Haley arrested in Palatine, IL (July 2017). Court appearance (Feb 2018)

[Miguel]

Stacey Wescott‏ @StaceyWescott1 3m

Replying to @Himm2 @AmericanIdol
Sounds like a complicated case for the courts to figure out.

[Tusk]

'American Idol' contestant pleads not guilty to battery in fight at Palatine bar

An attorney for singer-songwriter and Wheeling native Haley Reinhart said at a court hearing that the 26-year-old is a victim and not a perpetrator of any crime.

Trombetta said Reinhart never punched a security guard that night. The security guard, who was present in court Wednesday, declined to comment on the case.

"We believe (Reinhart) will be exonerated when this is all said and done," Trombetta said.

Reinhart's next court date is set for Oct. 6, when the case may go to trial. The singer, who lives in Encino, Calif., was also given permission to leave Illinois by Judge James P. Pieczonka.

"In our position, she was a victim," Trombetta said.

Reinhart said Wednesday following the hearing that she is "just looking forward to this ending and justice being served."

[john]

http://www.dailyherald.com/news/20170802...wl-charges

[Miguel]

Nice picture of Haley under the circumstances. Appears we are going to trial. I was hoping it could be put to bed today.

The Internet says Carmine V. Trombetta is one of 134 Attorneys in Schaumburg, IL.

Let's hope the V stands for victory.

He's 67, according to LinkedIn.

Another Internet source says he turned 61 today. Happy Birthday, Carmine!

---

Government's case rests on:

Trombetta said he is waiting for SURVEILLANCE VIDEO OF THE INCIDENT that he has formally requested from the village. He said he has already gathered witness statements but needs the surveillance footage to confirm those statements.

[Tusk]

Bar employee indicted in brawl involving Haley Reinhart

Prosecutors on Thursday announced an indictment against a Palatine man who they accuse of choking a patron during a brawl last month at Lamplighter Inn Tavern & Grille in Palatine.

Adam Sobanski, 32, faces two counts of aggravated battery, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

What does it mean when someone is going to be indicted?

When someone is charged with a felony, at some point the state has to present “probable cause” to show that a crime had been committed and that the person in question committed it. They present their evidence to a grand jury without opposition, who will decide whether to issue an indictment.

In other words, the grand jury thought there was enough evidence to move forward w/ an indictment, a precursor to a trial (wonder if the evidence includes security footage from inside the Lamplighter? If you recall, he was fired from there before he was charged)

[Miguel]

2-26-18

Haley had her day in court. Ordered to pay a $500 fine. Worth it, I think, given it brought more scrutiny on what proved to be an all-too-common occurrence on Bothwell St in Palatine.

Judge rules ex-'Idol' finalist Haley Reinhart guilty in Palatine bar brawl

Former "American Idol" finalist and Wheeling native Haley Reinhart was found guilty of a battery charge Monday stemming from her role in a brawl at a Palatine nightclub last summer.

A Cook County judge issued the guilty verdict after a brief trial Monday in which Reinhart took the witness stand, along with the bouncer she was accused of punching.

Reinhart, 27, insisted she did not intentionally strike the bouncer during the July 8 fracas at Lamplighter Inn Tavern & Grille in downtown Palatine. But the judge who presided over the case said surveillance video of the altercation provided indisputable evidence to the contrary.

Reinhart was ordered to pay a $500 fine and another $139 in court costs after the guilty finding.

...Reinhart punched a bouncer as they were exiting, police said.

On Monday, Reinhart said she might have hit the bouncer accidentally as he was holding her harm to escort her from the nightclub.

"It could be possible, but without it being a punch to hurt somebody," she testified.

http://www.dailyherald.com/news/20180226...-bar-brawl

[Tusk]

Haley still stands up for herself...

of note, at the end the prosecutor says that if she stays out of trouble, "she can have the fine and the conviction vacated".... He doesn't know why the court did that for her, so they're giving her leniency

[mercfan3]

It likely means that the judge was half rolling his eyes at the prosecutor, and knows what's up with the nightclub. (And given Haley's lack of criminal background...)

Interesting, the whole "these people are all in cohorts with each other." Does she mean the prosecutors and nightclub? It wouldn't surprise me if they are.

Tusk, generally speaking, you can "indict a ham sandwich." Probable cause is the lowest bar, and it essentially means they're going to hear his case and continue investigating.

I'd guess, given the extent of Haley's friend's injuries..he's going to have a harsher penalty than Haley.

[Miguel]

I think it's a regular thing for the bar to call police and for the city to profit from the arrests. The standard being it's their word vs an intoxicated person. Most probably don't try to fight the system.

[Tusk]

Interesting, the whole "these people are all in cohorts with each other." Does she mean the prosecutors and nightclub? It wouldn't surprise me if they are.

It's unlikely she was talking about the court system including the prosecutor.

I think the 'cohorts' thing refers to the Lamplighter and the local police. The history of bouncer abuse, the fact that the police allow it to continue doing business even though it regularly goes down there to pick up drunks, break up fight, implies that they allow it because it's easy revenue for them w/o much effort.

Up here, if a business continues unable to control how drunk it gets it's patrons, doing something to reduce fights, normally those kinds of businesses get fined so much they can't operate, or they have to shut down and move elsewhere.

The Lamplighter is a Palatine institution and despite the continued issues of fighting and drunkenness, has been allowed to continue operating, the police have allowed it and are happy to take the revenue from fines and jail time

I'm hoping people see perspective in this, that Haley has the opportunity to get this off her record despite video evidence, and not go after the courts on social media. I think they HAD to charge Haley w/ something from the video evidence, so charged her w/ the minimum w/ a chance to get rid of it completely from her record. If there's video of Haley indeed punching the bouncer in the face, which could be argued initiated the brawl, they can't drop the charge.

If it was hearsay, her word against theirs' (Haley w/ no history of trouble, Lamplighter w/ years of evidence of over the top abuse), then the court might have leeway to not charge Haley at all.

Video evidence didn't give the court that option.

As PJ says, the video evidence is public record, so we will likely see it eventually, probably via TMZ (who have their hands full right now, Heather Locklear apparently assaulted Police officers )