The HCBullet: The blog of the Attorneys at HCB

Seventh Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment for School Administrators Based Claim Preclusion

October 29, 2021

Some people just won’t take “no” for an answer. Robert Green is such a person. Green was a coach and PE teacher for the Aurora East Unified School District No. 131 for several decades before he was fired for laying hands on his students. He had sued the School District in 2007 and again in…

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Seventh Circuit Affirms Defense Win in Employment Discrimination Case

October 29, 2021

Plaintiff Richard Brooks, a City of Kankakee police officer, sued his employer for alleged employment discrimination. Brooks claimed that the City’s failure to promote him to sergeant and several instances of on-the-job discipline were unlawful retaliation for his past complaints about alleged racial bias within the police department. The City won summary judgment on all…

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Supreme Court Limits Warrantless Entry of Home in Hot Pursuit of Misdemeanor Suspect

June 28, 2021

On June 23, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court in Lange v. California, held that the pursuit of a misdemeanor suspect does not always justify entering his home without a warrant. This case arose when a police officer tried curbing a vehicle for a traffic offense. Instead of stopping, the suspect drove to his house and…

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Appellate Court holds that Defendant Had a Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in her Office

June 8, 2021

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently reversed the jury convictions of Ethel Shelton, the administrative assistant to former Calumet Township Trustee Mary Elgin, in a high-profile political corruption case, United States v. Shelton. This case involved the FBI’s use of an informant to obtain documents used against the defendant and propriety of how the…

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Illinois Appellate Court Narrows Definition of “In Custody” in Police Pursuit Cases

April 28, 2021

On April 9, 2021, the Illinois Appellate Court, First District decided Robinson v. Village of Sauk Village, et al. 2021 IL App (1st) 200223. In Robinson, a pedestrian who was struck and injured by a fleeing lawbreaker sued Sauk Village, the Village of Crete, and several of their police officers for willful and wanton conduct…

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