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What Are Diversion Programs?
Not everyone convicted of a crime in Illinois is found guilty and sentenced to jail or prison. Depending on a person’s criminal record and the nature of their offense, there is a chance for some to be sentenced to what Illinois calls a diversion program. These can be for first offenders, young offenders, or those for whom a standard jail sentence would not be recommended. Illinois makes extensive use of these programs for certain types of offenders, especially first-time offenders.
Multiple Options
Many of the diversion programs available in Illinois as of this writing are aimed specifically at defendants who have never been in trouble with the law before, the most common of which is called court supervision. While court supervision is locally based in counties and cities rather than a statewide program, it is nonetheless an effective way to have a nonviolent offender serve out a sentence instead of consigning them to incarceration. Essentially, court supervision is when one admits culpability for an offense, but entry of a conviction is postponed or delayed. If the person on supervision completes probation successfully (usually a six month or one year period, though every case is different), no conviction is entered and the record is usually expunged.
While diversion may be an option upon the conclusion of proceedings, pretrial diversion is also possible. DuPage County has its own program, begun in 2012, which offers some first-time offenders the chance to make amends without sustaining a conviction being entered upon their criminal records, especially some which might otherwise be difficult to expunge. In the DuPage County program, offenders must go before a ‘citizens’ panel,’ which will then make a recommendation as to whether or not the person should go into the program. Upon completion of the program, the offense will be either removed from the person’s record or listed as a lesser offense.
Not Automatic
Prescription Drug Charges in Illinois
The vast majority of people who are prescribed drugs which have potentially harmful side effects are using them in the manner indicated by their doctor. However, some become addicted, or want to make money selling such drugs, and may turn to illegal means to obtain these substances, thinking the consequences will somehow be less severe because, in some instances, possession of such drugs is legal. It is possible to unlawfully possess prescription drugs and to go to jail because of it.
Strictly Regulated
The prescription of certain substances, even in legal scenarios, is highly regulated by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA). Under the FDA’s regulatory scheme, drugs are divided into what are called schedules. The lower the schedule, the fewer appropriate medical uses a drug has, and the more stringent the protocols for dispensing it to legitimate patients. For example, Xanax is classified as a Schedule IV drug, with low (but still present) risk of dependence and/or addiction and noted genuine medical usages, while Adderall is classified as Schedule II because while it has some occasional use as a legitimate drug, its potential for abuse is high.
Because of these potentially addictive properties, drugs may be prescribed to those who have a true need for them - a person with a panic disorder may have a legitimate need for Xanax, or a person with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) may benefit from Adderall. This does not mean that such drugs should be unregulated or available over the counter because those without a legitimate need for them might conceivably abuse them. In some cases, even those who do have a legitimate need for such drugs can abuse them. The societal problems caused by abuse of prescription drugs can be just as great as those caused by heroin or crack cocaine.
Substance Abuse Problems Can Be a Factor
FBI Cracks Down on Internet Crimes during Cybersecurity Awareness Month
October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, which seeks to remind businesses and the public of the crimes that can be perpetrated online and the ways everyone can make the internet more secure. The National Cybersecurity Awareness Month was created in 2004 by the Department of Homeland Security and the National Cyber Security Alliance.
The FBI takes this opportunity to remind the public of major recent federal charges and convictions in the online arena, including:
- The conviction of an online actor who tried to access university databases to commit fraud and identity theft;
- Charges against a North Korean regime-backed programmer; and
- Seventy-four arrests in this country and abroad of members of an international criminal network participating in a plan to infiltrate business email accounts.
“Realistically, we know we can’t prevent every attack, or punish every hacker,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said. Director Wray added that the FBI will continue to build on the initiatives it has in place to ferret out cybercrime and will continue to try to forge new partnerships with tech companies and others to keep the U.S. at the forefront of cybersecurity.
Social Media and Criminal Charges
Once you post something on social media, you need to assume that the police or prosecutors can find it and use it against you during a criminal trial. Over the years, law enforcement has become very savvy in the ways they can find and access your social media posts as well as how they are used in court.
It is advisable that you tighten your privacy settings and review anyone who can see your profile. Even doing this, however, you should not expect that you have any control over the material once you post or upload it to a social media site. Such material can be shared or reposted and “go viral,” especially if the material appears to portray a crime taking place or other outrageous conduct.
Here are four ways a prosecutor may attempt to use material found on social media:
Placing You at the Scene
Social media posts of photos can place you at the scene or vicinity of the crime on the time and day in question. Some social media posts also tag your location automatically, and other sites allow you to “check-in” to a business, thereby keeping a record of your whereabouts.
Hoax Threats Can Lead to Serious Criminal Charges
With the simple click of a button, one can commit a federal crime by making a baseless threat to a school or other public space. The FBI reports that hoax threats have seen a recent uptick in frequency. Most hoax threats a type of internet crime as they are made through text messages, by email, or on social media.
The FBI believes that these hoax threats are incited by major recent tragedies like school shootings. According to the FBI, these threats are fully investigated when the FBI learns of them. It cautions that hoax threats are not funny and can have immensely negative consequences for all involved.
Hoax threats are considered to be a federal crime because they often utilize interstate communication. People who post or send such threats may receive five years in prison. Perpetrators can also face state or local charges.
Hoax threats are often carried out by young people who do not fully understand the ramifications of their actions. Also, because making a hoax threat can be done quickly and with little effort, there is not much time to self-reflect and back out of committing this crime. Indeed, it is unfortunate that a young person could start out their adult life with a felony conviction for such a serious crime.
Drug Arrests Skyrocket as Opioid Addiction Takes Hold
Addiction has always been a factor in many cases in the criminal justice system. Approximately 65 percent of those in jail are known to have a substance use disorder.
However, the opioid epidemic has created higher stakes due to the dangerousness of the drug and the potential for relapse once someone is no longer incarcerated. A new study shows just how many people addicted to opioids end up with drug charges or unrelated criminal charges.
About the Opioid Epidemic
The statistics about what a deep hold opioid addiction has on the United States is alarming. Perhaps the driving factor behind the epidemic is the increase in prescription painkillers. The United States has seen the number of opioid prescriptions triple from 1991 to 2011. In 2011, there were 219 millions prescriptions for opioids written in this country.
It is telling that this country comprises about 5 percent of the world’s population and consumes about 80 percent of the supply of these painkilling drugs. In 2012, 12 states had more opioid prescriptions than residents: Alabama (142.9 per 100 people), Tennessee (142.8), West Virginia (137.6), Kentucky (128.4), Oklahoma (127.8), Mississippi (120.3), Louisiana (118), Arkansas (115.8), Indiana (109.1), Michigan (107), South Carolina (101.8) and Ohio (100.1).
Do I Have to Let Police in My Home Without a Warrant?
If you answer a knock at the door of your home, and a police officer or other law enforcement agent is on your front steps, do you know your rights? Over the years, we have seen many people expose themselves to criminal liability by not requiring law enforcement to present a warrant before allowing entry.
The Fourth Amendment Protects Citizens from Police Searches
The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution has been interpreted to mean that searches and seizures inside a home without a warrant are presumptively unreasonable. This means that a court will likely throw out any search of a home without a warrant as it violates the Fourth Amendment.
There are exceptions to this. One exception is if the occupant of the home gives consent for police to enter and search. If the police ask you if they can search, you do not have to say yes.
Other exceptions include if the police have “exigent circumstances,” which means that police believe that they must enter the home to prevent physical harm to others, the destruction of evidence or the escape of a suspect. In these situations, the police do not need a warrant before entering a home.
What You Need to Know If You Have Been Caught in an Internet Sex Sting
Online solicitation of a minor is a crime that is aggressively tried by federal prosecutors. If you are convicted, you could face many years in prison. You also may be facing personal consequences like marriage difficulties and social ostracization.
For these reasons, you need to retain counsel that will take any and all steps to investigate your case and what evidence the government has implicating you in the crime. This will likely involve having the computer and other hardware seized by the government cloned so that the defense attorney and defense forensic experts can review the data.
Online solicitation of a minor is a federal crime set forth in 18 U.S. Code § 2422. That section states that using the internet to knowingly persuade, induce, entice or coerce any minor to engage in any unlawful sexual activity or to attempt to do so is illegal.
It is important to note the contours of this law. An accused does not have to have sex with a minor in order to be convicted. Furthermore, the person contacted does not actually have to be a minor for a conviction to result. In many cases, the person contacted is a government officer operating a sting and pretending to be a younger teenager.
Supreme Court: Warrant Required for Cell Phone Location Data
The Supreme Court recently handed down a decision that has been considered a win for those accused of crimes. In Carpenter v. United States, the high court ruled that in order for a government entity such as the police to get cell phone location records a warrant is required in most cases.
Prior to this ruling, the government could review any citizen’s cell phone location records simply by stating to the cell phone carrier that the information was needed for an investigation.
The information at issue is data kept by cell phone companies that can prove where the cell phone was at any given time. Phone companies can tell where a cell phone is by using GPS data or cell site location information (CSLI). CSLI can only record the general area a cell phone is in based on which cell towers are being used by the phone.
The decision in Carpenter is closely related to the Supreme Court’s decision in Riley v. California. In that case, the court held that the search of a cell phone without a warrant is generally unconstitutional. The court noted that cell phones can hold large amounts of data and are thus different from landline phones.
Harsh Penalties for Child Pornography Convictions
It is surprising but true: child pornography sentences are longer than sex contact crimes perpetrated against minors such as rape or molestation. This holds true whether the convictions take place in state or federal court.
Experts believe that this differential can be attributed to the type of evidence presented at child porn and sex contact crime trials. In sex contact crimes trials, testimony is often a key component of the government’s case. Testimony can often be conflicting between witnesses. This is especially true where children are witnesses. There is often also difficulty gathering physical evidence in sex contact crimes.
In contrast, child pornography cases typically involve firmer evidence. Child pornography possession is essentially a strict liability crime; if a person is found to be in possession of the contraband, he or she will likely be convicted. The physical evidence is often on a computer or other piece of technology. There is usually no “he said, she said” testimony.
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