Van Dyke lawyers ask for delay on new trial hearing
Lawyers for Jason Van Dyke this week asked for a 30-day delay for a hearing on whether the guilty verdicts against the former Chicago police officer should stand.
In a motion filed Monday, defense attorney Daniel Herbert requested the extra month to review transcripts from the trial, which ran three weeks and included testimony from more than 40 witnesses, including Van Dyke.
Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan last week set deadlines for Special Prosecutor Joseph McMahon to file a reply to the defense motions seeking to overturn the verdict or grant Van Dyke a new trial, and a Dec. 14 date for in-court argument.
The motion for a new trial is routine after any guilty verdict, and a separate motion filed by Van Dyke’s lawyers seeking to throw out the verdict entirely slightly more rare. Both are unlikely to win over Gaughan, who would set a schedule for motions and a sentencing date in the event he decides not to overturn the case.
Also Wednesday, the board of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 voted to no longer refer cases to Herbert, a former CPD officer and prosecutor who once worked as an FOP staff attorney.
In a statement, Herbert said Van Dyke wants to keep him on as his lawyer, and that the FOP board members who voted in favor of not sending further union business his way were “entitled to their opinion.”