Samantha Harer Federal Case Heats Up Next Week

CHANNAHON, IL — Tuesday, March 12, will be one of the most important events in the Samantha Harer case as lawyers travel to Chicago for a hearing before a federal judge. The court has to decide whether to allow plaintiffs Kevin and Heather Harer the opportunity to revive their federal lawsuit, which was dismissed by the court a matter of weeks ago, on Jan. 22.

Their lawsuit fell apart due to the fact that the Harers had retained a Chicago lawyer last October who did not tell them that his law license was days away from being suspended in Illinois for 90 days because of dishonest behavior as a lawyer.

The Harers have since gotten rid of that lawyer, Scott Kamin. Their new lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, of the Bonjean Law Group, is a noted civil rights and wrongful conviction attorney in Brooklyn, New York. She grew up in Valparaiso, Indiana, and graduated from college and law school in Chicago. Bonjean is licensed to practice law in Illinois.

Last week, Patch reported that the law firm defending Channahon, notably attorney Jim Murphy, of the Joliet law firm Mahoney, Silverman & Cross, filed nearly 50 pages of legal briefs.

Murphy spells out why Channahon's Police investigation ruled that the 23-year-old Will County emergency dispatcher had taken her own life. Harer died from a single gunshot wound to her head in the bedroom of her small apartment in Channahon.

"A review of Samantha's computer, phone and text messages reveals that Samantha was in a state of mind that could lead to suicide," Murphy wrote the federal court.

Besides Channahon, other codefendants in the federal case have included Crest Hill and off-duty Crest Hill Police Officer Felipe "Phil" Flores. He was Harer's estranged boyfriend. Flores was inside Harer's apartment at the time she was fatally shot.

In last week's lengthy Joliet Patch article, published Feb. 27, Channahon's civil lawyer stated in federal court documents that, "According to the report conducted by the Illinois State Police, samples from Flores 'indicate' that Flores 'discharged a firearm, contacted a (Primer Gunshot Residue) related item, or had his right hand in the environment of a 'discharged firearm.' … With regard to the positive test on Flores, it has been suggested that this could have been the result of him being in the room where the gun was discharged immediately after Samantha was shot. This would be consistent with his statement that he was in the room with Samantha immediately after she was shot and lifted her head at some point."

This week, the new lawyer for Kevin and Heather Harer filed a short five-page response. Here's a rundown of the key points cited in attorney Jennifer Bonjean's legal brief:

• "Defendant Channahon all but concedes that plaintiffs' motion for relief of judgment should be allowed. First, defendant Channahon does not refute that good cause exists to vacate the judgment. They provide no factual basis that negates plaintiffs' assertions regarding their failure to appear for hearings on defendants' motions to dismiss."

• "Frankly, defendant's response with its 45 pages of exhibits was not genuinely designed to argue against plaintiffs' motion for relief of judgment. It was written with the sole purpose of putting information into the public domain that supports defendant Channahon's theory of suicide. Defendants are clearly eager to litigate on the merits and plaintiffs welcome the opportunity. Accordingly, this motion should be allowed."

• "Again, it is no coincidence that Defendant Channahon withheld all of the critical reports … the GSR report implicating Defendant Flores; reports memorializing statements from neighbors who heard Samantha scream 'let me go;' reports revealing that Samantha was discovered in the nude; photographs of her body with unexplained injuries; and reports and photographs showing that Flores was covered with blood splatter despite his denial of being in the room with Samantha until after the case was dismissed. These facts, unknown to plaintiffs prior to dismissal of their case for want of prosecution, strongly undermine Channahon's investigative finding of suicide."

Next Tuesday's federal hearing in Chicago should be in front of U.S. District Court Judge Robert Gettleman. He has been on the bench for 24 years.

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