FEMALE VOICE: From the basketball court to the courtroom, several high-profile cases made headlines this week. In Lake County, a Zion man is in jail for killing his daughter and her best friend. But he may be exonerated through DNA. In Will County, the Drew Peterson trial was put on hold while prosecutors pursue and appeal. And then in Chicago, there's the Blago saga, where it's something new everyday. Alright, joining us now to just sort of break all this down is our buddy defense attorney Tom Glasgow. So let's start with Jerry Hobbs. He's the guy who was accused--he's the father in Illinois--

THOMAS GLASGOW: Right.

FEMALE VOICE: --in Zion, Illinois, up in Lake County, who has been in jail for five years, accused of killing his daughter and her friend. Now we know the DNA from the daughter matched a guy in Virginia. So why is it--and why is it that he is still in jail? What's up with that, especially since the prosecution found out two years ago that at least it didn't match him?

THOMAS GLASGOW: Because first of all, he confessed to the crime. And a confession for most people, jurors and judges alike, is an extremely powerful thing. You end up having a person who confesses to a crime confessing to something that they--that is absolutely against their interests, that they committed this heinous crime. And you have to take that into consideration as both a prosecutor and a judge as to whether or not to release someone.

FEMALE VOICE: But two years--DNA evidence that you know didn't match for two years, that's pretty strong as well. People now are thinking forensically because of all these shows if nothing else.

THOMAS GLASGOW: Correct. And what we have here in Illinois is since we've started the exonerations--and everyone knows about the exonerations from death row if someone didn't commit a certain crime. However, because he confessed to the crime and the DNA is not his, it doesn't exclude the fact that he acted in concert with someone else. And that's probably what the state's attorney is investigating right now to determine if he acted alone or if he acted with others. If the evidence shows that he acted alone, clearly, it was not him.

FEMALE VOICE: Okay. Alright, well, let's move onto Drew Peterson.

THOMAS GLASGOW: Okay.

FEMALE VOICE: Always love to talk about Drew Peterson. We thought he might get out of jail when the prosecution asked to appeal a hearsay ruling. But the judge said, no, you're not getting out of jail. But explain to us how he could've perhaps gotten out.

THOMAS GLASGOW: Well, he could've gotten out. Under Supreme Court Rule 604, if a person is on trial and the state appeals a decision by the court, then the person shall not be held in custody, shall not be held on bond absent compelling circumstances. Judge White in his ruling found compelling circumstances but did not elaborate on those compelling circumstances.

FEMALE VOICE: The fact that the Will County prosecutor is going for this appeal, does that say anything about their case do you think?
THOMAS GLASGOW: It means to me that the state has filed a certificate of impairment saying we can't proceed any further without the evidence that we're appealing. And it does put a great deal of stress on their case to show why there was some sort of finding beyond a reasonable doubt with only this hearsay evidence. And it's very troubling because you don't have any direct evidence. You don't have any fingerprints, no DNA, no statements, you know, no eye witnesses.

FEMALE VOICE: This is it really. This is the crux.

THOMAS GLASGOW: You have hearsay evidence. And you as a jury, you have to sit back and think. Are you willing to convict somebody based on hearsay evidence that you can't cross examine?

FEMALE VOICE: Right. We shall see on that one. Now onto our former Governor Rod Blagojevich, these tapes that were played in court paint a pretty interesting picture of him. Let's listen to one of the installments from just this past week.

MALE VOICE: I [beeping] busted my ass and pissed people off. And I gave your grandmother a free [beeping] ride on the bus. Okay? I gave your [beeping] baby a chance to have healthcare. And what do I get for that? Only 13 percent of you all out there think I'm doing a good job. So [beeping] all of you.

FEMALE VOICE: Ouch. How damaging is that kind of evidence? Or is it just kind of titillating and sensational?

THOMAS GLASGOW: Well, obviously, it's going to offend the jury. And but during the course of this, we've heard several expletives that have come out of the mouths of not only the Governor but various people surrounding him.

FEMALE VOICE: Mm-hmm.

THOMAS GLASGOW: It's more I think aggravating for the Governor. I don't know whether or not it's going to put them over the top. But to surmise as to whether or not these sort of tapes, a particular tape is going to, you know, somehow let the jury or put the jury over the edge, we'll find that out when they end up ruling, when they end up coming to their verdict.

FEMALE VOICE: Sure.

THOMAS GLASGOW: I think the mass of this--there is no smoking gun in this case. There's no tape of, you know, Blagojevich saying to someone give me the money and I'll point you to this position or give me the money and we'll do it. It is a mass of tapes. And it is a sea of circumstantial evidence that the defendant has to overcome. And that sea of evidence is what the government is depending on for their case. It is not so much just a beachhead but more like islands out in the middle of the sea that you have to stop--

FEMALE VOICE: [Interposing] Right, right.

THOMAS GLASGOW: --on each island and defend against.

FEMALE VOICE: Right.

THOMAS GLASGOW: And it makes it very difficult for the defense.

FEMALE VOICE: Well, what do you think so far of the government's case? They say that they're probably going to wrap next week. So what do you think?

THOMAS GLASGOW: I think the government has presented a very compelling case. We obviously have been promised by the defense counsel that we're going to hear from Patty. And we're going to hear from the government. And--or excuse me.

FEMALE VOICE: Governor, former Governor.

THOMAS GLASGOW: The former Governor. And I think that we are going to hear some very titillating testimony as you put it. But we have yet to see how that's going to influence the jury and whether or not he can explain away all these incidences. Is this just political horse trading? Or have I really committed a crime?

FEMALE VOICE: We'll see. He certainly knows how to talk. We know that. Alright, Tom, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

THOMAS GLASGOW: Thank you very much.

FEMALE VOICE: Great insight for us.