Will County Judge Was Wrong To Jail Man For Possessing Hypodermic Needles He Was Allowed To Have: Appellate Court

The appellate court ruled that a Will County judge was wrong to jail a man for possessing hypodermic needles he was allowed to have.

Judge Carmen Goodman found Bruno Presa, 63, guilty during a March 2013 bench trial and sentenced him to 90 days in jail.

The Lockport police arrested Presa in November 2011 “when he was found in possession of approximately 500 used and uncapped hypodermic syringes in a cardboard box in his bedroom,” according to the Third District Appellate Court’s opinion. But Presa was a “card-holding member of the Chicago Recovery Alliance (CRA), a ‘needle exchange’ program that aims to slow the spread of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) among intravenous drug users.”

During his trial, Presa “argued that he met the statutory exemption for a person engaged in ‘scientific research,’ through his participation in CRA’s program,” the opinion said. But Judge Goodman still found him guilty.

Not only did the appellate court determine that Goodman was wrong, but the prosecution “confesses error,” the opinion said.

“No reasonable trier of fact could have found (Presa) guilty based upon the evidence presented at trial,” the opinion said.

The Presa decision was the appellate court’s second in three months involving a person wrongfully locked up by Judge Goodman. Goodman was also out of line when she sentenced 23-year-old Valerie Perez to eight days in jail for cursing in the courthouse hallway.

Perez was in court for a speeding ticket in September 2012 when Judge Goodman called for a recess, according to the opinion handed down by the appellate court.

Perez left the courtroom and said, “I waited all f---ing morning and now she takes a break,” according to the opinion.

Bailiff Bev Richardson heard Perez’s obscene complaint and told Judge Goodman about it, the opinion said. Goodman then found Perez guilty of indirect criminal contempt.

In between reversing Goodman’s two cases, the appellate court also determined now-retired Will County Judge Gerald Kinney was wrong about something.

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