Posted on February 18, 2016 in Criminal Defense

Surprising as it may seem, if you are busted for selling fake drugs, you can be charged with a felony. While the substance that you are peddling may not in fact be the illegal substance you are advertising it to be, if it looks like the drug you allege it to be, and you are trying to sell it as the real stuff, that is a crime. Illinois law enforcement is just as serious about look-alike drugs as they are about real drugs. Police will arrest you, and you will be charged, just like you would if you had committed a crime with real drugs.

What is a Look-Alike Drug?

Just as the name implies, a look-alike drug is a substance that looks like the real thing. The alleged drug could be marijuana, crack, heroin, pills, etc. that is designed to look legitimate. The substance could have the correct coloring, appearance, smell, consistency, size, branding, packaging, and flavor as the real stuff and yet be counterfeit. If the fake drug could deceive a reasonable person into thinking the fake is the real drug, it is a look-alike drug.

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 Posted on February 16, 2016 in Criminal Defense

When formally charged, acriminal defendant may be surprised to learn just how many different charges are filed against him or herfor a single alleged crime. Someone who is arrested for driving under the influence might face DUI charges and reckless driving charges. Someone who gets into a physical altercation with law enforcement might be charged with aggravated battery of a peace officer and obstructing a peace officer.

Illinois employs what is referred to as the one-act, one-crime doctrine. Under this doctrine, for any one physical act or crime committed by a criminal defendant, he or she can only be convicted of one crime. However,that does not mean that the criminal defendant will notface anumber of charges. Criminal defense lawyers work to either get charges dropped completely, or reduced to lesser crimes, which carry less severe consequences.

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 Posted on February 11, 2016 in Shoplifting

There are so many employees who have taken things from their place of business, and think nothing of it. According to Fortune, retail workers in particular have a tendency to take things from their place of employment without permission. Similarly, thousands of office workers have taken office supplies home on an occasion or two—maybe some ink pens, printer paper, or ink cartridges. These are all forms of employee theft, and an employer could choose to press theft charges against the employee who stole items from work.

Why Do Employees Take Steal From Work?

There are a number of different reasons why workers steal from their job. Some workers feel mistreated by their bosses or management. They might feel like they deserved a promotion or raise and did not receive one when they should have. They might feel undercompensated for the work that they do, and thus feel entitled to a little something extra. They might take office supplies home for personal use, damaged merchandise that should be considered a loss, or products that could otherwise be sold to paying customers. Employees could also steal from the cash register—but this is a more blatant form of theft and the employee is more likely to get caught than if the employee steals other items that are less easily accounted. Shrinkage, or the mysterious disappearance of merchandise due to theft and damage, happens in every business, making it easier for workers to hide their theft.

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 Posted on February 09, 2016 in Criminal Defense

Sometimes party guests find themselves facing criminal trespass charges when things get out of hand at the party. Maybe a guest becomes intoxicated and becomes belligerent, upsetting other guests, or even the host or hostess. The police are likely to be called.

Once aguest is asked to leave, if he or she remains on the property, he or she could be charged with criminal trespass. While the guest was initially invited to the property, as a guest, if he or sheis later asked to leave and refuses to do so, it can constitute criminal trespass according to 720 ILCS 5/21-3.

Permission/Consent to be on the Property

The crime of trespassing largely revolves around whether the person who is committing the trespass has permission to be on the property in question. In the case of a guest who has outstayed his or her welcome, the guest may have started the party with the property owner’s (i.e., host or hostess) permission to be on the property, but that authorization was revoked during the guest’s stay on the property.

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 Posted on February 04, 2016 in Criminal Defense

Many people who are facing criminal charges are focused on how their charges could affect their life. A criminal conviction could mean going to jail, paying a large fine, rehabilitation, losing a job, creating a criminal record, etc. However,when the criminal defendant is a parent, the outcome of theircase could have a significant impact on their child in addition to themselves. Not only are there short-term consequences, such as being unable to be there and provide for the child due to incarceration, but there are also unforeseen long-term consequences as well.

A Criminal Record is Not Just Hard On You

When you have kids, they rely on you for more than meets the eye. Not only do children financially depend on their parents, but they also rely on their parents as a source of love, affection, attention, guidance and support. When even just one parent is not around, for instance because the parent is in jail, it can be exceptionally hard on a child.

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 Posted on February 02, 2016 in Criminal Defense

There are instances where drug charges are made against a criminal defendant, yetsome sort of foul play or mistake wasmade by law enforcement during the search, seizure or arrest. At times, it can bea matter of error. For instance, apolice officer may not followprotocol appropriately during a search and seizure or may failto properly perform an arrest. Additionally, an officer mayforget to read a defendant his or her rights upon arrest.

When errorsoccur, it can render certain evidence inadmissible at trial, or the charges could be dropped completely, because the criminal defendant’s rights were violated. Other times, an arrest could be made due to foul play by an officer. It is not often that law enforcement deliberately and intentionally acts in a corrupt or unethical way; however, it can happen.

Being Framed with Drugs

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 Posted on January 27, 2016 in Traffic Offenses

Many new traffic safety laws became effective on January 1, 2016, and Illinois drivers need to be aware of what changes have taken place so that they are not caught off guard by law enforcement if they happen to violate one of the new laws without knowing. Of particular importance to the typical Illinois driver are the changes to some traffic offenses and DUI laws. A synopsis of all of the changes that take effect in 2016 can be found on the Cyber Drive Illinois website.

Changes to Traffic Offenses

• Aggravated speeding can be charged whenever a driver speeds past a school bus or through a construction site going more than 26 miles per hour over the posted speed limit, pursuant to HB 1453 PA 99-0212;
• If a driver is involved in an accident that causes the death of another, the Secretary of State will revoke the driving privileges of the individual responsible for the death. Revocation is effective 90 days after the revocation notification is mailed, pursuant to HB 3670 PA 99-0297;

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 Posted on January 25, 2016 in White collar crime

Counterfeiting is a serious crime that involves the illegal and unauthorized reproduction of legal tender (i.e., money), goods or documents that is made in a way that would likely fool an unsuspecting recipient of the counterfeited item. It is a form of fraud with very serious consequences. Common examples of counterfeiting include:

• Counterfeit U.S. or foreign currency;
• Counterfeit government issued bonds;
• Counterfeit educational degrees;
• Counterfeit legal documents (i.e., passports, birth certificates, immigration papers, Social Security cards, etc.);
• Counterfeit common goods, which includes knock off products;
• Counterfeit of a trademark;
• Counterfeit credit cards or debit cards;
• Counterfeit luxury goods, such as name brand watches, sunglasses or purses; and
• Counterfeit checks.

Advances in printing technology have made it substantially easier to commit this white collar crime than in decades past. This means that more people have the ability to create counterfeit items with a high level of accuracy in terms of resembling the real thing. Counterfeiting is usually a fairly large operation, as it requires someone to make the counterfeit item, but operations also often include someone to sell the counterfeit item. Simply being caught with a counterfeit item with the intent to distribute or sell the item is illegal.

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 Posted on January 20, 2016 in Illinois Laws

The newest rendition of alcohol is a freeze dried form of powdered or crystallized alcohol. The powdered alcohol is considerably lighter than traditional liquid alcohol and can easily be transported. The powdered alcohol is mixed with water or other liquids to form an alcoholic beverage.

Powdered alcohol was approved for use in the United States by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau in 2015. However powdered alcohol is not readily available in the United States. Obtaining the approval of the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau was the last regulatory step required before powdered alcohol can be manufactured and sold in the United States. The earliest that powdered alcohol will be available for purchase in the United States is by the upcoming summer. But there are a number of states that have proactively banned powdered alcohol sales and use before the substance is even available on the market.

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 Posted on January 18, 2016 in Expungement

When you are convicted of a crime in Illinois, you may not want everyone to know that you have been convicted. Unfortunately, as a general rule, most criminal records are made available for public inspection. However, certain crimes may be eligible for expungement, which means that all records about that crime can be completely removed from the court records and indexes except for a copy that is provided to you, or sealing. Sealed records are kept confidential, and only a limited set of people may access them.

In some situations where you were charged with a crime, but not convicted, a criminal record will be generated, but it may also be eligible for expungement or sealing. Expungement of a criminal record is the best possible scenario, but sometimes it is not possible to obtain an expungement because the crime is ineligible. The next best option would be to try and have the record sealed.

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