Posted on December 00, 0000 in Criminal Defense

Do-it-yourself checkout lanes are becoming increasingly common in grocery stores and retail centers throughout the country. Self checkout systems allow for retailers to maintain more open checkout lines while efficiently managing staff and payroll concerns. They also provide customers an alternative to waiting in extended lines to purchase just a few items. The convenience they offer may make self checkouts seem ideal for both customers and management, but retailers are finding that the machines may provide some shoppers an opportunity for illegal price switching.

Standard checkout lanes, when in use, are staffed by no less than one cashier per register. Self checkouts, on the other hand, are typically supervised in groups, with a single store employee responsible for as a many as eight separate units. This may not present a problem in most cases, as a vast majority of customers simply scan and bag their items, enter their payment, and are on their way. An individual with other intentions, however, may find the lower level of oversight a situation to be exploited.

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 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Concealed Carry Law

Nearly two years ago, the Illinois became the last state in the country to enact a concealed carry law, which permits appropriately licensed residents to carry a concealed firearm within the state. Enacted in 2013 and taking effect in 2014, the legislation is known as Firearm Concealed Carry Act and supporters insist the law simply recognized rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment. To members of law enforcement organizations, however, the Act created a whole new set of challenges, which include conducting traffic stops of legally armed Illinois citizens.

Even as the legislation was being drafted and reviewed, law enforcement officials looked ahead to potential dangers. They pointed out that any interaction with an individual legally carrying a concealed firearm would carry an increased risk of escalation simply to due the existence and proximity of the weapon. Kevin McClain, director of the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board, acknowledged at the time, however, that law-abiding citizens may just be exercising their Second Amendment right, and that police officers need to be “a little more savvy in approaching someone” so a mutual level of respect can be maintained.

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 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Traffic Violations

Most drivers understand that violating traffic laws can result in citations from law enforcement, the consequences of which typically include monetary penalties and potential suspension of driving privileges. More serious offenses, such as driving under the influence, may even result in probation or prison sentences. What many may not consider, however, is that the conviction of a single traffic violation can be enough to significantly increase auto insurance rates, which can cost a driver thousands of dollars in additional premiums.

Online auto insurance marketplace insuranceQuotes.com recently released the results of study that looked at the impact moving violations can have on insurance rates across the country. The research calculated both national and state average increases for 17 of the most common traffic violations and in doing so, demonstrated the differences in auto insurance regulations among various states.

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 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Chicago criminal defense lawyer

Over the past several years, license plate readers have become a popular surveillance tool for law enforcement across the country. It is a tool most people are not even aware exists.  The readers use small, high-speed cameras to photograph license plates, documenting the date, time, and location of each one. The information is then added to a computer which is linked to other law enforcement data bases, such as those which include arrest warrants or missing persons.

License plate readers can be mounted onto police vehicles or other objects, such as bridges or street signs, making them virtually unnoticeable by passing motorists. Although the readers have proven useful in apprehending offenders, the readers also capture information on people who have no criminal history at all. Many civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have come out against the use of readers. Lawmakers have also voiced their opposition to the use of readers, and one Illinois lawmaker has introduced a bill that would limit their use by law enforcement.

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 Posted on December 00, 0000 in DUI

Illinois lawmakers are considering two different bills which would affect Illinois residents who have multiple drunk driving convictions.

House Bill 3533 would require anyone who has two or more drunk driving convictions to participate in the Illinois’ Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Device (BAIID) program for a minimum of five years before their license could be reinstated. The BAIID program was initially enacted in the state in 1994. A driver who is in the program is required to blow into the device, which measures the person’s blood alcohol level, in order for the vehicle to start. The current law does not require offenders to participate in the program. A person who has had their driving privileges suspended for drunk driving can simply wait until the length of suspension has passed and reapply for their license.

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 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Drug Crimes

The Cook County state's attorney recently announced that her office will no longer prosecute the majority of misdemeanor marijuana charges and will instead recommend nonviolent offenders who are charged with low-level felony possession of cannabis, cocaine, Ecstasy, and heroin be enrolled in drug treatment programs.

Currently, a person who is charged with a Class 4 felony possession faces either one to three years in prison, a $25,000 fine or both. The state attorney said in her announcement that instead of facing criminal charges, an alternative prosecution program will be created to help keep drug addicts out of the criminal justice system and, instead, get them into rehabilitation programs. By treating chronic drug addiction has a public health issue – instead of a criminal one – prosecutors hope to help alleviate the overcrowding of the Cook County court system.

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 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Criminal Defense

In March, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) released the results of a study they had conducted regarding the Chicago Police Department’s activity when it came to stop and frisk practices.  The report was critical of the department, accusing the department of “misuse” of the law, alleging a disproportionate amount of stop and frisk searches for black people. According to the statistics cited by the report, 72 percent of all stop and frisk searches the Chicago PD conducted between May and August of 2014 were on black individuals. That report is now being cited in a lawsuit filed by six black men who say they were subjected to “suspicionless” street stops, which were in violation of the constitutional rights.

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 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Chicago criminal defense lawyer

Many criminal trials involve the presentation of evidence which has been analyzed at a law enforcement laboratory and is then offered into testimony by a person who is somehow associated with that laboratory. Our legal system is based on the fact that the expert is qualified in performing that analysis, and that the testimony, which is then entered into evidence, is based on knowledge and truth. However, a recent admission by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) decades of flawed FBI testimony raises questions on the legality of hundreds – if not thousands – of guilty convictions.

According to a statement released by the DOJ, there have been approximately 1,500 cases identified as requiring a review after determining that FBI experts from the agency’s microscopic hair comparison unit who testified at these trials overstated the existence of positive forensic matches. So far, the DOJ and FBI have reviewed 342 cases and found that the FBI provided flawed testimony in 268 trials. In 95 percent of those cases, the flawed testimony was in the prosecution’s favor.

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 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Felony

A bill which would extend the statute of limitations for certain sexual offenses has passed through the Illinois Senate and is now heading to the House for consideration. House Bill 1418 passed by a unanimous vote of 51-0.

The crimes which would be considered sexual offenses under the proposed bill are armed robbery, home invasion, kidnapping, or aggravated kidnaping if they occur during the commission of criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual assault, or aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

A statute of limitation provides the period of time in which a person can be charged with a crime. The countdown begins the day the crime is committed. The statute of limitations depends on the particular law pertaining to the specific charge in question. Once the amount of time prescribed by law has passed, a person can no longer be charged with that crime.

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 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Criminal Defense

There has been much controversy regarding a sexual assault case brought against a former Northern Illinois University (NIU) campus police officer and how the campus police force handled the investigation. The allegations of impropriety led to a raid by the FBI of the NIU police headquarters, as well as the firing of the department’s police chief.  The case has also led to the filing of an Illinois bill which would turn over any investigations of sex crimes on a college campus to the local police department.

In the NIU case, the former campus police officer has been accused of sexually assaulting a college freshman, with whom he had a relationship, in 2011. The alleged victim has testified that she turned over an exchange of text messages she had with the defendant to the campus police. Those text messages have disappeared, along with two hours of recorded testimony made by the former NIU officer while he was being questioned by investigating campus police officers. The defendant’s attorney claims that all of this missing evidence would exonerate his client, and has accused the NIU police department of intentionally destroying the evidence.

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