Chicago City Wire

The head of Kim Foxx’s Conviction Review Unit (CRU), Michelle Mbekeani, should be placed on her boss' do-not-call witness list for lying to a judge, according to prominent Chicago defense attorney Tim Grace.

The do-not-call list, Grace explained in an interview with Chicago City Wire, is grounded in a 1972 U.S. Supreme Court case, Giglio v. United States, that requires prosecutors to reveal if the credibility of a witness has been called into question by a judge in a previous case.

“Giglio is a good ruling," Grace said. "It is a great check valve for the system to keep all witnesses honest, but it’s one that Foxx has expanded and weaponized to destroy the careers of police officers over a lot less than what Mbekeani has done. She should be Giglioed if ever called as a witness.”

In January, Cook County Judge Michael McHale banned Mbekeani from his courtroom for not disclosing the nature of a business she operates on the side. The business connects inmates claiming innocence with defense attorneys, and it’s one that a former assistant prosecutor called a “sickening conflict of interest.”

In contrast, even police officers cleared of misconduct have made Foxx’s list, Grace said.

“I’ve won cases before the Police Board (civilian disciplinary board), and yet the officer in question still makes Foxx’s list only because of allegations that were proven not to be true,” Grace said. “It makes it nearly impossible for the officer to do his job if he can’t be called as a material witness.”

“By doing this, Foxx has taken Giglio to a whole new level,” he added.

Judge McHale called out Mbekeani for her role as Founder/CEO of Periodsetence.com. Mbekeani was effectively working both sides of the legal system, McHale said.

“A Prosecutor takes an oath to be an advocate of the victims of crimes, and families of the victims of crime,” the judge said during a January 8 hearing. “Our criminal courts work as an adversarial system. We have defense attorneys representing the accused on one side, and we're supposed to have a prosecutor representing the People on the other. When those roles become entangled and blurred, as they most certainly were in this case, the public loses trust and confidence in our criminal justice system. It creates an appearance that something unethical is occurring.”

Judge McHale barred Mbekeani from his courtroom on the case, and all future cases.

After Chicago City Wire first reported on Mbekeani’s business on December 7, Periodsentence.com restricted public access on the website.

Foxx’s office did not respond to repeated requests for comment by Chicago City Wire.