Lake Forest Underage Drinking Offense Attorney

As a parent, there are few things worse than getting the call that your child is in legal trouble. You likely feel helpless and anxious for your child’s future, and are not sure of the best way to help your child. One of the best decisions you can make is to speak to a knowledgeable Northbrook underage drinking defense attorney who is well-versed in the Illinois laws surrounding juvenile offenses. Matthew R. Gebhardt understands your feelings and has compassion for your situation. Attorney Gebhardt also realizes that one silly mistake should not negatively impact your child’s future. Juveniles can be charged with most all of the same crimes adults can be charged with, and while the penalties tend to be less severe than those meted out to adults, drinking and driving is the exception.

Lake County Speeding ticket attorney Matthew R Gebhardt examines the offense of speeding in Lake County, Illinois.

Most drivers have received at least one speeding ticket over the course of their driving history. While your experience with past speeding tickets may lead you to believe that this is a minor issue, the laws in Lake County, Illinois have changed dramatically in recent years. As such, the phrase “it’s only a traffic ticket” no longer applies in Lake County, Illinois. Recent changes to the traffic laws have greatly increased the penalties for speeding in Lake County, Illinois while at the same time lowering the threshold for determining what amounts to the more serious “Aggravated Speeding” charges. Lake County speeding ticket attorney Matthew R Gebhardt is well-versed in these changes and can assist you in preserving your driving privileges.

Lake County speeding ticket lawyer Matthew R Gebhardt has included some of the most recent changes below:

Illinois is introducing a massive crime reform bill that will have a major impact on anyone involved in the criminal justice system.  Contact our office to discuss how these changes will impact your rights.

According to several reports, political heavyweights in Springfield have hammered out an agreement to extend the Illinois medical marijuana program and to add two new qualifying conditions. The changes must be approved by the full legislature, but many are hopeful that the pact represents a solid step in the right direction.

Off to a Slow Start

When the Illinois legislature passed a measure to create the state’s medical marijuana pilot program back in 2013, proponents of the bill were hopeful that the initiative would get underway quickly. The program was intended to help Illinois residents diagnosed with one of approximately three dozen qualifying conditions, including cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, and many others. Despite being approved by then-Governor Pat Quinn to become effective on January 1, 2014, political infighting and bureaucratic delays continued to push back the program’s implementation. The first legal medical marijuana did not become available until November of 2015, more than 22 months later.

How can a jury be convinced beyond reasonable doubt that a person committed a murder with which they actually had nothing to do? In some cases, false assumptions, conclusions, and testimony on the part of law enforcement and government officials can convince a jury, along with, of course, the “evidence” of a false confession obtained under very questionable circumstances. Such seems to have been the case for a man convicted in Lake County more than 15 years ago. Recently exonerated, he has now filed a suit against the police and county officials who built the false case against him.

Confession, Conviction, Identification, Exoneration

In 1999, an unidentified woman’s body was found in forest preserve near Waukegan. According to the State’s forensic pathologist at the time, the woman had been abused and died from blunt force trauma less than 12 hours before her body was found. Following intense questioning, the man confessed to inflicting some of the injuries found on the woman’s body. He was subsequently convicted of murder in 2000 and began serving a 46-year prison sentence.