Beth Ritchie is guilty of stupidity at the least (for being too cheap to hire an attorney) and aggravated ignorance at the most (for trying to argue with the judge).
Look at the timeline in the article:
The Ritchies got married in 2002 and divorced last year.
That makes the year of the divorce 2004. Obviously the pistol as granted to the husband as part of the marital settlement agreement then. However;
Beth Ritchie said she did not know of her husband's felony convictions until she opened a letter in 2003 from the Illinois State Police declining Tim Ritchie's request for a Firearm Owner's Identification Card.
A year before the divorce, Beth Ritchie knew her husband was a prohibited person and allegedly did this;
Beth Ritchie said that, without her husband's knowledge, she had asked her father, Richard Swift, of Grafton, to take the pistol out of the couple's house in 2003.
So, I have to ask; If Beth Ritchie knew her husband was a prohibited person in 2003 and was:
"I was worried about Tim having the gun there, that it was illegal and could get us both in trouble," she said
Why wasn't the issue of Tim Ritchie being a prohibited person addressed when the property was divided in the original court action? She admits that she knew Tim Ritchie was a convicted felon and prohibited from possessing firearms in 2004 when the divorce was filed. One could assume that maybe she was just banking on the fact that the court would look at Tim Ritchie's felony conviction and say she could keep the pistol (which she had already transferred to her father). Even though Tim Ritchie is a convicted felon and couldn't personally possess the pistol, he still could have exercised control over it's disposition as it was awarded to him in the original divorce settlement.
It's not very smart to go to court on a hearing where you have to show cause as to why you didn't comply with the original court order represented by your father (unless your father is an attorney).
You have to know how business is conducted. Perhaps if she had hired an attorney to represent her and file a motion asking that the contempt charge (for violating the original court order awarding Tim Ritchie the pistol), be dismissed and proposing that she either pay Tim Ritchie the value of the pistol or transfer the pistol to someone Tim Ritchie designated who had a valid FOID card and could legally possess the pistol. Instead of:
Beth Ritchie said she had mailed certified letters a month before Thursday's hearing to three court officials - Associate Judge Nelson Metz, State's Attorney Bill Mudge and Circuit Clerk Matt Melucci - informing them of the legal dilemma over the pistol. She said she followed the letters up with calls but never heard back from the officials.
Her plea may actually have been part of the case before they ever got to court.
As for the contempt of court that allegedly caused Beth Ritchie to be jailed, since there is no court reporter and no transcript, it's her and her father's word against the judges. Circuit judges are appointed, then stand election to be retained in their jobs. Perhaps the poeple of Madison County should remember this....
Once again the old adage that says something about the person who acts as their own attorney has a fool for a client is proven...
308 Win;
The county seat of Madison County is in Edwardsville. East St Louis is in St Clair County, one county to the South.
Jeff
