Officer’s acquittal shows judicial misreading of transferred intent

Criminal Convictions

By Marc D. Falkoff

Marc D. Falkoff is an associate professor at Northern Illinois University College of Law, where he teaches and writes about criminal law and procedure. He can be reached at mfalkoff@niu.edu.

Posted May 22, 2015 2:25 PM

Rarely has a judge’s ruling illuminated the irrationality of our state’s criminal justice system like the one from a Cook County judge that set detective Dante Servin free.Servin was on trial last month for involuntary manslaughter in the March 2012 death of Rekia Boyd. She was killed by a stray bullet to the head, one of five shots the detective had aimed at Antonio Cross.Servin alleged he fired because Cross was pointing a firearm at him. He wasn’t.The city has already settled a wrongful-death suit with …

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