Saturday, February 22, 2020

Comments on Former Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran's Supposed Assault of William Kelly


     The following two bodies of text were written in response to a question by my former campaign manager, Phil Collins, asking me whether I think former Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran is guilty of a crime, in the supposed “assault” or “battery” which he allegedly inflicted upon former Illinois Governor candidate and political podcast host William Kelly.
     The second body of text was sent as a follow-up email. It has been edited, but only to make it more coherent; the content of the second body of text has not been changed. The first body of text has not been edited.
     I should note that I have written all of these comments without seeing the entire video showing Curran's alleged assault on Kelly. I do not know where that video can be accessed. I have watched the most important part (the alleged assault), but I have not seen what took place beforehand, nor afterwards. I have also watched Mark Curran being interviewed by police after the supposed assault.



     It's difficult to say whether a crime was committed, because Illinois Criminal Code says assault includes when a person "engages in conduct which places another in reasonable apprehension of receiving a battery", while battery is when a person "intentionally or knowingly without legal justification and by any means causes bodily harm to an individual or makes physical contact of an insulting or provoking nature with an individual".
     I personally don't think that what Curran did should constitute assault. Curran was not attempting to cause Kelly any harm or pain, and I suspect that Kelly did not suffer any injury or pain as a result of Curran putting his hands on him. That could mean that Curran had no malice of forethought, and it could also mean that there is no actual physical evidence of any harm or injury or trauma.
     On the other hand, Curran did "engage in conduct which places another in reasonable apprehension of receiving a battery", when he placed both of his hands on Kelly's arms. That could be perceived as a provocation, because Curran used physical power to move Kelly. Curran didn't shove or push any part of Kelly's torso, but instead firmly placed his hands on Kelly's arms, and pushed him towards the door, but with minimal effort and arguably no actual force.
     What Curran did might technically fall within a very very loose definition of assault or battery, but since there was no injury (that I can detect), and also considering that Kelly was arguably trespassing at the time when Curran informed him that he was no longer welcome. But on the other hand, Curran waited only half a second after saying "get out of here" before he put his hands on Kelly.
     Kelly responded by asking whether Curran wanted to fight; this means that Curran arguably engaged in "conduct which places another in reasonable apprehension of receiving a battery", which is assault in Illinois. Arguably Curran wanted Kelly out in order to avoid a fight, but on the other hand, Curran should have had the sense to instruct Kelly to leave, and only consider using force or calling the police when Kelly refused to leave. Curran didn't give Kelly a reasonable amount of time to respond to his request to leave, and instead resorted to physical "force" (albeit arguably non-violent) to solve the problem.
     As a private citizen, I would say that this altercation doesn't bother me, but if I were a juror, I'd have to conclude that Curran did commit assault and/or battery, in the strict legal sense of how those words are defined. But if I were a juror, I'd also want to know about whether Kelly has a history of violence, or fighting, or being quick to fight, or being quick to assume that another person wants to fight when they do not. But whether Curran has a history of fighting, should also be taken into consideration.






     Watching the interview with Mark Curran, he seems to be exaggerating Kelly's "screaming" when he was pushed towards the door. On the other hand, it is also concerning that (according to Curran) Kelly has previously challenged Curran to physical fights such as boxing or wrestling matches.
     Kelly's behavior could arguably constitute stalking, if he were to begin making threats. If what Curran says is true, then Kelly has been following him around, trying to provoke him, and inviting him to take part in physical altercations (although they would be sanctioned). It's still concerning though, because Kelly seems to want a fight.
     It's hard to tell whom is the real provocateur in all this, but I'm leaning towards Kelly.





Post-Script, written February 22nd, 2020:

     Considering that Illinois defines battery as that which occurs when someone “intentionally or knowingly without legal justification and by any means causes bodily harm to an individual or makes physical contact of an insulting or provoking nature with an individual", it is entirely possible that what William Kelly did, constitutes battery.
     That's because, if Curran is telling the truth when he says Kelly has repeatedly challenged him to fights before, then Kelly is the one whom is making “physical contact of a provoking nature with an individual”. However, that only constitutes battery if Kelly's following Curran around constitutes “physical contact”, which is debateable since there appears to be no evidence that Kelly has ever made any initial act of physically touching Curran in any way.

     Considering that Illinois defines assault as that which occurs when someone “engages in conduct which places another in reasonable apprehension of receiving a battery”, it is entirely possible that what William Kelly did, constitutes assault.
     That's because, if Curran is telling the truth when he says Kelly has repeatedly challenged him to fights before, it is Kelly who placed Curran “in reasonable apprehension of receiving a battery”. Curran could reasonably conclude that he could receive a beating, from the supposed fact that Kelly has repeatedly challenged him to fights (that is, if Curran is telling the truth).






Learn more about this case of supposed assault by visiting the following links:







Emails written on February 12th, 2020
This article created and published on February 22nd, 2020



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