City & Cop Liable For|Wrongful Conviction

CHICAGO (CN) - Waukegan, Ill., and one of its police officers are liable for a man wrongfully going to prison for four years.

Alejandro Dominguez went to jail on charges of invading Lisa Kraus' home and sexually assaulting her. After his parole, he and his lawyer proved through DNA testing that he was not guilty.

Dominguez sued the City of Waukegan and police Officer Paul Hendley for their handling of the investigation. The jury dismissed the city from the suit and awarded Dominguez a judgment for $9 million.

Judge Wood agreed with the trial court that Hendley withheld exculpatory evidence from both attorneys.

Wood rejected Hendley's assertion that he was not granted a fair trial when Dominguez gave a pretrial interview on TV.

"No member of the venire knew about the interview," Wood wrote, " and no seated juror even watched the news channel on which the interview aired."

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