Posted on December 00, 0000 in Criminal Defense

Many of us know of someone who has been convicted of some drug-related crime in their lifetime. Some of us may try to minimize the severity of the crime by suggesting that it was “just marijuana” or “just a little bit.” The truth of the matter is, it does not matter whether it is your first or fifth drug offense, whether it is marijuana or methamphetamine, or whether it is a bong or a needle. While each of these crimes vary in punishment under the eyes of the law, they each can have a significant impact on your future. Even if you are caught “just” possessing drug paraphernalia, without any drugs at all, you still may be subject to steep criminal penalties.

What is Drug Paraphernalia?

Drug paraphernalia, according to Illinois law, is all equipment, products and materials that are intended to be unlawfully utilized to plant, cultivate, prepare, inject, ingest, inhale, or use any synthetic drug or controlled substance. The full definition of drug paraphernalia is part of the Illinois Drug Paraphernalia Control Act. The drug methamphetamine has an entirely separate section and associated punishments under the act.

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 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Chicago criminal defense lawyer

We all make mistakes, some of which involve the criminal justice system. Whether you were arrested, cited, charged, or ultimately convicted, your actions left a record somewhere. This record may make it difficult for you to obtain employment or housing, or may negatively impact your relationships. Regardless of how “minor” or how long ago a conviction may have been, that record will follow you forever.

The good news is that depending on the circumstances, you may be eligible under Illinois law to have this record removed from the criminal database in a process called expungement. Sealing a court record is also possible in some situations. Both offer different results, but each are important to understand if you have a criminal record you wish to have removed.

Differences Between Expunging and Sealing

The Illinois Criminal Identification Act lays out the eligibility requirements and procedures for expunging or sealing court records in the state of Illinois. It also explains special circumstances such as juvenile convictions, identity theft convictions, and instances of court ordered probation or supervision in lieu of jail time. According to the Office of the State Appellate Defender, expungement means to “physically destroy records or to return the records to the petitioner, and to...remove the petitioner’s name from any official index or public record.” Expungement prevents your criminal history information from being available to the public. Perhaps more importantly, if asked on most job applications if you have ever been convicted of a crime, you will most likely be able to answer “no.” However, there are some jobs that may still require you to disclose this information under applicable law.

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 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Fraud

Although the ancient paper check transaction is a thing of the past for most, writing bad checks is still a crime. Fraudulently making, signing, depositing, or giving a check to another with fictitious account information or inadequate funds is more than just a fee deducted from your bank for the bounced check—it can carry both civil and criminal punishments.

The Civil Component

While many “bad check” fraud schemes result in jail time, others may carry civil penalties in addition to, or in place of, criminal charges. According to the Illinois Court of Appeals, for a person to recover monetary damages from a person who wrote a bad check, the person in receipt of the bad check must prove four things:

1. That the person who wrote the bad check delivered the check in order to receive personal property;

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 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Arrest

Regardless of the severity of the crime at issue, youth offenders enjoy the same protections of the criminal justice system as their more seasoned counterparts. They must be read their Miranda rights, must be told they have the right to remain silent, and must be given the right to a fair and impartial trial. In fact, juvenile offenders also enjoy additional protections to ensure fairness in treatment. For example, youth offenders are required to be represented by counsel, and this cannot be waived like it can in most circumstances pertaining to adults. The juvenile offender’s parents are also required to be in court and juvenile offenders enjoy special protections regarding confidentiality of their identity, both during court proceedings and in maintaining court records. These protections are set in stone by law. Other areas of the law are not as clear and raise questions about a youth’s rights and what he or she is capable of consenting to at an age of minority.

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 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Chicago criminal defense lawyer

This year’s November election brought favorable news for crime victims’ rights. Among other important topics, such as voters’ rights, minimum wage reform, and education spending, came the proposal to amend the Illinois Constitution to strengthen the preexisting Illinois Crime Victims’ Bill of Rights.

This new legislation is aimed to increase transparency and to provide access to information to crime victims about court proceedings, hearings, and sentencing. Among the rights granted by Section 8.1 of Article I of the Illinois Constitution include:

• The right to be free from harassment, intimidation, or abuse throughout the criminal justice process;

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 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Criminal Defense

The current driving under the influence (DUI) statute in Illinois, last revised in the 1980s, essentially implements a “zero tolerance” policy on driving with any amount of alcohol or substance in a driver’s system. The law will hold individuals that have even trace amounts of drugs in their system responsible for accidents they might not have even caused. A recent 2011 case involving a driver who ran a red light and killed a 10-year-old boy brought the controversial law into the limelight again, though the law had already upheld in two Illinois Supreme Court cases heard in 1994 and 2011.

Understanding the Law

The law, as written, means that if you are involved in an accident where someone is killed or seriously injured, you can be required to submit to a blood test to determine what substances you have in your system. Even if you have not ingested drugs in a month, as was the case for the man charged with an aggravated DUI, you may face criminal penalties. This may be true for any type of drug or controlled substance. The concern is that people are technically driving under the influence whether they are actually impaired at that moment or not.

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 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Domestic Violence

Being accused of a domestic violence crime is a severe allegation that can have a lasting impact on your personal, family, and professional life. Domestic violence has been at the forefront of media attention recently due to the fact that October was National Domestic Violence Awareness Month and that the Illinois State Legislature passed a new domestic violence law that will be effective January 1, 2015. The law is intended to protect victims of domestic violence and to emphasize enforcement of probation conditions after bail is set and a criminal defendant is released.

Named Diane’s Law after a controversial murder-suicide that occurred after a series of physical abuse, this new Illinois law seeks to ensure Orders of Protections are enforced by courts and aim to protecting victims from future abuse. Orders of Protection are often entered against an accused defendant to prevent him or her from contacting the victim when there is a reasonable fear of physical, emotional, or mental abuse. If you have domestic violence charges pending against you, it is critical to understand what your rights and responsibilities are under this and other relevant domestic violence laws.

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 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Criminal Defense

The State of Illinois boasts some of the toughest gun-control laws in the country. In 2010, a controversial case stemming from Illinois litigation led to the United States Supreme Court. This decision, McDonald v. Chicago, placed an emphasis on Second Amendment Rights (where we get the “right to bear arms” from) and shut down what had been a long-standing ban on gun possession in certain areas. The Illinois legislature responded by implementing more stringent requirements for gun ownership, including requiring background checks, fingerprinting, fees, and mandatory gun training classes.

Despite the rules presently in place, gun violence is still a monumental problem on our Chicago streets. With more than 500 murders taking place on Chicago streets in 2012 alone, Chicago has some of the highest gun offense numbers in the country. Not only are the numbers high regarding murder rate, but also for unregistered weapons and unlawful possession. Also of grave concern is the fact that up to 60 percent of the unregistered or unlawfully obtained weapons found in Illinois are actually coming from other states, meaning it’s not necessarily that Illinois gun control laws are not working, but that people are still able to find ways around the laws.

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 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Criminal Defense

Many people are under the false impression that because medications can be obtained from a pharmacy, the prescribed drugs cannot be harmful to their health. Some of these people also do not understand the physical dangers or legal repercussions of taking, buying, selling, or possessing prescription drugs that were not prescribed specifically to them. Even though certain medications may be safe for the people to whom they are prescribed, they can cause significant damage to the health of those that take them without a valid prescription.

According to a 2013 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, prescription drug overdoses have increased 400 percent for females and 265 percent among males over recent years. As such, the government has recognized prescription drug abuse, sale, and delivery a critical problem that must be criminalized. The Illinois government implemented the Illinois Prescription Monitoring Program to provide an outlet to record prescription disbursements among patients and provide resources for those who may need help, but prescription drug distribution and abuse is still a monumental issue in Illinois.

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 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Burglary

Property crimes are on the rise, especially around the holiday season. With car break-ins reportedly increasing this season, it follows that home break-ins and other acts of theft are more frequent than usual as well. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) estimates that approximately 400,000 burglaries occur in residences throughout the country in the months of November and December alone.

Types of Property and Theft Crimes in Illinois

Big trees fill the windows of our neighborhoods around this time, surrounded by the brightly colored and meticulously wrapped gifts waiting to be opened. These gifts can entice burglars, even if their contents are unknown. Burglary is a legal term that, in Illinois, means knowingly entering or without authority remaining in a building, intending to commit a felony or theft within the building. This is a class 2 felony property crimes that may lead to a maximum of three to seven years in jail. Other similar, and often as serious, crimes include possessing burglary tools, unlawful sale of burglary tools, or residential burglary.

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