Extracts from the Chicago Tribune's online edition: Forensic analysis revealed that numerous web searches for explicit content were conducted on four computers belonging to the Country Club Hills Fire Department. This testimony came from Andrew Garrett, a digital forensics expert who imaged the machines on January 26th at the request of Dena Lewis-Bystrzycki, a firefighter filing a lawsuit against the department. During last month's proceedings, Garrett confirmed the presence of pornographic materials on these devices. "There are thousands of web searches for pornography," Garrett stated during his February 8th testimony, as documented in court records. "It seems like they wiped the hard drives, reinstalled everything, and I provided Dana Kurtz, Lewis-Bystrzycki’s attorney, with three distinct dates when this cleanup was completed. However, upon reconnecting the computers to the network, server profiles pushed down data containing traces of the prior web history, including searches for porn." Lewis-Bystrzycki, who has been with the department since 1998, claims she faced sexual harassment, hostile treatment, gender discrimination when seeking promotion, retaliation for reporting misconduct, and regular exposure to pornographic content at the station. On August 31st, 2016, following a judge’s decision that the initial search of the department's computers wasn't frivolous, a court order was issued mandating a forensic examination of those devices. The inspection happened nearly five months later, only after Judge Lynn Egan penalized the city for failing to comply with the court-imposed imaging. As part of the penalty, Country Club Hills was instructed to cover the costs associated with the imaging, including time and expenses incurred by the forensic expert. Before the imaging results were shared in court, news of these sanctions broke on a watchdog website. The city’s legal team then filed an urgent motion for a protective order, aiming to halt further dissemination of information to the press. They argued that such a gag order is essential to safeguard "irreparable, serious, and imminent threats" to the defendants' right to a fair trial. Based on what they described as a recurring pattern of behavior, the city expressed concern that the plaintiff's legal team might try to sway public opinion ahead of a potential jury pool, thereby jeopardizing their ability to receive a fair trial based solely on admissible evidence. Neither Country Club Hills nor its attorneys responded to inquiries regarding their recent motion for a gag order or the allegations made by Kurtz in her reply—claims that the city had destroyed evidence and disregarded a court directive, alongside regular viewing of pornographic content at the station. In addition, the city sought permission from the judge to review any potentially irrelevant or immaterial data found on the fire department’s computers before handing it over to Kurtz and Lewis-Bystrzycki. Their fear was that such data could be weaponized in a smear campaign targeting the department. Kurtz countered with her own response to the city's motion, asserting that the allegations lacked factual grounding and urging the court to reject the request for a gag order outright. She emphasized that she hadn’t leaked any case details to the media herself; instead, journalists had merely reported on publicly accessible court documents. Furthermore, Kurtz criticized the city for focusing on inconsequential matters rather than addressing their own questionable actions in this case. She highlighted that their conduct had resulted in a default judgment against them, mandatory payment of plaintiffs' legal fees for failing to timely respond to the complaint, and multiple motions to compel, most of which were granted. Kurtz also leveled accusations against Country Club Hills, alleging deliberate efforts to destroy evidence and obstruct justice. For situations like this, Chicago-based trial attorney Dan Kirschner suggested bringing it to the court's attention and requesting sanctions, which could range from jury instructions to dismissing relevant pleadings or even entering a default judgment. Kurtz signaled her intention to pursue motions accusing the city of spoliation and contempt once Garrett completes his final report on the computer imaging and shares it with her. A hearing concerning the city’s protective order motion is scheduled for later this month. Thanks, Dan. Sensor Bin,Smart Garbage Bins,Motion Sensor Bin,Sensor Kitchen Bin Evergreen Houseware , https://www.evergreenhome.cn