5 years, 8 months ago by Scott Hardy
IL Appellate Court denies motion to return money
A recent ruling by the Illinois 4th District Court of Appeals will let Adams County keep $40,000 from supporters of Curtis Lovelace.
That ruling, issued in late July, lets the County keep $35,000 of the $350,000 bond posted to free Lovelace after his first murder trial in Adams County. Lovelace had spent nearly two years in the Hancock County Jail, before the money was put up in June 2016 by the Urbana law firm of Beckett & Webber, and family friend Rich Herr. Judge Bob Hardwick had ordered the Adams County circuit clerk to keep 10% of the bond, and over $5400 in electronic monitoring costs. As part of his bond, Lovelace wore an ankle monitor and was confined to his Quincy home. Lovelace appealed, saying that the fees were unconstitutional, and violated both due process and the equal protection clause of the US Constitution. The Appellate justices disagreed. Under the ruling, Beckett & Webber will be billed $30,000, and Herr will be billed $5,000. Beckett & Webber will also pay nearly all of the monitoring costs.
The full ruling is available to read below.
