Political Adviser Wins Appeal In Domestic Battery Case

KANE COUNTY, IL — A Kane County blogger and political adviser, who has long claimed he's been unfairly targeted due to his public criticism of local police, has had a 2018 domestic battery case overturned. The Appellate Court of Illinois last week ruled in favor of Jeffrey Ward, of Geneva, saying the judge erred during the trial for a "shove" his wife said never happened.

The domestic battery charges stemmed from a 2018 case in which authorities accused Jeffrey Ward of pushing his wife, Leslie Ward, while both were at the scene of a Geneva crash involving their 18-year-old son. Ward's wife disputed the police account of the incident and said she did not want to press charges, but police and prosecutors proceeded with the case anyway.

Ward said the charges and prosecution were baseless, and the conviction had a huge impact on his life.

“It’s been beyond difficult to deal with, particularly in the instant opinion social media era. But what’s been even more difficult is seeing the effect it’s had on my wife,” he told Patch Friday in a prepared statement.

It’s also affected his career.

“It’s been difficult to get political gigs, too, because what candidate wants to associate their name with a ‘domestic abuser,’” he said.

The 2nd District Appeals Court opinion, issued July 7, 2021, states the trial court erred in denying Ward's motion for a directed verdict in the case based on "insufficiency of the evidence." The opinion, which criticized trial errors on the part of the judge and misstatements of law by the prosecution and police, states "the evidence was insufficient as a matter of law because there was no evidence to prove" the alleged abuse.

"In this case the Appellate Court did not merely overturn Mr. Ward’s conviction, the Appellate Court ruled that the Trial Court erred in not granting the motion for a directed verdict of not guilty," Ward's attorney, Jeffrey Meyer, stated in an email to Patch. "Not only has Mr. Ward’s 'conviction' been reversed, in ruling the trial court should have granted the motion for a directed verdict a finding of not guilty (i.e. an acquittal) has effectively been entered by the Appellate Court."

Ward's motion for a directed verdict asserted that evidence in the case was "insufficient to support a finding or verdict of guilty" and that a judge needed to decide “only whether a reasonable mind could fairly conclude the guilt of the accused beyond a reasonable doubt, considering the evidence in a light most favorable to the State.”

Ultimately, the judge denied the motion as well as a request for a mistrial.

The case was decided by a jury, which found Ward guilty on two counts of domestic battery. At his sentencing to one year of conditional probation, the judge ordered Ward to "undergo an anger management assessment and any recommended treatment," according to court documents.

Ward promptly appealed.

Ward had been arrested on June 1, 2018, after both he and his wife went to the scene of the minor crash, according to court documents. Jeffrey Ward was arguing with a police officer at the scene when his wife stepped between the two men; Jeffrey Ward then pushed his wife to the side and continued to argue, according to prosecutors.

"Leslie [Ward] said that she stepped between [her husband] and the officer because, whenever defendant is involved 'with the Geneva police, they tend to treat him very poorly and unfairly' but they do not tend to do anything to her," prosecutors said, according to the appeals court ruling.

Leslie Ward, a middle school teacher with a master's degree, testified at her husband's trial, stating he'd never hurt her during their 27 years of marriage. When asked by the prosecution if she wanted to testify during his trial, she answered:

I would prefer to be elsewhere. I think this is a complete farce because there is nothing, nothing, that [defendant] has ever done to me to hurt me. Ever. He has not insulted me. He has never hurt me. He supports me. He has done an incredible job helping me do what I do now.”

During the trial, Geneva Police Sgt. George Carbray, an 18-year veteran of the police department, and police officer Matthew Hann testified for the prosecution.

Both told the jury that an agitated Ward showed up at the scene and referred to both as "f@!king a@%holes," obviously upset that Hann and Carbray were at the scene of the crash, according to court documents. Hann, during cross-examination, told the jury he knew Ward was a vocal critic of the Geneva Police Department, and Carbray described Ward's behavior as "unhinged" saying he'd handled calls regarding him on "countless occasions."

"The prosecutor asked Carbray if he liked the defendant, and Carbray responded, 'No.' When asked, 'Why not?' Carbray responded, 'I believe he’s a bully who creates a lot of issues and tries to manipulate people,'" according to the appeals ruling.

Carbray told Ward he was interfering with the police department's crash investigation. He proceeded to ask Leslie Ward how old their son was and said “as soon as she said 18, Mr. Ward took both hands [and] physically pushed her on the shoulder and neck area, and then she went a couple of steps to the side and regained her balance," according to the officer's testimony.

Whether that "push" should be considered domestic battery was the key issue at trial. The 56-page appeals ruling delved deeply into the matter, pointing out missteps by the Geneva Police Department, Kane County State's Attorney's Office and Kane County Judge Clayton Lindsey.

Leslie, who did not want to press charges and filed a statement with police regarding her recollection of that day, provided the following account:

Leslie got in between defendant and the officer he was speaking to. Leslie did not recall if she said anything to defendant but stated that she might have placed her hand on his chest. She said that defendant never told her to “shut up.” When asked whether defendant shoved her “out of the way,” she responded “No” and said that the contact was similar to passing someone in a hallway and “you go, okay, you need to move.” Leslie said that defendant’s attention was on the police officer in front of him and that he “just moved [her] out of the way.” He did so quickly but held on to her so she would not fall.

During closing arguments at the 2018 trial, prosecutors claimed Ward took his frustrations with his son and the police out “on his wife when he committed a domestic battery on her," while his defense attorney argued he simply moved his wife over and there was no evidence he insulted her, which was the basis for one of the domestic battery counts.

Two appellate judges ruled in favor of Ward's appeal. One dissented. The state court of appeals had this to say regarding the domestic battery charges filed in the case:

Just as a defendant cannot be found guilty of battery based on “bodily harm” without some form of physical pain or damage to the body of the victim, a defendant cannot be found guilty of battery based on “physical contact of an insulting or provoking nature with an individual” without some form of proof that the victim was insulted or provoked.

The State postulated that victims do not decide whether or not charges are to be filed, which is certainly true. “While a police officer has considerable latitude in charging an individual, the ultimate responsibility of filing a charge and prosecuting it lies with the State’s Attorney.”

The Kane County State's Attorney's Office refused to offer a statement in response to the ruling.