August 31, 2006, Chicago, Illinois – Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP attorneys, Renee C. Choy, Max J. Kanter and Kimberly A. Jansen, were instrumental in defendant, Timothy L. Stewart, winning another chance to challenge a confession that led to his conviction of bank robbery. The case, United States v. Timothy L. Stewart, came from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. The Seventh Circuit panel of three judges has directed the lower court to again consider the claim that the Evansville, Indiana police deliberately refrained from reading Mr. Stewart his rights in an attempt to gain incriminating statements from him.
The Seventh Circuit ruling came months after the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in Missouri v. Seibert, 542 U.S. 600 (2004), that the use of the question first, warn later technique was improper in some cases.
Under the supervision of Ms. Jansen, as part of the firm's Hinshaw University Pro Bono Program, Ms. Choy and Mr. Kanter wrote the brief and Ms. Choy argued it before the federal panel. The panel, in its unpublished order, said, “Stewart argues, and we agree, that the district court’s analysis was unduly limited to a consideration of whether the Evansville Police Department had an official policy endorsing two-step interrogation or provided training in which its officers were instructed to employ such a technique.” The panel went on to state, “Rather than concentrate exclusively on the presence or absence of a departmental policy, the primary focus of the inquiry should be on the explanation given by the officer for the failure to administer warnings in a timely fashion . . . “
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