Jim Coogan ‘Ask an Attorney’ Live on WCPT 820

On September 18, 2018–Jim on The Ben Joravsky Show Discussing Legal Topics

This past Tuesday, September 18th, our own Jim Coogan attended the WCPT studios in Chicago to sit in Studio with host Ben Joravsky to discuss the legal news of the day. Jim has been a monthly guest on the News & Politics Talk show since May, 2017. Our “Ace Attorney” has joined Ben each month to discuss national news, legal stories, local news, and explain how the law affects every one of those issues. Jim has provided insight based upon his experience as an injury Trial Lawyer in the City of Chicago and his years of observation of politics and how the law and politics shape one another.

This week, the topics were the Jason Van Dyke murder trial and the status of Supreme Court nominee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Ben and Jim discussed the jury selection process in the trial of Chicago Police Department Officer Jason Van Dyke for the murder of Laquan McDonald. They took a deeper dive into the process of ‘de-selecting’ a jury in Cook County and how lawyers strategize their way through the process. They also discussed trial lawyer tactics when representing a criminal defendant in a high-profile case, comparing it to representing an injured plaintiff.

Then, the discussion shifted to the latest surprise development in the confirmation process for Trump nominee to the United States Supreme Court, Judge Brett Kavanaugh (presently of the First Circuit). Judge Kavanaugh already had a unique position as having been more politically-involved than most Supreme Court nominees, but suddenly faced even more controversy when Prof. Blasey Ford’s allegations turned up: that he sexually assaulted her at a party when he was in high school. Ben and Jim discussed the unusual course that the confirmation process has taken and how it may evolve.

Listen in:

https://soundcloud.com/chicagosprogressivetalk/the-ben-joravsky-show-91818-with-ace-attorney-jim-coogan