Posted on December 00, 0000 in Criminal Defense

Under Illinois law if you have been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor offense concerning unlawful sexual conduct, you may be required to register as a sex offender.  Some examples for convictions of sex crimes that require registration are as follows:

• Indecent solicitation or sexual exploitation of a child;
• Offenses concerning unlawful conduct with juvenile prostitute;
• Child Pornography;
• Criminal Sexual Abuse;
• Criminal Sexual Assault;
• Forcible detention of a victim under age 18; and
• Public Indecency for a third subsequent conviction.

A more complete list of the offenses for which a defendant must register as a sexual offender can be found on the Illinois Sex Offender Information website.

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 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Criminal Defense

Recently, Illinois Senate approved a bill, SB 977 that would expand the use of foreign language interpreters in criminal proceedings.  Formerly under Illinois law a juror would have to be county resident, age 18 or older, and “free from all legal exception, of fair character, of approved integrity, of sound judgment, well informed, and able to understand the English language.” The new bill seeks to remove the English language requirement for jurors in Illinois’s five largest counties.

Senate Bill 977 proposes a two-year pilot program in Cook, Lake, DuPage, Kane, and Will Counties that provides court interpreters to jurors in the select counties who do not speak English as their first language. Specifically, the bill states:

“If any juror's predominant language is not English, the juror may be accompanied by an interpreter. In the case of a non-English speaking juror, the interpreter shall be available throughout the actual trial and may accompany and communicate with the juror throughout any period during which the jury is sequestered or engaged in its deliberations.”

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 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Expungement

If you are an Illinois resident over age 18, any criminal trouble that you faced could follow you indefinitely. If you have been convicted or even if you have been arrested and the charges have been dropped, it may be possible for friends, family or even past and current employers to learn about this information.

Evidence of prior criminal convictions can affect your social reputation and the way current and future employers and social contacts may view you. Specifically in Illinois, some criminal misdemeanor or felony charges can lead you to become illegible to perform certain jobs, hold a liquor or lottery ticket license for your business or even operate a motor vehicle. These are just a few examples. The list of prohibitions that result from past criminal convictions, even minor ones, is extensive.

So what can a past criminal offender do to reclaim his reputation?

Expunging Criminal Charges

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 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Traffic Violations

Last month the Illinois Supreme Court heard arguments concerning Chicago’s ordinance allowing the use of traffic cameras fixed at traffic intersections as a means of enforcing running red light violations throughout the city. An issue in the case was whether the City of Chicago had legal authority to enforce the ordinance, which had been created in 2003, prior to the date when Illinois legislatures delegated power to municipalities to make these automated traffic laws. The Supreme Court is expected to issue a final decision on this case in the upcoming months.

This case illustrates, at least for now, that Chicago’s red light traffic camera ordinance and those like it are a reality for Illinois drivers. The case also leads many Illinois residents to wondering about their legal rights concerning automatic traffic violation enforcement.

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 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Criminal Defense

A traffic ticket quota describes a minimum number of traffic tickets an officer must issue per designated period. One purpose of issuing quotas is to incentivize officers to do their jobs thoroughly. Additionally, a purpose of mandating ticket quotas also may be to encourage officers to pay closer attention to a designated area of law enforcement.

In practice, the issuance of traffic ticket quotas to law enforcement officials has faced some criticism. Critics contend that the quotas actually enhance unbalanced enforcement of a law or policy. When an officer feels pressured to meet a ticket quota, he or she may end up ticketing motorists for minor offenses that are normally overlooked.

Until recently, Illinois law allowed town, county, and state police officers to decide whether or not to mandate driving ticket quotas for their officer-employees. In June, Governor Patrick Quinn signed off on legislation making it unlawful for Illinois police departments at state, county, and municipal levels to assign driving ticket quotas to officers. The legislation also makes it unlawful for Illinois police departments to consider the number of traffic tickets an officer wrote as a factor in evaluating the officer’s performance. The law goes into effect immediately.

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 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Expungement

An expungement is the process of sealing criminal and arrest records to make them unavailable to the public. The Illinois legislature has enacted more forgiving laws concerning the expungement of one’s juvenile record as opposed to the expungement of one’s adult criminal record. In June 2014, Illinois governor Pat Quinn signed a law enabling adults to expunge a wider list of criminal activity and criminal charges that they incurred before they reached the age of 18. The purpose of the legislation is to prevent adults interested in living a law-abiding life from being haunted by the legal mistakes they made as juveniles.

Illinois Juvenile Record Expungement Law

Illinois law allows for expungement if the following circumstances are present:

• A juvenile was charged of a crime but not convicted;

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 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Arrest

If you have ever searched for an Illinois criminal defense attorney online, whether for a simple traffic violation or a more serious charge, you know there are a lot of lawyers out there who claim they are able to do the job. If you have been charged with a criminal offense, you also may already be aware that selecting a knowledgeable criminal defense attorney can have a significant effect on your case’s outcome. Many of the lawyers you find will have professional-looking websites and helpful office staff and will otherwise seem competent to handle your case; but how can you really know you are in good hands? Helpful Questions to Ask Before Hiring an Illinois Criminal Defense Attorney

• Have you ever handled a case like mine before?  How much of your case load is dedicated to helping people in circumstances similar to mine?
• What range of outcomes can you expect in a case like mine? (i.e. what is the best and worst case scenario?)

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 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Arrest

After a driver is pulled over and before he is officially arrested for driving under the influence (DUI), an Illinois police officer conducts an investigation. During this investigative period, the officer tries to determine whether her probable cause is strong enough to justify arresting the driver for a DUI.

An Illinois police officer will typically conduct one of two investigative tests after pulling over a driver for suspicion of a DUI. An officer may conduct a field sobriety test a portable breath test, also known as the “Breathalyzer test.” During the field sobriety test, the officer asks the accused to perform a variety of actions that illustrate the accused’s level of mental and motor control.  Requested actions may include following the officer’s fingers with one’s eyes in a horizontal motion, walking the line and being asked to turn abruptly, or standing on one leg.

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 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Criminal Defense

According to Illinois Statutes (720 ILCS 5/7-12), entrapment occurs when an individual commits criminal conduct that “is incited or induced by a public officer or employee, or agent of either, for the purpose of obtaining evidence for the prosecution of that person.” The law is careful to state that entrapment does not occur when “the person was predisposed to commit the offense and the public officer or employee, or agent of either, merely affords to that person the opportunity or facility for committing an offense.” Individuals accused of certain crimes often have questions about what type of officer conduct rises to the level of legal entrapment.

Illinois Entrapment Law

In plain language, entrapment occurs when a public official encourages an individual to commit a crime that the individual would likely not have decided to commit on her own. The public official’s behavior must have been such that it implanted an idea to commit a crime into the alleged offender’s mind. Moreover, if an officer suggests that an individual commit a crime but that individual had already planned to commit that crime anyway, entrapment has not occurred.

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 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Arrest

To some residents of the state, one of the more nerve-wracking parts of Illinois law is the doctrine of accomplice liability. Under this doctrine, it appears that sometimes being merely present at the scene of a crime may make someone just as liable as if that individual had actually committed the crime.

For example, people may worry about being convicted of shoplifting if a companion shoplifts or they may worry about charges of assault and battery for merely “having a friend’s back” during a bar fight. Though under Illinois law it is not necessary for one to physically commit a crime to be convicted of that crime, the law does not impose a straightforward “guilt by association” rule either. Certain conditions must be satisfied before a companion may be charged as an accomplice to a crime.

Accomplice Liability in Illinois

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