the merging of the 16 aggravated battery counts into one charge and sentencing Jason on just sec- ond degree murder. The Judge did just that, issuing a sentence of 81 months.
No sooner had the sentence been read than complaints could be heard that Jason’s sentence wasn’t harsh enough. I firmly be- lieve that nothing would have made those individuals happy. The media went to work right away, spewing their rhetoric in hopes that it would force the State into taking some action.
Here’s the thing: the State didn’t have much of a leg to stand on. When, long after Jason’s original charge of murder, the State moved to additionally charge him with 16 counts of aggravated battery — which many attorneys believe was improper — the State argued that they were lesser included charges and should be allowed. The judge agreed and allowed the State to charge Ja- son with the additional offenses. In doing so, the State could not argue at sentencing that they are not lesser included offenses. You cannot switch sides of the argument to your benefit.
Jennifer and Darren successfully made that argument in their sentencing brief, as well as in Darren’s oral argument. Based on their argument, the judge properly ruled that they were correct and only sentenced Jason on second-degree murder.
It may not make some people happy, but in this instance, the judge did the right thing.
Field Representative’s Report
Jason’s sentence
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