[Peace-discuss] Patrick Thompson Wins Small Claims Case Against “Ineffective” Attorney Harvey Welch

[Brian Dolinar]

In a small claims case local black activist Patrick Thompson filed against
his former attorney, Harvey Welch, a judge decided that legal malpractice
had been committed and ruled in Thompson's favor. Thompson filed the suit
pro se, arguing his own case, while Welch was represented by Urbana attorney
David Rumley. The $3,000 in attorney fees that Welch must pay back, Thompson
says he is donating to Champaign Urbana Citizens for Peace and Justice, who
helped raise funds for his legal defense.

Thompson had hired Welch to defend him against charges of sexual abuse and
home invasion in a trial that took place in 2006. After Welch called only
one witness, Thompson was found guilty. Dropping Welch, Thompson hired two
new attorneys, Bob Kirchner and Ruth Wyman, who filed a post-trial motion to
reverse the guilty verdict. In a rare courtroom decision, Judge Harry Clem
found that Welch had provided "ineffective assistance of counsel" and
granted Thompson a new trial. This last May, with legal counsel provided by
Kirchner and Wyman, a jury found Thompson not guilty of the criminal
charges.

Last year, Thompson filed a small claims suit against Welch for return of
the $3,000 he had paid him in attorney fees. The key piece of evidence
Thompson submitted was Judge Clem's ruling that Welch provided ineffective
counsel. After he was found not guilty, Thompson also entered this as
further evidence.

On August 25, 2008, Judge Holly Clemons ruled in favor of Thompson. In order
to determine legal malpractice in a civil suit, Thompson had to prove that
he would have been proven innocent beyond a preponderance of evidence. This
was accomplished, Judge Clemons ruled, when Thompson was acquitted in the
May 2008 trial.

Harvey Welch works as a Public Defender in Ford County, but is based in
Urbana and takes numerous cases in Champaign County. Welch handles hundreds
of cases each year, and has been in practice since 1980. One must wonder how
many of Welch's clients have been found guilty because of his incompetence.

This small claims case sets an important legal precedent in Illinois for
other individuals wrongly convicted if their decisions are reversed due to
ineffective counsel. As Judge Clemons herself admitted, this case was "a
rather unusual situation." A similar case at the Champaign County courthouse
is unheard of in recent memory.

Welch is ordered to pay back $3,000 to Thompson, as well as cover the cost
of court fees.

When asked, Rumley would not confirm or deny that he would appeal the
decision. Welch himself was not present for the final ruling.

Also absent were any other members of the local media. Incidentally, at the
same time as Thompson's small claims case, the verdict was being announced
for Robert Arnette, who was found guilty of murdering his wife. After
reading of the verdict, I spoke to several members of the local press at the
courthouse about the significance of Thompson's victory in small claims
court. Caught up in the frenzy of a murder case, none of them were
interested in covering Thompson's case. The *News-Gazette*'s Mary Schenk had
been notified about past hearings in the small claims case, but not once did
she show up.
BD
-- 
Brian Dolinar, Ph.D.
303 W. Locust St.
Urbana, IL 61801
briandolinar at gmail.com
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