Posted on November 16, 2015 in Criminal Defense

For those struggling with disease, chronic pain, and other conditions, the wait for medical marijuana in Illinois is over. On November 9, a few medical marijuana dispensaries opened their doors for business, with many more to follow in the near future. For both marijuana industry officials and patients seeking medicine, the stores opening is a huge relief and comes after years of advocating for medical marijuana legalization. For the first time in Illinois, patients who qualify are able to legally purchase and use medical marijuana as a form of treatment.

Six stores opened across Illinois on Monday, and a few others are scheduled to open within the week. Officials say they expect there to be 25 dispensaries opened by the end of 2015, with more to follow in the coming years. At the time of planning, state officials mapped out 60 potential sites for dispensaries, so many more stores may be opening as the industry grows. The six stores that opened Monday experienced long lines of patients, and industry officials are hoping even more patients will try the products once medical marijuana becomes more popular in the state.

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 Posted on November 11, 2015 in Uncategorized

Tension is high between American police departments and the citizens they serve. Thanks to several recent high profile incidents of police related deaths and cases of brutality, the American public has become less trusting and more fearful of officers.

As citizens demand more transparency between police departments and the public, officials are turning to using body cameras as a solution. Worn by on duty officers, body cameras would record interactions between officers and the public, and could provide detailed footage of any questionable encounter. Illinois police departments will now have easier access to body camera technology and training, as state Governor Bruce Rauner recently signed statewide body camera measures into law.

Police departments have considered using body cameras for many years now. Americans have long worried that many police officers engage in less than ethical behavior, and the fact that many officer investigations are done internally left the public feeling like shady practices were occurring. Body cameras were an often suggested solution; however, the technology is expensive. On top of that, there was no existing legislation detailing how body cameras should be used—police departments were stuck wondering how to proceed.

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 Posted on November 09, 2015 in Criminal Defense

The state of Illinois is cracking down on driving under the influence, and for good reason. Nearly 40,000 people are arrested annually in the state for driving while intoxicated, and around 300 people are killed each year in alcohol related driving incidents.

Before drinking and driving, drivers should be aware of the many consequences they could face. Most importantly, drivers could potentially harm themselves or harm others. Moreover, being arrested for a DUI is extremely expensive. Legal fees, fines, and higher insurance rates all make getting a DUI potentially crippling financially. Therefore, it is important to consider the following breakdown of the estimated costs of being arrested for a DUI in Illinois.

Hiring an Attorney/Legal Fees — It is estimated that hiring a DUI attorney costs at least $1,500. Depending on the extent of the charges, however, legal fees could be much higher. Spending thousands of dollars on a DUI attorney is not uncommon.

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 Posted on November 04, 2015 in Criminal Defense

For millions of Americans, social media is a part of daily life. Websites like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram help make our large world smaller, bringing people together and allowing them to create and share content.

Most people use social media websites for innocent purposes; staying in touch with friends, sharing photos and videos, and accessing many different types of web content. For some, however, social media sites have taken up a different purpose. Thousands of gang members in the United States are using social media sites to share their message, antagonize rival gangs, and perpetuate violence.

Online Activity

It makes sense that gang members are using social media more frequently. Social media is especially popular with younger Americans, and with thousands of American youths involved in gangs, it was only a matter of time before sites like Facebook and Youtube became platforms for gangs.

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 Posted on November 02, 2015 in Criminal Defense

Many major US cities have noticed large spikes in the number of homicides this year, and government officials are wondering why. While violent crimes have steadily declined in America, this year's reported number of homicides in major cities like Chicago, New Orleans, and Cleveland have government offices worried, including the Obama administration.

Cities that have little in common, other than being large urban areas, are all experiencing significantly higher numbers of violent crimes than usual, and all within the last few months. While officials have yet to pinpoint a specific reason as to why this increase has occurred, experts have provided a few theories. Are the numbers simply reflective of a more violent than normal year, or do they indicate a larger problem?

The entire country has seen a decline in violent crimes over the past years. In the early 1990’s, drug problems led to incredibly high numbers of homicides in many major US cities, but since then homicide rates have declined steadily. While the numbers of homicides in major urban areas are still nowhere near where they were during the early 90s, there is reason for officials to be alarmed.

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 Posted on October 28, 2015 in Federal Crimes

Last night, the 2015 World Series got underway as the Kansas City Royals needed 14 innings to fend off the visiting New York Mets. By the time the game got started, however, the sports world and the Internet as a whole was abuzz with chatter about revelations made by a member of the last Mets team to win the Fall Classic. Former Major League Baseball All-Star Lenny Dykstra admitted in an interview this week that he spent more than half a million dollars on a scheme to blackmail umpires into giving him favorable calls during his playing days.

Shocking Information

The startling, yet completely unabashed, admission came during Dykstra’s appearance on The Herd, a weekday Fox radio/TV simulcast hosted by Colin Cowherd. The exchange was prompted by a comment from Cowherd suggesting that Dykstra “kept a book” on umpires, which in the context of the game can mean many things. Completely above board, a pitcher or batter would want to understand the way in which an umpire tends to call a game, and file that information away to be used appropriately. For Dykstra, however, “it was a little more than that.”

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 Posted on October 26, 2015 in Murder

A homecoming celebration turned tragic this past weekend when a car plowed into a crowd of spectators, killing four and injuring dozens. Three adults and a two-year-old child were killed when the vehicle driven by a 25-year-old woman suddenly crashed into a throng of people watching the Oklahoma State University homecoming parade on Saturday in Stillwater. The driver was arrested on charges of driving under the influence and was held over the weekend on four counts of second-degree murder. She is expected to appear in court this week for arraignment.

Murder Charges in Illinois

As the OSU community seeks to heal following the tragedy, the case may serve to highlight some important facets of criminal law here in Illinois. Charges for murder in Illinois can be brought against a defendant in the first or second degree. First degree murder is committed when a person kills another:

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 Posted on October 21, 2015 in Drug Crimes

With recent efforts to at least decriminalize marijuana, along with the introduction of a pilot program for the medical use of marijuana, Illinois seems to be remaining fairly contemporary regarding popular opinion about the drug. As one of 23 states with legalized medicinal marijuana, Illinois has stayed comfortably in the middle of the pack as it takes steps toward what many believe will be the ultimate legalization of recreational use. According to recent polling numbers, that is just what a majority of American would like to see.

Third Year in a Row

Noted polling organization Gallup reported that, for the third consecutive year, more than half of U.S. adults are in favor of making marijuana legal in this country. Gallup’s most recent numbers show that 58 percent of those polled support legalizing the drug’s use, tying 2013’s high-water mark. Polling numbers dipped 51 percent in 2014, but rebounded this year as the topic has gained momentum among 2016 presidential hopefuls.

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 Posted on October 19, 2015 in DUI

Before you were arrested on charges of driving under the influence, you probably failed or refused a blood alcohol content (BAC) chemical test. Such tests, while not the only criteria for determining your impairment, are administered to establish your BAC, and the penalties for failing or refusing them are administered by the Secretary of State’s Office.  They are applied separately from any sentence or penalties imposed as conditions of court supervision or as the result of a DUI conviction.

Statutory Summary Suspensions

Technically considered an administrative penalty as opposed to a criminal one, a statutory summary suspension applies to any driver who fails or refuses to submit chemical BAC testing. If you fail a breathalyzer, blood, or urine test for the first time, your driving privileges will be suspended for 6 months. A suspension of 12 months will be applied for subsequent failures. What constitutes a failed test depends upon the driver’s age and whether the vehicle is commercial or private. The legal BAC limit for a driver 21 or older operating a private vehicle is 0.08 percent, 0.04 percent for a commercial vehicle, and 0.00 for any driver under 21.

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 Posted on October 14, 2015 in Criminal Defense

You have probably seen it dozens of times on TV procedural dramas. A crime victim or potential witness stands behind a one-way mirror while a small parade of suspects are lined up for the purposes of identification. While not definitive evidence, the witness’s recognition of a suspect provides a basis for the continuing investigation. In the real world, lineups are also used in criminal cases to help narrow down a suspect list and, sometimes, as a form of testimony. Unfortunately, however, eyewitnesses are not always reliable sources of information and mistakes have led to the conviction of many innocent suspects. That is why the state of Illinois has developed a statutory procedure for lineups which took effect at the beginning of this year.

Photographic Lineups

Unlike the common television trope, most lineups in Illinois utilize photographs, although live lineups are still used in some cases.  However, “cognitive bias” by the lineup’s administrator, including subconscious cues or body language, can unintentionally affect the results of such procedures. To combat such influences, the new law requires law enforcement departments to have an independent administrator conduct the lineup. The administrator must be an individual with no knowledge of the case or the identity of the suspects. In addition, the lineup must be recorded on video whenever possible to ensure compliance with proper protocols.

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