Hebron Village President John Jacobson could have drug possession charge dismissed, legal experts say

WOODSTOCK – After an attorney for Hebron Village President John Jacobson filed a motion to dismiss a drug possession charge against his client, legal experts say he may have a case for the judge to do so.

Jacobson faces drug possession and firearms charges after he was arrested following a March incident where police were called. His attorney, Mark Facchini, argues in his motion that Jacobson cannot be charged because the evidence used against him was obtained during a reported overdose.

The motion claims it is against Illinois state law to be charged or prosecuted if the evidence was acquired as a result of the defendant seeking or obtaining emergency medical assistance.

Marc D. Falkoff, acting associate dean and associate professor at Northern Illinois University College of Law, said the statute, recently passed in 2012, “wisely” recognizes that law enforcement officials can save lives if they make sure not to discourage people from reporting on or seeking treatment from overdoses.

“When you have a rule designed with a humanitarian purpose in part, it’s application can sometimes seem a bit screwy and unfair,” Falkoff said.

Police have said Jacobson was found unconscious in his bathroom after a night of smoking crack and drinking. Jeanna Rosing, 27, who was present at Jacobson's residence that evening, told police he had been in his room for a while when she found him unconscious sitting on the top of his toilet with his head leaning back against the wall and his eyes rolling back, according to police records.

Paramedics from the Hebron-Alden-Greenwood Fire Protection District took him to Mercy Harvard Hospital, where documents show he was released later that morning.

This is not Jacobson's first interaction with law enforcement. He previously faced drug charges during his 2013 campaign after police said they found crack cocaine in his vehicle during a traffic stop. He pleaded guilty to amended misdemeanor charges after the election and remained in office.

Falkoff said this statute provides limited immunity from prosecution for possession of a controlled substance crimes based upon the amount of the drug. In order for it to apply, the amount must be less than three grams.

Facchini argued in his motion that upon information and belief, the suspected cocaine does weigh less than three grams.

“If police only know about the cocaine because someone else called them because he overdosed, then he can’t be convicted of that crime,” Falkoff said.

Because it is a fairly new law, Falkoff said, prosecutors and defense attorneys alike need to keep in mind that there may not be much, if any, legal precedent on the issue.

Jeffrey Urdangen, a clinical professor of law at Northwestern University School of Law, where he also directs the Center for Criminal Defense, said he believes the judge presiding over the case is going to have to look very closely at this.

He said whenever there is a motion to dismiss, judges need consider what the relevant law is and whether the facts, as they are presented, fit into what the law requires.

“It seems to me that this is a pretty good argument that the case should be dismissed,” Urdangen said.

Jacobson will next appear in court before Judge Michael Feetterer July 14.