Posted on March 29, 2016 in Criminal Defense

Most cases in the Illinois criminal justice system do not end in a trial. Instead, in most cases a criminal defendant accepts a plea deal also known as a plea bargain. Before you decide if a plea bargain is right for you, you need to understand how they work.

The Criminal Justice Process

Plea bargains are used by prosecutors to help keep the criminal justice system moving efficiently. Often a defendant will receive a plea offer early in the case. One of the first formal steps in a criminal case is the arraignment. This is a court hearing at which the defendant is told what he or she is being charged with and where the defendant enters a plea of guilty, not guilty, or other legally acceptable plea.

Prior to the arraignment, many criminal defendants are offered plea deals. This means they have the chance to plead guilty to a particular charge or, in some cases, a lesser charge, in exchange for the prosecutor agreeing to drop other charges or in exchange for the prosecutor recommending a lighter sentence. However, even if a not guilty plea is entered at the arraignment, there is often still a chance to accept a plea deal at a later point before the final trial.

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 Posted on March 17, 2016 in Criminal Defense

Regardless of how you may feel about the subject, the reality in Illinois is that, sometimes, politics and criminal law directly affect one another. On certain levels, of course, you probably realize this to be true, as representatives, senators, and governors must be elected before they can draft legislation, amend and vote on bills, and enact new laws. Politics and public opinion can also directly impact the application of the law, as many other positions within the government are also filled by popular election. Using the power of the vote this week, the people of Cook County have spoken by voting out incumbent Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez, effectively deciding that it is time for a new chief prosecutor.

Role of the State’s Attorney

Cook County, Illinois, is the largest consolidated court district in the entire United States, serving a population of more than 5.2 million residents. The Cook County State’s Attorney is tasked with representing the people of Illinois in prosecuting crimes committed within the jurisdiction of the county court. The State’s Attorney’s Office operates as a branch of county government and currently employs more than 900 Assistant State’s Attorneys who help in the prosecution of criminal activity throughout the county’s six municipal districts.  State’s Attorneys are elected by popular vote to a term of four years.

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 Posted on March 10, 2016 in Retail Theft

Shoplifting is one of the most common crimes in the country, but it can have effects that are far-reaching to businesses, lawmakers, and to society as a whole. The crime is so common, in fact, that there is a National Association for Shoplifting Prevention, working to both reduce the number of shoplifting incidents in the United States and to discourage would-be shoplifters from committing such crimes. More than 10 million individuals have been arrested or accused of shoplifting in the last half decade, and current estimates suggest that 1 in every 11 people in the United States have shoplifted at one time or another.

Common Misconceptions

Because it is frequently a minor misdemeanor crime, shoplifting is often considered alongside crimes committed by juveniles, which are often offenses that do not, and cannot, affect one’s permanent record. Yet, the effects of shoplifting do, in fact, stay on a person’s record for a long time and can effect a person’s ability to find work—perpetuating an ugly cycle that, in many instances, led to the incident in the first place.

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 Posted on February 19, 2016 in Criminal Defense

When some people hear that a crime is a misdemeanor, they automatically assume the crime is not a big deal. While it is true that the punishment for a misdemeanor is usually much less serious than for a felony, a single misdemeanor can still disrupt your entire life.

What is Happens With Probation

The maximum penalty for a misdemeanor is one year in jail. However, many people who are convicted of a misdemeanor will serve little, if any, jail time. Instead, most will be sentenced to a period of probation.

While probation is often preferable to jail time, it is not easy. Depending on the crime you are convicted of you will have a set of conditions that you must follow.

Common probation conditions include:

• Paying fines
• Not committing another crime
• Submitting to random drug tests
• Not going anywhere alcohol is served

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 Posted on February 12, 2016 in Uncategorized

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-chicago-condos-rebound-0210-biz-20160209-story.html

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 Posted on February 12, 2016 in Domestic Battery

Orders of protection are often considered a family law issue, as they seek to protect individuals from the dangers of domestic violence. However, they can often become much more complicated than that. If you have been the subject of any type of order of protection out against you, you may find yourself in the middle of a criminal investigation.

Understanding the Process

Regardless of the circumstances leading to its issuance, once the court has issued an order of protection, a law enforcement officer will formally serve the order on you. From that point forward, you must obey all of the provisions in the order. If you are currently living in the same household with the alleged victim, you may be ordered to leave the residence and to find another place to live until the order is dismissed or expires.

The order itself is a matter of public record. It is possible that having a civil order of protection against you could impact your job or ability to do certain activities that require a background check. The issuance of the protective order may also prompt a criminal investigation into claims of domestic violence.

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 Posted on February 05, 2016 in White Collar Crimes

The fraudulent use of credit cards and bank accounts is as old as credit cards and bank accounts. However, the rise of internet connectivity has made identity theft crimes even more common. Illinois recognizes several different types of identity-related white collar crimes.

Types of Identity Theft Crimes

There are four major types of crimes related to stealing another person's identity in Illinois:

1. Identity theft
2. Aggravated identity theft
3. Transmission of personal identifying information
4. Facilitating identity theft

The basic crime of identity theft is using someone else’s credit cards, bank account, or personal documents to obtain money, credit, goods or services. If you use someone else’s information to commit another felony, it is also considered identity theft.

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 Posted on January 24, 2016 in Uncategorized

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 Posted on January 20, 2016 in Traffic Law

The U.S. Constitution gives all of us a number of rights that we tend to take for granted. One of the most important rights is the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. This means that law enforcement has to have a reason before they stop you in your car.

Legal Requirements to Make a Traffic Stop

A law enforcement officer must have a reason for pulling you over. The law requires that the police have probable cause to believe that you have violated the law. Probable cause means the police have to have more of a reason than past experience or a gut feeling when pulling someone over.

The police can pull you over for a minor traffic violation. If, after speaking with you, they discover evidence of more serious criminal activity, they can investigate further.

When the police do not have a legitimate reason for making a traffic stop it is called a pretext stop.

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 Posted on January 13, 2016 in Criminal Defense

The laws against public indecency cover a wide range of individual offenses, including sexual offenses as well as incidences of public exposure. While these types of crimes are very common, they still carry serious consequences for anyone charged, sometimes the effects of which can last for a very long time as a person may be added to the national or state registry of sexual offenders, affecting a person’s ability to find work, live in certain neighborhoods, or work in a job where children may be present.

In Illinois, public indecency is defined as (including but not limited to):

• A public act of sexual penetration or sexual conduct; or
• A lewd exposure (ie: flashing, public masturbation) done with the intent to arouse sexual desire in the victim.

The state legislature specifically calls out that in no situation will breast-feeding in public be considered an act of public indecency. A public place in this instance means anywhere that another person could witness or be present. It does not have to be a crowded public space: If a person exposes himself, for example, on a private street as only one other person is walking by, he or she could still be charged with public indecency. Another common type of citation for public indecency can include public urination—if, for instance, a person is out drinking and relieves himself on the street, he can be charged. This seemingly innocuous act could then stay on his record forever.

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