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The matter before presiding criminal court Judge Paul Biebel was a request by Illinois attorney general Lisa Madigan to hand off five Burge-related cases to Cook County state’s attorney Anita Alvarez. Attorneys and advocates for the defendants in the cases fiercely oppose the move. Alvarez’s office says it’s deferring to Biebel. It’s expected that Biebel’s decision will also establish who’s responsible for Burge-related cases that may emerge in the future. There could be dozens.
In 2003 Biebel transferred responsibility for these five cases, and more than a dozen others, to Madigan’s office because then-state’s attorney Richard Devine had served as Burge’s attorney while in private practice. In the time since, attorneys and advocates for the torture victims still in prison have ripped Madigan for not moving aggressively to examine their cases. Madigan and her attorneys on the cases have said they’re a “top priority,” noting that their work has already resulted in three men being exonerated.
“The whole process was tainted,” Winston said, “and the problems haven’t been removed just because Anita Alvarez is now state’s attorney.”
Alvarez’s lawyers showed little interest in joining the game of hot potato. Assistant state’s attorney Celeste Stack said they would abide by whatever decision Biebel made–then added that shifting the cases back and forth might not be such a great idea: “There is concern about cohesion and consistency.”
