Chicago DUI attorney comments on reinstated charges for a former DUI Top Cop

Stop the Press!  This Chicago DUI attorney thought, probably a lot like the accused that this case was over, finito, done!  But no, now you can see the awesome power of the government against one of its own previously well-regarded star witnesses, former Chicago DUI Top Cop, John Haleas.

This just in from Chicago Breaking News:

A Chicago police officer once again faces felony criminal charges after an appellate court struck down a Cook County judge's decision to dismiss the indictment against him.

The ruling reinstates charges of official misconduct, perjury and obstruction of justice against John Haleas, the Chicago police officer once lauded for racking up the most arrests for DUI in the state.

The case stems from a 2005 arrest Haleas performed while two prosecutors were riding along with him. He allegedly failed to administer a field sobriety test to the suspect, but the prosecutors later noted that he wrote reports reflecting that he had performed the test. Following an internal investigation, the police department suspended Haleas for one day in July 2007 and in April 2008 he was indicted on the criminal charges.

In August 2009, Circuit Judge James Obbish dismissed the indictment after finding that the state's use of the internal police statement violated Haleas' Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and tainted the rest of the case against him.

Prosecutors are generally barred from using an officer's statements in an internal investigation against him in a criminal case, since the officer may be fired for refusing to cooperate with the probe.

On Friday, the Illinois Appellate Court upheld Obbish's decision to toss out the internal affairs statement but found that further hearings should have been held to determine whether the rest of the state's investigation benefitted from that document. The court sent the case back to Obbish for further hearings. 

No.  This isn’t double jeopardy.  Now imagine, if this is how they treat a former police officer, how are they going to get treat you?