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Firm Attorneys Win Appeal for Cook County Sheriff Upholding Officer’s Termination for Excess Force During Arrest

Serving as Special Assistant Cook County State's Attorneys, Stephanie Scharf and George Sax represented the Cook County Sheriff in a successful case before the Illinois Appellate Court, resulting in the appellate decision, Vargas v. Dart, 2021 IL App (1st) 200036-U, attached here.  The Appellate Court affirmed the disciplinary termination of the plaintiff, a former Sheriff's correctional officer who was found to have used excessive force during an arrest at the County Jail.  The Appellate Court found that the plaintiff used unnecessary force while the arrestee was restrained by four other officers, and did so again after the arrestee was fully handcuffed.   The Appellate Court also rejected as "untimely" the plaintiff's legal challenges to the composition of the administrative agency that disciplined the plaintiff, because he waited "more than a year" after being disciplined to challenge the agency's authority.  

Since September 2017, the Firm's attorneys have represented Cook County or the Sheriff in more than 32 employment-related lawsuits, resulting in (to date) 11 appellate decisions in state and federal court.  The firm has prevailed in the majority of its appeals.