Barton McNeil Fourth Judicial District Appellate Court Appeal – Filed August 22, 2024
It is clear when reading the below appeal brief that Barton’s legal team made for an incredibly compelling argument in their 60-page appeal brief. The argument being that the lower circuit court judge with the 11th Circuit Court located in McLean County erred in refusing a vast and important amount of newly established evidence be allowed into the 3rd stage evidentiary hearing to be further evaluated with the use of expert witnesses. That this same judge further erred by denying Barton a new trial following the evidentiary hearing that was held last November for when Misook invoked the Fifth Amendment thereby in the process creating even more new evidence pointing to her guilt the judge chose to ignore. Finally that the judge erred significantly when he found that Misook having strangled her mother-in-law 13-years following the Christina murder was no more than “just an interesting fact”.
Barton’s legal teams consists of five attorneys (not including support staff and law school students who volunteer to assist them) who specialize in reversing wrongful convictions. Three of Barton’s attorneys are with the Illinois Innocence Project affiliated with the University of Illinois Law School in Springfield and Chicago. Two additional attorneys who also equally represent Barton are with the Exoneration Project that is associated with the University of Chicago Law School. The cover page of the appeal identify these incredible persons who work selflessly for the wrongfully convicted, Barton, just one of many cases they work on each day. In short, they are heroes and should be recognized as such.
The ball now in the court of “the State of Illinois”, whose opposition to Barton’s appeal will be led by the office of McLean County State’s Attorney Erika Reynolds. She and her office are to respond to this appeal whatever opposition they can muster within the next 35 days unless they request a further extension that usually is typical. Once their response has been filed, Barton’s legal team will have 15 days to respond with their final counter argument to the State’s argument.
Oral arguments are already requested with this appeal and if allowed, are scheduled such that each side typically is limited to just 20-minutes each.
Following the oral arguments hearing, a panel made up of three appellate court judges, are to render a ruling on the below appeal. It takes at least two of the judges to make a ruling in either direction.
Below is the 60-page appeal that can be downloaded along with an accompanying audio statement by Barton McNeil and the same statement he makes in writing.
BARTON MCNEIL STATEMENT REGARDING APPEAL BRIEF FILED BEFORE THE 4TH APPELLATE DISTRICT COURT IN SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS
Today, Thursday, August 22nd, my attorneys filed a legal brief to the Illinois Fourth district Appellate Court in Springfield. This, only the latest chapter of my 26-year effort to exonerate myself out from underneath this ongoing wrongful conviction.
In our brief we’re asking the appeals court to reverse the trial court’s recent ruling in denying me a new trial despite our presentation of some newly discovered evidence at last November’s hearing.
Absent a new trial ruling, we are alternatively asking the appellate court to order an all-new post-conviction 3rd stage evidentiary hearing in which all of my attorneys’ newly discovered evidence can be presented accompanied by expert testimony and considered in its totality by the trial court. In so doing, the appellate court will effectively be reversing the trial court’s prior summary dismissal of the bulk of the newly discovered evidence that was wholly barred from presentation at last November’s hearing in McLean County Court.
Along with a half dozen items of newly discovered evidence regarding my innocence, paramount among the evidence that was barred from presentation at the above evidentiary hearing are incontrovertible newfound DNA test results which put my estranged girlfriend, Misook Nowlin on top of the freshly laundered bedding that my daughter Christina was killed on the night of the murder itself.
Thanks again is always due to the attorneys and staffers with the Illinois Innocence Project and Exoneration Project alike for their selfless innocence advocacy on my behalf. Thanks also to all of you who followed this saga for so long and for keeping the story of our just cause alive. – Barton McNeil
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