Crime: March 2008 Archives

Swami, what's the deal with the settlement in the Hutchison family suit against Burger King? I'm not surprised the deal was for $2 million but I am shocked that they gave us the amount. Signed: Lugubrious in Lindenhurst.

Ah, where to begin, Lug?

Swami also finds it amazing (but in a good way) Lake County Circuit Court Judge Raymond McKoski let the $2 million deal go public. Way to go, Your Honor.

Maybe he's close to retiring and doesn't mind peeving local attorneys who seem to control the local judiciary through the political process. Or maybe it's because the law firm handling the Hutchinson portfolio is from Democrat-heavy Cook County so he's off the hook for political damage.

In any case, civil lawyers crave out of court settlements, but hate it when the amounts are revealed by the court because, if you can do some third grade math, it will reveal how much they got paid. And that number always seems appalling. They don't have much choice in cases that go to trial, but all civil litigators adore out of court deals.

That produces the settlement number that civil lawyers want to protect from too much scrutiny.

In fact, recipients of large payoffs often have to sign a confidentiality agreement to keep the figures secret as a condition of getting the money. Lawyers for both sides generally love this deal.

It's a subtle but effective form of extortion that buys quiet, especially if a commercial interest wants to do the deal on the QT without exposing itself to a jury or more publicity.

Of course, the legal system condones the practice by refusing to stop the secrecy in what is essentially a matter of public interest, if not importance.

In this case, the lawyers for both sides may have preferred to be more discreet, but the judge nixed that stipulation. Whatever the reason he did it, it's a breath of cool air in what is a self-satisfied, smug system.

That's why making the settlement public is unusual.

The other factor at work in this case is that the insurer, not the Burger King franchise owners they insured, decided to pay off. The Burger King guys wanted to go to court and fight it out. By implication the insurers presumed that a jury would force them to pay out more lots than $2 million and the concurrent legal bills would mount, too. So, this was a let's-cut-our-loss sort of deal.

The Burger King folks were accused of failing to do due diligence in hiring convicted killer James Ealy. And when Ealy alleged killed co-worker Mary Hutchison, they were accused of being the civil variation on complicit-by-inaction in the 2006 killing.

For the record, Hutchison's husband, daughter and son will share $1,367,638 of the $2 million gross settlement.

Their attorneys, Zellner and Associates, get the remaining $632,361.

Does that amount for the lawyers seem fair to you for merely threatening a lawsuit?

Swami, I'm still confused about the verdict in the Adam Christenson murder case. Is there any more expolanation why it all took so long? Signed, Flummoxed in Fox Lake

Ah, where to begin, Flum ?

The slaying in 2004 of teen-ager Elizabeth Wilding remains a haunting tragedy for which there likely would have been no respite even had the law worked more efficiently.

The family, especially mom Gigi Willding, is devastated and only long-term professional counseling and maybe a deep personal religious faith can offer any hope for the family to recover its equilibrium. Even with the usual forms of help, the loss of a child under these circumstances is not a defeat from which everyone can recover. Swami wishes only the best to the Willdings.

But here's a fact that adds to the heartache.

Though neither of Elizabeth's parents are likely to be around to see the final act, the chances are unlikely that Christenson will live the rest of his life in prison.

He's going in at age 25 and will serve all 48 years of his sentence. When he gets out., he will be 73. And there is no accommodation in the law to require that he actually serve life.

The prosecution gave up that option when it agreed to an "Alford Plea," a circumlocution of reality that allows the defendant to pretend he might be innocent though he's not, and the prosecution to pretend he's theoretically guilty. While it foregoes the expense and work of a trial, Alford's offer a break mostly to the defendant.

In this case, Christenson and his legal mouthpiece dragged out the case for as long as possible and then admitted, "OK, coppers, you got me."

Actually, Christenson has a good chance of a living a relatively long time AFTER he gets out of prison. According to several analyses, about half the 72-year old males in the United States are expected to die within 13.1 years, while the remainder will live longer. If you get to 80, you have a much higher probability of living to be 100.

The average lifespan of 76 years for U.S. males tilts toward youthful death as a driving factor. Sorry, but it's the way actuarial math works.

Every person who dies before the age of 50 (and there are a lot of those) drives up the likely lifespan for those who make it past 50. There's an inverse proportion to lifespan. If you get to 75 in good health, you have an ever-improving chance of being a centenarian.

Of course, other factors will affect his survival. Prison life is not conducive to long life as a general proposition. Depending on which sort of prison houses Christenson for the next half century, his likelihood of surviving can vary appreciably depending on lots of factors: his propensity for violence inside the joint; giving up smoking and drinking; eating habits; exercise.

On the other hand, some mook in state prison could take an instant dislike to Christensen and take him out with an ice pick. It's been known to happen.

And how big a loss to humanity would that be?

Swami, who’s the most famous lawyer in Lake County, since we now must kiss their rings and tell them how wonderful they are. I thought lawyers would do anything you paid them to do as long as it wasn’t a war crime? Signed: Warren Twp. War Criminal But Otherwise a Nice Guy.

Swami, how are you and the local lawyers doing after the recent stories about sweetheart deals for child sex predators? Are they upset? Bet so. They hate it when civilians call them bad names. Signed: A former plaintiff.