An eight year investigation into systemic corruption in Chicago’s legal system, centering on wrongful convictions tied to retired Detective Reynaldo Guevara, whose decades of misconduct left a trail of incarcerated men still fighting to prove their innocence.
TO CATCH A CASE follows several men fighting to prove their innocence alongside Bill Dorsch, a former Chicago homicide detective who now investigates wrongful convictions after witnessing years of misconduct on the force. The film centers on the case of Juan and Rosendo Hernandez, framed by Detective Reynaldo Guevara, and traces a web of police abuse and prosecutorial complicity. Through courtroom battles, intimate interviews, and archival footage, the film reveals how 54 overturned murder convictions could cost Chicago up to $1 billion—and the human toll behind those numbers.
Margaret Byrne is an Emmy Award winning filmmaker and cinematographer whose work explores mental health, disability, and the human impact of institutional systems through long term, relationship driven storytelling.
Her films include Raising Bertie (POV), a six year portrait of three young men coming of age in rural North Carolina; Any Given Day (America ReFramed), which follows participants in Cook County's felony mental health court; Post Conviction, a five year look at two men fighting for freedom after police abuse; and the forthcoming To Catch a Case, an investigation into wrongful convictions and corruption in Chicago.
Before turning to independent filmmaking full time, she worked at Universal Music and helped produce the first series that launched MTV across Africa, expanding visibility for emerging artists.
Byrne is the founder of Beti Films and a dedicated educator.
