After a two-day bench trial last week, two victims of an alleged gay bashing at the hands of bouncers at the Liar's Club bar will have to wait until Oct. 5 to find out the fate of charges against them.
The prosecution and defense have both rested in the case, but the state has asked for more time to prepare its closing arguments, said Andy Thayer of the Chicago Anti-Bashing Network.
"Aside from not getting a verdict today, it was a slam dunk," Thayer said Friday, adding "the state was blown out of the water."
The misdemeanor charges against Kurt Schneider and Chad Edwards stem from a Jan. 23 incident at the Liar's Club, 1665 W. Fullerton, involving the two men and Edwards' transsexual partner, Diane, who has previously been identified in press reports as Maria.
Schneider and Edwards claim bouncers forcefully removed them from the club after they asked for their cover charge back and yelled anti-gay epithets at them in the process. Edwards was treated at Grant Hospital for cuts and bruises he received.
"It's really to the credit of Kurt and Chad that they decided to fight this thing," Thayer said, noting that the two refused a deal offered by the state earlier this year. "There's an element of principle involved here."
Thayer and several members of CABN sat in on both days of the trial Sept. 21 and 22 before Judge Mark J. Ballard.
Thayer said it appeared that the state was hurt by inconsistencies in its witnesses' testimony. He said two police officers gave conflicting accounts in court Friday about Schneider and Edwards wanting to file charges against the Liar's Club. One officer said the men didn't want to file charges; the other said the men did seek charges but were turned down because the police had already decided that they were the ones to be charged.
Schneider and Edwards have maintained that they called 911 twice the night of the attack with the intention of filing charges.
Thayer said the state is also relying on reports that it was Diane, not the bouncers, who injured Edwards.
"The police report really trapped them in a very weird story," Thayer said, adding that the document has the 5'4"-inch Diane beating the 6'-tall Edwards.
"If this case is decided on the facts, we're going to see an innocent verdict," he added.