Docket No.: 1231 AC 0648

ASSAULT & BATTERY: DISMISSED

The alleged victim was an employee and caretaker at a residential facility housing individuals with mental disorders. The Defendant is a mentally retarded and intellectually disabled resident of the facility. The alleged victim claimed that the Defendant attacked him punched him in the face, spat on him, knocked him to the ground, and punched him in the head. At the clerk magistrate’s hearing, Attorney Gerald J. Noonan examined an employee and caretaker at the facility who witnessed the incident between the alleged victim and the Defendant. Attorney Noonan elicited testimony from the witness who observed the alleged victim punching the Defendant, as he was being restrained face-down on the ground. This witness told the alleged victim to stop punching the Defendant but he continued punching the Defendant anyway. The clerk-magistrate dismissed the criminal complaint.

Result: Attorney Gerald J. Noonan persuades clerk-magistrate not to issue criminal complaint against his mentally disabled client.