Appeals Court judges have ruled there is no easy out for McLean County in an insurance dispute over legal fees in the Alan Beaman case.
Beaman had sued the county for malicious prosecution after the State Supreme Court overturned his murder conviction.
The County says its insurance company should bear the $500,000 legal defense cost under a personal injury policy. The insurer says the policy was not in effect when Beaman was arrested in the 1990s.
The appeals court says the county's position that the injury happened only after the case was overturned ignores common sense. The case goes back to circuit court.