Pantagraph.com | News | County clerk files suit against state's attorney over legal fees

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

normalperson wrote on Sep 18, 2008 8:20 PM:

" Interesting-My comment was not posted either-Is it the Pegagraph?
She has her own attorney-that is who she should ask-not the States Attorney-Just casue you ask does not mean he has to respond. If I email him a question and he does not answer dows that mean I get off the charge? Peggy needs to quit whining and do the job she was elected to do-not all this other stuff. "

Gov't oppressed Mule wrote on Sep 18, 2008 4:08 PM:

" IMACYNIC2

No one else is in public office. If this had been criminal charges, not related to her job then they would not be reimbursed. HOWEVER she was accused (falsely according to a juror) of breaking laws while working. So as an elected official the States Attorney is supposed to act as her representation (much like the SF legal dept handles any misconduct accusations of it's executives-as all big business' do). Peggy had to hire private attorney's since Bill stepped down do to conflict of interest. had he not had to step down on this case she would have not spent a dime out of pocket. She is only trying to recoup that which was taken from her unjustly. "

bushIQis6 wrote on Sep 18, 2008 4:01 PM:

" 41617: I think you mean "ulterior" motives........ "

CSI1969 wrote on Sep 18, 2008 2:44 PM:

" To 41617: I too worked in that office. Obviously I was working and your head was somewhere else because what I know and what you state are complete opposites. Also, as far a Ms. Cowan filing her claim I hope the Labor Board gets her on filing a false claim. Previous employees know about her schedule. "

imacynic2 wrote on Sep 18, 2008 2:19 PM:

" She should be glad she wasn't convicted. No one else gets their legal fees paid. "

isunormalil wrote on Sep 18, 2008 1:52 PM:

" Good idea, if Peggy is awarded the money...Yoda should forfeit one year of salary. "

isunormalil wrote on Sep 18, 2008 1:48 PM:

" Yoder is obviously corrupt. Why is this clown in office? Another brite move the genius voting in this county. "

tim50 wrote on Sep 18, 2008 1:45 PM:

" I dont believe there was a witch hunt here. Ms. Milton did these things the jury just didnt believe she broke any laws. She hired a private attorney she should pay the bill out of her pocket not with taxpayers money. Act like a real woman resign now! "

Wooden Spoon wrote on Sep 18, 2008 1:23 PM:

" I couldn't be more happier when reading this article. Yoder is an incompetent dweeb and frustrates me beyond belief everything I hear his name. Sue his butt off and go to the Bahamas on the proceeds. I'll drink to that (and you)!!! "

41617 wrote on Sep 18, 2008 12:51 PM:

" To bushIQis6; No you see I DO know what I am talking about. You aren't getting the picture. You need to read between the lines. I am fully aware of who she asked and who are agents of who...I worked in that office and know how things worked there. My POINT that you didn't seem to GET is she deals with her go to Ass't States Attrny DAILY and she could have had the response to her question that day if she had gone to him as she does DAILY, so I question why not use the person you have a relationship with and who decides all of the other legal avenues for you?? I can only assume alternative motives!!!!!!! "

bushIQis6 wrote on Sep 18, 2008 12:03 PM:

" 41617: Clearly, you know not of what you speak. She asked the State's attorney the question about reimbursement, not his assistant. Even if she did ask an assistant state's attorney, that person should have responded within the time frame. The assistant state's attorneys are agents of the State's attorney although in this case, it doesn't matter since she asked Yoder, not his minions. "

41617 wrote on Sep 18, 2008 11:40 AM:

" Give me a BREAK. this woman has to be STOPPED. Reimbursement of her legal fees must not happen! In light of the newest Peggy Ann Milton drama, and her not paying her employees for hours worked and she has the nerve to ask for $43,000, she has to be out of her mind! Since when does she seek her advice from Mr Yoder, everything I have seen written concerning her advice it was from the Assistant States Attorney she deals with on a daily office for her Elected position, why didn't she ask him...use your imagination my guess they wouldn't print last time I tried "

Gov't oppressed Mule wrote on Sep 18, 2008 11:30 AM:

" WAY TO GO PEGGY! We NEED YODER out!!!! He is incompetent (allegedly) uncaring about the citizens safety (allegedly) and can't do his job, so he offers everyone plea agreements and lets them walk. Time for Yoder to GO! "

growingup 70's wrote on Sep 18, 2008 10:53 AM:

" Peanut gallery: here is how I look at it: Peggy was represented privately and sought advice from Yoder after her acquittal on how to recoup her life savings. At that point, he did NOT have a conflict of interest because her request was in reference to atty fees, not her criminal case. since he is still the county attorney, he should have the duty to tell her about the 30 days. Maybe the private attorney holds some blame, but Yoder would have to seek contribution from him. It's also not clear whether Peggy asked her criminal attorney for advice on this issue or not. "

Reason wrote on Sep 18, 2008 10:20 AM:

" This resulted from charges incurred in the performance of her public duties. Charges that she was aquitted of. Are we going to allow political parties to bankrupt their opponents through frivolous charges in the courts? Find a way to reimburse her. "

The Peanut Gallery wrote on Sep 18, 2008 9:26 AM:

" to growingup 70's who wrote on Sep 18, 2008 8:37 AM:

" most people have to pay for their own attorney fees but in this case she is a county public official and therefore is represented by Yoder unless he has a conflict. He had a minimum duty to tell her about the 30 days. ... That's it. Why wasn't this done? "

I disagree. When Yoder told Milton that he couldn't defend her [because he was a prosecutor], that ended whatever attorney-client relationship she contemplated. She then hired private counsel to represent her, and he won her an acquittal. She CLEARLY had the right to expect competent advice from HIM. Why didn't HE advise her about the 30-day limitation? I don't think that Yoder is, in any way, liable here. "

candy wrote on Sep 18, 2008 9:22 AM:

" Go Peggy!! "

greed wrote on Sep 18, 2008 9:19 AM:

" This was a witchhunt against Peggy from the beginning. I hope she wins. I would be even more pleased to see Yoder cough up the cash from his own pocket. Go Peggy! Yoder is the worst DA in recent history. "

McLeaner wrote on Sep 18, 2008 9:04 AM:

" Her attorney fees should only be paid for her criminal defense if she was acting strictly within the scope of her duties as a county official, and she was solely charged in her capacity as a public official.

If she was acting as a private person, including a private person trying to get re-elected to an official post, she's gotta pay out of her own pocket. Only if she thinks she can establish the public duty component can she recover dime one. If not, there is no $ loss to herself in Yoder's failure to give her timely legal advice.

But either way, Yoder failed to give accurate legal advice to a County officer (one of his core duties) and as such, has once again demonstrated he lacks the judgment and competence to hold his office. "

nicksmynick wrote on Sep 18, 2008 8:41 AM:

" Defending yourself properly over a $300 theft charge costs $43,000?

And no one thinks there is a problem in the legal system?

Everyone thinks Mitsubishi workers are overpaid? Who is going to pay these lawyers when no one has a job that pays over $7.25 an hour? "

growingup 70's wrote on Sep 18, 2008 8:37 AM:

" most people have to pay for their own attorney fees but in this case she is a county public official and therefore is represented by Yoder unless he has a conflict. He had a minimum duty to tell her about the 30 days. It takes 10 seconds to tell her that. Really. "You have 30 days from the date of judgment to file a motion to retain the court's jurisdiction". That's it. Why wasn't this done? "

Zeva wrote on Sep 18, 2008 8:21 AM:

" If Yoder had not charged her from the allegations then everyone would have said he was not doing his job, he did and now they still aren't happy. I wouldn't give this woman one thin dime. Your not the first to have legal fees and you won't be the last so pay them and get on with life. "

whatever! wrote on Sep 18, 2008 7:45 AM:

" Ridiculous. Vote this clown out of office. Political Witch hunt??? HA! Hardly. Typical gop talking points. Thanks Buckeye for your reliable party line tow, they appreciate you bringing them their spit buckets. "

ugly angel wrote on Sep 18, 2008 7:36 AM:

" Maybe someone, ANYBODY can explain to me why this woman is entitled to re-coup her legal fees...(IF SHE IS IN FACT)
What a system??!! We need to take a serious look @ how our COUNTY government is being ruined!!!
We won't even address the Country issues until after this dreaded election ..The lesser of 2 evils.... "

Kevin wrote on Sep 18, 2008 6:59 AM:

" my comment wasn't posted yesterday so i can say is the pantagraph must be her supporter. all i said is why shouldn't she have to pay her legal fees when everyone else does. we the people just don't happen to hold office "

BigBrother wrote on Sep 17, 2008 10:19 PM:

" Don't waste the time and effort on this looser. Reimburse her the 43K and call it a day. This 43K bill will double while everyone plays the blame game. In the end she should have had input from Yoder. She requested it and he ignored her! She hasrecourse to be reimbursed her attorney fees. This entire episode has cost the tax payers well over 100K already. Over 300 dollars worth of stamps! Lets get back to reality. "

just a thought 2 wrote on Sep 17, 2008 9:34 PM:

" how can we pay off the judi dome now? "

alexp wrote on Sep 17, 2008 9:22 PM:

" More Republican foolishness in our McLean county legal system. Next thing you know he'll want a nice retirement package.

As for the woman going for the money good for her. Perhaps this will stop frivolous lawsuits by the Republican government that is already squandering money we don't have anymore in this economy. "

Old Biker wrote on Sep 17, 2008 8:11 PM:

" Maybe this guy "Bloomington man acquitted in fatal '07 crash east of Hudson" should sue someone for reimbursement. No? You're right. Peggy get a clue. This is how it works. Well...for the commoner it works this way. Maybe not for "publicans". They're specialer than the rest of us. "

Grandma of Two wrote on Sep 17, 2008 8:10 PM:

" Maybe she should have asked the attorney she paid the $43,000. Seems he may have been willing to share this information at no fee. "

albundy54 wrote on Sep 17, 2008 7:27 PM:

" I am no fan of Bill Yoder but I hope he cleans Peggys' clock on this one. I don't know of anyone citizen who would have the nerve to file a suit against a states attorney for reimbursement of legal services. What would she of done if she had been found guilty? This is the type of elitism our so called leaders have ordained themselves into. She deserves nothing, she is lucky to have a job. "

jorge bush's teechr wrote on Sep 17, 2008 6:20 PM:

" Yoder either didn't know about the 30 day deadline, didn't know that he represented Milton or just didn't return a phone call. My bet is that he just didn't call her because he never returns calls. the article makes it sound like Yoder is the only one being sued. will the county be on the hook? "

buckeye wrote on Sep 17, 2008 5:12 PM:

" Pay this woman , she has suffered enough with this political witchunt . Punitve damages are approprate also. "

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