A Kane County judge said Friday that he wants to read the official transcript from an earlier ruling before reconsidering his decision to admit as evidence the confession of an Aurora teenager accused of setting the December fire that destroyed Aurora’s 100-year-old Sacred Heart Church.
The judge also said he wants to review what importance he gave to police testimony.
“I think I know what I said, but I’d like to see it in print,” said Judge Barry Puklin of his Feb. 1 ruling. “Because that is what the review court will look at.”
The judge acted after defense attorney David Camic filed a motion asking him to reconsider his ruling. Camic said at least one investigator lied about whether the teen had received an adequate explanation of his Miranda rights before his confession. Two investigators were present during the confession.
In arguing against the motion, prosecutor Jim Walsh said he believed that the judge based his Feb. 1 ruling on the confession on testimony of a psychiatrist rather than that of the two investigators.
After that ruling, the teen pleaded guilty to criminal damage to property as part of a plea arrangement.
Puklin said Friday that if one of the law enforcement officers’ testimony “that he didn’t remember events was a part of my ruling, then that would override or cut into the ruling enough to give the defense another hearing on the motion to suppress the confession.”
Camic later said that if Puklin decides to stick to his earlier ruling, then the two sides would return to the plea arrangement.
