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McCall v. Devine8/30/2002
or phone messages and lunged at the detective. In the struggle, Cole grabbed the detective's gun. He fired at the officer but missed. With the sound of the shot two other officers bolted into the office, and each fired at Cole. Almost simultaneously, Cook County prosecutors say, Cole shot himself in the mouth. Camden said he was not sure the order of the last shots fired. A medical examiner's report shows three gunshot wounds on Cole's body: in his mouth, in his abdomen, and on his right arm. The examiner's report, which categorized Cole's death as a suicide, said the wound in Cole's mouth was what killed him.'"
On April 12, 2000, following courtroom assignment, Richard A. Devine, in his official capacity as Cook County State's Attorney, filed a motion to intervene in the instant matter. McCall filed an objection to the motion and, following oral argument, the trial court granted Devine's motion to intervene.
Subsequently, on September 21, 2000, Devine filed a motion under section 2-615(e) of the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/2-615(e) (West 2000)) for judgment on the pleadings. The motion alleged that McCall failed to establish, as a matter of law, that there was a conflict of interest which precluded Devine from investigating and deciding whether to prosecute anyone for Cole's death. For purposes of the motion, Devine admitted as true the allegation that over 90% of the criminal cases prosecuted by the Cook County State's Attorney's office have been investigated and brought to the Cook County State's Attorney's office by the Chicago police department. Devine asserted, however, that the fact that Chicago police officers "investigate crimes and seek the initiation of criminal prosecutions does not mean that the State's Attorney of Cook County has a personal interest in each member of the department sufficient to remove him from his statutorily mandated responsibilities." Devine asked the court to disregard McCall's remaining allegations as either conclusory in nature or surplusage. Devine denied interest in the matter as a private individual and/or as an actual party to the action.
On December 5, 2000, following oral argument, the trial court entered a written order granting Devine's motion for judgment on the pleadings. Specifically, the trial court rejected McCall's allegation that the police offered false and contradictory factual versions of the circumstances of the shooting. The court found that the allegations were "wholly conclusory" and stemmed from hearsay statements contained in newspaper articles. Moreover, the court found that the differences in the versions of events could be attributed to "shifting details as a natural outgrowth of any evolving investigation." The trial court found McCall's assertion that assistant State's Attorneys and medical examiners are not called to the scene of homicides, and that it is not their duty to investigate such crimes, was "utterly unfounded." Finally, the trial court found that McCall failed to establish as a matter of law that Devine was interested in the instant matter. Specifically, the court found that Devine would not be a party to any investigation or proceeding sought by McCall and that Devine was not interested as a private individual in the investigation of Cole's death.
McCall now appeals from that judgment.
II. ANALYSIS
McCall argues that the trial court erroneously granted Devine's motion for judgment on the pleadings where the petition filed established a cause of action for appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate and prosecute the death of Reginald Cole. Specifically, McCall alleges that the relationship between the Cook County State's Attorney and the Chicago poli
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