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42-467: The 3-year, 8-month federal undercover operation took place in the 1980s, with the cooperation of some state and local law enforcement and judicial officials. After the end of the undercover phase, the Greylord trials lasted ten years. Over 92 public officials were indicted (almost all in federal court ), and most eventually were convicted, either by guilty pleas or trials. The undercover phase included

84-502: A Cook County Assistant State's Attorney , as well as numerous FBI agents and cooperating local law enforcement officers. Cook County Judge Thaddeus Kowalski also cooperated with authorities even though he knew his cooperation might endanger his career. Recently elected downstate Judge Brocton Lockwood operated undercover in the Chicago Traffic Court. In addition, Assistant State's Attorney Terrence Hake went undercover in

126-746: A brother of the Alpha Delta Phi Literary Society. He received an Edith Mirrielees Fellowship to Stanford University ’s Creative Writing Center, which he attended from 1970 to 1972. Turow later became a Jones Lecturer at Stanford, serving until 1975, when he entered Harvard Law School . In 1977, Turow wrote One L , a book about his first year at law school. After earning his Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree cum laude in 1978, Turow became an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Chicago , serving in that position until 1986. There, he prosecuted several high-profile corruption cases, including

168-415: A choice between seeking an indictment from a grand jury and filing a charging document directly with the court. Such a document is usually called an information , accusation , or complaint , to distinguish it from a grand-jury indictment. To protect the suspect's due process rights in felony cases (where the suspect's interest in liberty is at stake), there is usually a preliminary hearing , at which

210-512: A corrupt prosecutor and later as a bribe-paying criminal defense attorney. Lamar Jordan, David Benscoter, Marie Dyson, William C. Megary, and Robert Farmer were the principal FBI case agents and supervisors during the investigation. Six Internal Revenue Service agents also played key roles in tracking the money flows, including Dennis Czurylo and Bill Thullen. During the next decade, four United States Attorneys — Thomas P. Sullivan , Dan K. Webb , Anton R. Valukas and Fred Foreman—supervised

252-566: A decent society must assure all young people a fair chance, and his faith that a free democracy can act to remedy disparities of power and opportunity." Scott Turow was inducted as a Laureate of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois and awarded the Order of Lincoln (the State's highest honor) by the Governor of Illinois in 2000 in the area of Communications. The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame gave Turow

294-423: A judge determines whether there was probable cause to arrest the suspect who is in custody. If the judge finds such probable cause, they bind, or hold over, the suspect for trial. The substance of an indictment or other charging instrument is usually the same, regardless of the jurisdiction: it consists of a short and plain statement of where, when, and how the defendant allegedly committed the offense. Each offense

336-587: A judge's chambers in the United States occurred in the undercover phase, when after hearing tapes recorded by undercover agent/prosecutor Hake, a federal judge found evidentiary probable cause and allowed the FBI to bug the narcotics court chambers of Judge Wayne Olson. Olson was one of those later convicted of corruption. In order to acquire evidence of corruption, agents obtained judicial and U.S. Department of Justice authorization to present staged court cases for

378-663: A period of reform in the courts. The Commission, led by Jenner & Block attorney Jerold Solovy, wrote a total of 165 recommendations for the courts of Cook County. Questions remain as to whether those changes achieved the cleanup which many citizens and advocates for better government desired. Operation Greylord also led to several similar investigations targeting corruption in Cook County, including Operations Silver Shovel , Incubator, Lantern, Gambat, and Safebet. Operation Greylord also became known for its use of eavesdropping devices in order to obtain evidence for trial. Most of

420-411: A possible Second Constitutional Convention of the United States . According to one source, Turow saw risks with having such a convention, but he believed that it may be the "only alternative", given his stance that campaign money can undermine the one man, one vote principle of democracy. Turow is a retired partner of the international law firm Dentons having been a partner of one of its constituents,

462-603: A presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury , except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia when in actual service in time of War or public danger." The requirement of an indictment has not been incorporated against the states; therefore, even though the federal government uses grand juries and indictments, not all states do. As of 2019, all states besides Pennsylvania and Connecticut still use grand juries to indict suspects for some offenses. In many jurisdictions that use grand juries, prosecutors often have

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504-475: Is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime . In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offense is a felony ; jurisdictions that do not use that concept often use that of an indictable offence , an offence that requires an indictment. Section 80 of the Constitution of Australia provides that "the trial on indictment of any offence against any law of

546-539: Is not against e-books, and has shared that he, in fact, does the majority of his own reading electronically. According to Turow, he is interested in protecting writing as a livelihood. From 1997 to 1998, Turow was a member of the U.S. Senate Nominations Commission for the Northern District of Illinois, which recommends federal judicial appointments. In 2011, Turow met with Harvard Law School professor, Lawrence Lessig , to discuss political reform, including

588-476: Is usually set out in a separate count . Indictments for complex crimes, particularly those involving conspiracy or numerous counts, may run to hundreds of pages. In other cases, however, an indictment for a crime as serious as murder may consist of a single sheet of paper. Indictable offenses are tried by jury , unless the accused waives the right to a jury trial. Even though the Sixth Amendment of

630-709: The Crown , which is the nominal plaintiff in all public prosecutions under English law . This is why a public prosecution of a person whose surname is Smith would be referred to in writing as "R v Smith" (or alternatively as "Regina v Smith" or "Rex v Smith" depending on the sex of the Sovereign, Regina and Rex being Latin for "Queen" and "King" and in either case may informally be pronounced as such) and when cited orally in court would be pronounced "the Crown against Smith". All proceedings on indictment must be brought before

672-655: The Crown Court . By virtue of practice directions issued under section 75(1) of the Senior Courts Act 1981 , an indictment must be tried by a High Court judge , a circuit judge or a recorder (which of these depends on the offence). As to the form of an indictment, see the Indictments Act 1915 and the Indictment Rules 1971 made thereunder. The Indictment Rules 1971 were revoked by

714-518: The Illinois Supreme Court , from which he retired in 2010. In 2009, an attorney for some of those convicted in the Greylord investigation requested that Governor Pat Quinn issue mass pardons, calling her clients rather than the taxpayers the real victims, but the governor did not grant that request before he was defeated for re-election in 2014. In 2010 and 2014, respectively, two attorneys disbarred for unethical conduct disclosed in

756-547: The solemn proceedings they will also be tried on indictment and are brought in the name of the Lord Advocate . All solemn indictments are designed in the manner Her (or His) Majesty's Advocate v Smith, or, more frequently HMA v Smith. The Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution states in part: "No person shall be held to answer for a capital , or otherwise infamous crime, unless on

798-557: The tax fraud case of state Attorney General, William Scott . Turow was also lead counsel in Operation Greylord , the federal prosecution of judicial corruption cases in Illinois. After leaving the U.S. Attorney's Office, Turow became a novelist and wrote the legal thrillers Presumed Innocent (1987), The Burden of Proof (1990), Pleading Guilty (1993), and Personal Injuries , which Time magazine named as

840-566: The Administration of Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1933 and the Indictments (Procedure) Rules 1971 (S.I. 1971/2084) made thereunder, as amended and modified by the Indictments (Procedure) (Amendment) Rules 1983 (S.I. 1983/284), the Indictments (Procedure) (Amendment) Rules 1988 (S.I. 1988/1783), the Indictments (Procedure) (Amendment) Rules 1992 (S.I. 1992/284), the Indictments (Procedure) (Amendment) Rules 1997 (S.I. 1997/711),

882-732: The Best Fiction Novel of 1999. All four books became bestsellers, and Turow won multiple literary awards, most notably the Silver Dagger Award of the British Crime Writers' Association . In 1990, Turow was featured on the June 11 cover of Time , which described him as "Bard of the Litigious Age". In 1995, Canadian author Derek Lundy published a biography of Turow, entitled Scott Turow: Meeting

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924-450: The Chicago law firm of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal . Much of Turow's caseload work is pro bono, including a 1995 case, in which he won the release of Alejandro Hernandez , a man who spent 11 years on death row for a murder he did not commit. He was also appointed to the commission considering the reform of the Illinois death penalty by former Governor George Ryan . Additionally, Turow

966-635: The Commonwealth shall be by jury". The High Court of Australia has consistently used a narrow interpretation of this clause, allowing the Parliament of Australia to define which offences proceed on indictment rather than conferring a universal right to a jury trial. Section 4G of the Crimes Act 1914 provides that "offences against a law of the Commonwealth punishable by imprisonment for a period exceeding 12 months are indictable offences, unless

1008-480: The Constitution mandates the right to a jury trial in any criminal prosecution, the vast majority of criminal cases in the US are resolved by the plea-bargaining process. A sealed indictment stays non-public, for various reasons, until it is unsealed (for example, once the indicted is arrested or notified by police). A superseding indictment takes the place of the previously active one. A speaking indictment goes beyond

1050-695: The Criminal Division of the Cook County Circuit Court , initially as a prosecutor and later as a defense attorney (although actually on the FBI payroll). Key undercover FBI agents and lawyers included: David Grossman, David Ries and Hake. As a Cook County prosecutor, Hake complained about the bribery and corruption in the Murder and Sexual Assault preliminary hearing courtroom in Chicago. The FBI and United States Attorney's Office learned of Hake's complaint and recruited him to pose as

1092-707: The Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2007 (on the whole) incorporated into the Criminal Procedure Rules 2010. The form and content and the service of an indictment are governed by Rule 14 of the CPR 2012. Additional guidance is contained in the Consolidated Criminal Practice Direction Part IV.34. As to the preferring of a bill of indictment and the signing of an indictment, see section 2 of

1134-700: The Enemy (ECW Press, 1995). In the 1990s, a British publisher bracketed Turow’s work with that of Margaret Atwood and John Irving , republished in the series Bloomsbury Modern Library. Turow was elected the President of the Authors Guild in 2010, which he was previously President of from 1997 to 1998. As the President of the Authors Guild, he has been criticized for his copyright maximalist and anti- ebook stance. Turow has often responded that he

1176-577: The Greylord investigation sought to regain their respective law licenses, but were denied; another attorney withdrew a similar application in 2003. In July 2016, Terrence Hake went on the Chicago talk radio program "Legal Eagles" to explain his role in Operation Greylord and the operation's aftermath. "Legal Eagles" was hosted by retired police officer William Pelarenos and broadcast on WCGO 1590AM. Indictment An indictment ( / ɪ n ˈ d aɪ t m ən t / in- DYTE -mənt )

1218-523: The Indictments (Procedure) (Modification) Rules 1998 (S.I. 1998/3045) and the Indictments (Procedure) (Amendment) Rules 2000 (S.I. 2000/3360). See the Indictments Act (Northern Ireland) 1945. In Scotland, all of these cases brought in the High Court of Justiciary are brought in the name of the Lord Advocate and will be tried on indictment. In a sheriff court where trials proceed using

1260-406: The contrary intention appears". A direct indictment is one in which the case is sent directly to trial before a preliminary inquiry is completed or when the accused has been discharged by a preliminary inquiry. It is meant to be an extraordinary, rarely used power to ensure that those who should be brought to trial are in a timely manner or where an error of judgment is seen to have been made in

1302-579: The investigation committed suicide, including former Circuit Judge Allen Rosin. Rosin was taking bribes in divorce court in child custody cases and spousal property disputes. The systemic corruption led to the formation of the Special Commission on the Administration of Justice in Cook County, a group assembled in August 1984 to examine the problems of the Cook County courts. The group also issued recommendations that were designed to contribute to

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1344-472: The investigations and prosecutions. First Assistant United States Attorney Daniel Reidy and Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSA) Charles Sklarsky, Scott Lassar, Scott Mendeloff and Candace J. Fabri led many of the prosecutions. In 1985, Valukus and AUSA James Schweitzer indicted 22 corrupt court personnel, including Judge Raymond Sodini, who presided over the corruption in his courtroom at Chicago Police Headquarters. The first listening device ever placed in

1386-477: The legal community in the fictional Kindle County. Films have been based on several of his books. Turow was born in Chicago , to a family of Belarusian Jewish descent. His father was an M.D., but it was his mother Rita whom he credits as serving as his "beacon" and shaping him with her "love, support, and boundless faith in me." He attended New Trier High School and graduated from Amherst College in 1970, as

1428-507: The legally required statement of the elements of the charged crime(s) and also includes a narrative of the alleged underlying acts in more detail. Scott Turow Scott Frederick Turow (born April 12, 1949) is an American author and lawyer . Turow worked as a lawyer for a decade before writing full-time, and has written 13 fiction and three nonfiction books, which have been translated into more than 40 languages and sold more than 30 million copies. Turow’s novels are set primarily among

1470-578: The preliminary inquiry. In the aftermath of the 2016 Jordan decision , in which the Supreme Court of Canada imposed time limits on the Crown to bring criminal cases to trial, the Crown has started to use the procedure more frequently. In England and Wales (except in private prosecutions by individuals) an indictment is issued by the public prosecutor (in most cases this will be the Crown Prosecution Service ) on behalf of

1512-411: The prosecutors have since left government service and joined large law firms, including Jenner & Block. One, Candace J. Fabri, became a judge in Cook County in 2006, and was recently rated "Well Qualified" by a local attorneys' group; only a former public defender received a higher rating. Circuit Judge Thomas R. Fitzgerald , who cleaned up Traffic Court after the Greylord investigation, was elected to

1554-455: The same year. A total of 93 people were indicted, including 17 judges, 48 lawyers, 10 deputy sheriffs , eight policemen, eight court officials, and state representative James DeLeo . Of the 17 judges indicted, 15 were convicted. One supervising judge, Richard LeFevour, was convicted on 59 counts of mail fraud, racketeering and income-tax violations, and was later sentenced to 12 years in prison, as well as being disbarred. The stiffest sentence

1596-528: The time he finished the work, the setting had taken on characteristics of Chicago, Turow's hometown to which he had returned. His non-fiction work Ultimate Punishment also received the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights 2003 Book award given annually to a novelist who "most faithfully and forcefully reflects Robert Kennedy's purposes – his concern for the poor and the powerless, his struggle for honest and even-handed justice, his conviction that

1638-427: The undercover agents/lawyers to fix in front of the corrupt judges. In August 1983, the undercover investigative phase ended, when a corrupt court clerk and a corrupt Chicago Police officer were approached by the FBI to cooperate in the investigation and they leaked the investigation to the media. The first defendant to be found guilty was Harold Conn, Deputy Traffic Court Clerk in the Cook County judicial system. Conn

1680-525: Was convicted in March 1984 and was one of the many bagmen in the ring of corruption also Nick the Greek Olympic never charged. The last conviction was that of Judge Thomas J. Maloney , who was indicted on bribery charges. Maloney was convicted and then sentenced in 1994 to 16 years for fixing three murder cases for more than $ 100,000 in bribes. Maloney was released from federal prison in 2008, and died

1722-468: Was received by former Circuit Judge Reginald Holzer, who received an 18-year sentence for accepting over $ 200,000 in bribes from multiple attorneys. Judge Holzer was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Scott Turow , who later became an acclaimed novelist. DeLeo pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and was sentenced to probation, and was later elected to the Illinois Senate . Three subjects of

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1764-842: Was the first Chair of the Illinois Executive Ethics Commission, and he served as one of the 14 members on the Commission, which was appointed in March of 2000, by Illinois Governor George Ryan to consider reform of the capital punishment system. Turow also served as a member of the Illinois State Police Merit Board 2000–2002. Turow’s fiction is set primarily among the legal community in the fictional Kindle County. According to Turow, he planned to set his first novel, Presumed Innocent in Boston , where he attended law school. But by

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