'She's trying to make her way': Finley in court for first time after making bond

Peggy Jill Finley on Wednesday made her first appearance in Sangamon County court since bonding out of jail where she had been held on first-degree murder charges.

Wearing a long sleeve white top and black pants and black shoes, Finley arrived well before the 1:30 p.m. hearing before Circuit Judge Robin Schmidt. Finley was seated at the defense table between her attorneys, W. Scott Hanken and Mark Wykoff.

"She's trying to get back as best she can to some sense of normalcy," said Hanken of Finley. "She's trying to make the best of a very bad situation and as each day goes by, she's trying to make her way."

Appellate Court ruling favors defendant in Moore murder case; Finley released on bond

Finley had been jailed, along with her co-defendant, Peter J. Cadigan of Springfield, since early January after Sangamon County State's Attorney Dan Wright filed charges against the former emergency medical services workers at LifeStar Ambulance Service, Inc.

Finley and Cadigan responded to Earl L. Moore Jr.'s North 11th Street home after being summoned by Springfield Police early on the morning of Dec. 18. The state has alleged that Moore was strapped tightly to a gurney and had his face slammed into the prone position, which is how he was transported to HSHS St. John's Hospital.

Moore died of compression and positional asphyxiation, according to a forensic pathologist.

Bonds in both their cases were set at $1 million.

But on June 16 a three-judge panel from the Fourth District Appellate Court ruled Finley's bond should be reduced to $600,000, an amount Finley's attorneys had sought for her in previous motions denied by the circuit court.

The ruling paved the way for Finley's family, friends and acquaintances to post $60,000, or 10% of the bond, to have her released that same day.

The Illinois Supreme Court is still considering a Petition for Leave to Appeal filed by the Illinois Attorney General's office seeking to reverse the ruling.

"This court should grant leave to appeal because the appellate court improperly shifted the burden of proof onto the People," the petition read. "Accordingly, this Court should allow leave to appeal to clarify the proper burden of proof for bond reviews at the appellate level and reverse the appellate court's judgment."

In late June, the state's petition for a rehearing of the issue was denied by the appellate court, sparking the Leave of Appeal.

Schmidt had previously denied Finley's motions for bond reduction, noting there was an "inherent risk" that neither Finley nor Cadigan would appear at future court dates.

Hanken had argued that the previous bond amount was "oppressive" and "unconstitutional" and that Finley, should be let out on a recognizance bond or have her bond substantially reduced.

Hanken viewed the Attorney General's Leave to Appeal as a bit of a Hail Mary.

"If you have unlimited resources like the state does, you can file those motions, whether you have any opportunity to prevail or not," said Hanken after Wednesday's hearing.

Cadigan's attorney, Justin Kuehn of Belleville, said Cadigan would need "a more significant reduction" in bond than what Finley received because of his family's finances.

On the matter of Cadigan's plea for indigency, Schmidt told Kuehn there wasn't enough information to make a ruling on the matter.

Kuehn noted in the hearing that the State was going to be relying on expert testimony and the defense didn't have the funds to secure its own experts. Kuehn said he wanted an "in camera" hearing with Schmidt to go over some funds Cadigan would need to proceed.

Schmidt noted that the motion sounded "like a fishing expedition" and said that Kuehn should "cite authority with more detailed information."

Hanken said he filed a petition for indigency for his client, "but we didn't call it up for hearing today because we haven't engaged or got to that point with (experts). We're still going through all the discovery. That (issue) will probably come down the road."

The next hearing in the case was set for Sept. 18.

Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788; sspearie@sj-r.com; twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Murder defendant Peggy Finley was in Sangamon County court Wednesday