"YOU DON'T KNOW WHO I AM -- MY DAD IS THE STATE'S ATTORNEY OF MINNESOTA."
This is my favorate quote: "you don't know who I am -- my dad is the state's attorney of Minnesota."
A trial of 2 tales emerging in Hatch sisters' case
CHICAGO -- A tape recording of Elizabeth Hatch's reedy, clearly terrified voice echoed through a tiny courtroom Wednesday morning: "I didn't do anything! What did I do to you? I'm asking you why are you arresting me? WHY ARE YOU ARRESTING ME?"
The trial now underway in Cook County Misdemeanor Court will determine the answers to those questions, captured by a stranger on his cell phone about 3 a.m. on March 27, 2004, when Elizabeth Hatch and her sister, Anne, were arrested and charged with three misdemeanors each after scuffling with police outside a trendy nightclub on Chicago's Near North Side.
The Cook County prosecutor and the Hatches' defense attorneys painted contradictory, broad outlines of their approaches to the case Wednesday during the opening day of the trial, which is being held before a judge, rather than a jury.
Although the "Hatch girls," as they have been dubbed, have waived their right to a jury trial, the jury box was filled -- by a dozen journalists drawn by the novelty of a case in a court that almost never conducts full-blown trials.
Another reason for the intense media attention: The defendants' father is Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch, one of the state's most prominent DFLers and a presumptive candidate for governor next year. Hatch was there, but stayed in the hall outside the courtroom all day Wednesday because he may be called as a witness.
Boiled to its essence, the trial appears likely to lay out these scenarios, based on the testimony of the first four prosecution witnesses, all employees of the Crobar Club, where the incident occurred:
The Hatches were loud, obnoxious, arrogant, obviously drunken patrons of a club that had just shown them the door. They then profanely and repeatedly attacked the police officers who politely told them to call it a night.
Or: They had been kicked out of a club on a cold winter night, without their coats or purses, manhandled by the police for no discernible reason and then, when their high media profiles were discovered, vilified from behind the thin blue line of officer solidarity erected when police are accused of misconduct.
Right after the arrests, the Hatches' mother filed a complaint against the arresting officers, alleging mistreatment, which she later dropped.
Anne Hatch, 22, and Elizabeth Hatch, 23, each face misdemeanor charges of resisting a peace officer, simple battery and criminal damage to property or a vehicle.
On Wednesday, they spent the day in court alternately scribbling on legal pads and tightly grasping each other's hand after enduring the gantlet of TV cameras that greeted them when they arrived at the courthouse.
Four prosecution witnesses, all employees of the Crobar Club, created a portrait of screaming, foul-mouthed, imperious young women who flaunted their relationship with their famous father.
"Do you know who I am?" security guard Steve Torres testified that Elizabeth Hatch demanded of him. "No, I don't," he said. "You don't know who I am -- my dad is the state's attorney of Minnesota."
He hustled her outside the club, where retired Chicago police officer and current Crobar guard Don Farrell watched as, he said, both Hatches lit into two passing Chicago officers he had waved over.
"These were two women who were obviously drunk and I knew they were getting out of hand," he said. "I called the squad over because if they were the attorney general's daughters, I figured they'd respect law enforcement."
Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Lindsay Malitz said the Hatch sisters were "celebrating by drinking, then drank some more. In the early morning hours, they lost control."
Defense attorney Tom Breen, who represents Elizabeth Hatch, said the allegations "were, quite simply, concocted to cover the backsides of certain people."
Lawyer Cynthia Giacchetti, representing Anne Hatch, said her client "got arrested for nothing at first. Were they scared? Yeah. We're they excited? Yeah. Did they yell? Yeah. No one was on their best behavior that morning, but crimes were not committed." Source: Star Tribune, June 9, 2005
A trial of 2 tales emerging in Hatch sisters' case
CHICAGO -- A tape recording of Elizabeth Hatch's reedy, clearly terrified voice echoed through a tiny courtroom Wednesday morning: "I didn't do anything! What did I do to you? I'm asking you why are you arresting me? WHY ARE YOU ARRESTING ME?"
The trial now underway in Cook County Misdemeanor Court will determine the answers to those questions, captured by a stranger on his cell phone about 3 a.m. on March 27, 2004, when Elizabeth Hatch and her sister, Anne, were arrested and charged with three misdemeanors each after scuffling with police outside a trendy nightclub on Chicago's Near North Side.
The Cook County prosecutor and the Hatches' defense attorneys painted contradictory, broad outlines of their approaches to the case Wednesday during the opening day of the trial, which is being held before a judge, rather than a jury.
Although the "Hatch girls," as they have been dubbed, have waived their right to a jury trial, the jury box was filled -- by a dozen journalists drawn by the novelty of a case in a court that almost never conducts full-blown trials.
Another reason for the intense media attention: The defendants' father is Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch, one of the state's most prominent DFLers and a presumptive candidate for governor next year. Hatch was there, but stayed in the hall outside the courtroom all day Wednesday because he may be called as a witness.
Boiled to its essence, the trial appears likely to lay out these scenarios, based on the testimony of the first four prosecution witnesses, all employees of the Crobar Club, where the incident occurred:
The Hatches were loud, obnoxious, arrogant, obviously drunken patrons of a club that had just shown them the door. They then profanely and repeatedly attacked the police officers who politely told them to call it a night.
Or: They had been kicked out of a club on a cold winter night, without their coats or purses, manhandled by the police for no discernible reason and then, when their high media profiles were discovered, vilified from behind the thin blue line of officer solidarity erected when police are accused of misconduct.
Right after the arrests, the Hatches' mother filed a complaint against the arresting officers, alleging mistreatment, which she later dropped.
Anne Hatch, 22, and Elizabeth Hatch, 23, each face misdemeanor charges of resisting a peace officer, simple battery and criminal damage to property or a vehicle.
On Wednesday, they spent the day in court alternately scribbling on legal pads and tightly grasping each other's hand after enduring the gantlet of TV cameras that greeted them when they arrived at the courthouse.
Four prosecution witnesses, all employees of the Crobar Club, created a portrait of screaming, foul-mouthed, imperious young women who flaunted their relationship with their famous father.
"Do you know who I am?" security guard Steve Torres testified that Elizabeth Hatch demanded of him. "No, I don't," he said. "You don't know who I am -- my dad is the state's attorney of Minnesota."
He hustled her outside the club, where retired Chicago police officer and current Crobar guard Don Farrell watched as, he said, both Hatches lit into two passing Chicago officers he had waved over.
"These were two women who were obviously drunk and I knew they were getting out of hand," he said. "I called the squad over because if they were the attorney general's daughters, I figured they'd respect law enforcement."
Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Lindsay Malitz said the Hatch sisters were "celebrating by drinking, then drank some more. In the early morning hours, they lost control."
Defense attorney Tom Breen, who represents Elizabeth Hatch, said the allegations "were, quite simply, concocted to cover the backsides of certain people."
Lawyer Cynthia Giacchetti, representing Anne Hatch, said her client "got arrested for nothing at first. Were they scared? Yeah. We're they excited? Yeah. Did they yell? Yeah. No one was on their best behavior that morning, but crimes were not committed." Source: Star Tribune, June 9, 2005
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