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Recent Blog Posts
Supervised Release in Illinois
Most people who have not had dealings with the criminal justice system base their knowledge of that system on what they see on television. Unfortunately, television depictions of criminal law are not always accurate, and even when they are, they cannot possibly represent the criminal law of every state because every state has different laws. One example of this issue has to do with parole. People assume because of television that when someone is released from prison, he or she is released on parole. However, in Illinois, that is not the case. Illinois eliminated parole (except for those people who were sentenced long enough ago that parole was a possibility when they were sentenced) and replaced it with supervised release, a different system entirely.
Who is Subject to Supervised Release?
Illinois statute requires a program known as mandatory supervised release. The statute says that whenever someone is sentenced to prison and that sentence is not one of natural life, “every sentence includes a term in addition to the term of imprisonment.” If a person was sentenced under the law in effect before February 1, 1978, then that term is one of parole, just like is seen on TV. If the person was sentenced under the laws in effect after that date, the term is one of “mandatory supervised release.”
Body Armor: What Seems Like a Good Idea Can Land You in Prison
Gun crimes are a reality in our society. Otherwise law abiding citizens find themselves carrying guns or other weapons for self-defense when they themselves would never want to hurt a fly. Others resort to protective measures like bullet-proof vests or bullet-proof backpacks to protect themselves. While combining both measures may seem like an excellent self-defense strategy, doing so in Illinois could wind you up in some hot water.
What is Body Armor?
Illinois has a statute that defines body armor. Body armor can be any of the following:
Military-Style Vests and Jackets. These include flack jackets, military surveillance vests, and other types of protective armor designed to be worn by military personnel. They are made of Kevlar or similar materials which are designed to prevent bullets from penetrating the chest. Usually these vests or jackets are designed to be worn over your clothing.
What You Should Know About Vehicle Impoundment
Being charged with a crime is always a very difficult situation. You may be worried about potential jail or prison time, fines and fees, the effect on your reputation, the possibility of losing or job, immigration or professional licensing consequences, or any of about a thousand other potential consequences. One thing you need to be aware of is that when you are charged with certain crimes, another possible issue you may have to deal with is having your car impounded by police.
Illinois Vehicle Impoundment Statute
Illinois has a statute that allows the police to impound your vehicle if you are arrested for certain crimes. These crimes include:
I Wasn’t The Shooter” is Not a Defense: Principles of Criminal Liability
While every criminal case is different, some situations happen over and over again. One thing we see all too often is the situation where a person tries to get him or herself out of trouble by telling the police that he or she was at the scene of the crime but was not the primary culprit, thinking this partially absolves them of criminal liability. It is totally reasonable that people would think this would decrease the amount of trouble they are in — after all, the lookout at the bank robbery doesn’t seem like she is nearly as bad as the co-defendant who shot the bank guard. Unfortunately, while that may make sense, it is not the law. Instead, that lookout will be in just as much trouble as the person who shot the guard.
Accountability for the Conduct of Another
This situation presents an issue of accountability. Under Illinois statute, a person is accountable for another person’s actions under various circumstances. The part of the statute that comes up most often, however, says:
Burglary: It Is Not Just Breaking and Entering
Thanks to police procedural shows and courtroom dramas, the public has a lot of ideas about what the law is and what it is not. Unfortunately, since every state has different laws and television writers are not bound to accurately represent any of them, sometimes these ideas about the law can be mistaken. This can be particularly problematic when it comes to criminal law. One example of a crime that is often misconstrued is burglary.
So What is Burglary?
Most people think of burglary as breaking into a house or business to steal something. And this is, in fact, correct: that would be a burglary. But in Illinois, the crime of burglary includes much more than those two possibilities. Like all state crimes in Illinois, burglary is defined by statute. According to the state statute:
Right to Bear Arms: Illinois Rules Age Restriction on Gun Possession Does Not Violate the Second Amendment
Gun crimes are one of the most contentious types of crimes there are in our society. On one hand gun, violence kills far too many members of our society, particularly young people. On the other hand, our constitution give us the right to bear arms. Issues of gun control seem to come up on both the state and federal level each year. Now the Illinois court of appeals has issued an important decision that seems to prioritize the need for gun control over the constitutional right to possess a gun.
Illinois Court Rules Against 18-Year Old’s Right to Bear Arms
The Illinois Court of Appeals recently addressed whether an 18-year-old has a right to bear arms that is protected by the Second Amendment. The case is called People v. Fields. The State charged Demonte Fields with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon (AUUW). Ultimately the trial court convicted Fields after a bench trial and sentenced him to probation. Fields appealed, arguing that his conviction should be vacated because the statute prohibiting the possession of a handgun while under 21 years of age is unconstitutional. The Court of Appeals did not agree, and it upheld his conviction.
Solicitation and a Sting in the Suburbs
When we think of undercover police work we often think of narcotics cases. Police go undercover to buy or sell drugs and catch people who do the same. But this is certainly not the only area where police work under cover. Sex crimes like prostitution and solicitation also provide undercover work for police and lead to arrests in the suburban area. If you have been arrested for a sex crime in the Rolling Meadows area, it is in your best interests to contact an attorney immediately.
A Sting in the Suburbs
The Chicago Sun Times reports that 14 men were recently arrested after meeting police officers in an undercover solicitation sting in the west suburbs. Undercover police officers placed ads for prostitution services on an adult classifieds website called Backpage.com. The men then allegedly went to a hotel to meet with the advertised prostitutes only to instead find undercover cops. In 2014, more than 130 men were arrested by Cook County Sheriff’s officers using this Backpage sting method. The unit has arrested around 700 people using this method since 2009. The men caught in this sting were charged with a violating a local Cook County public morals nuisance ordinance.
Resisting or Obstructing a Police Officer
As many across our nation continue to protest against abuses of power by police officers, unfortunately some people are winding up arrested. All too often these sorts of arrests are for things like obstructing or resisting arrest. This is why it is so important for politically active citizens to understand their rights and know exactly what does and does not count as obstruction, so they can do everything they can to avoid criminal charges.
What is Resisting or Obstructing a Peace Officer?
Crimes in Illinois are defined by statute. Under Illinois law a person “who knowingly resists or obstructs the performance by one known to the person to be a peace officer….of any authorized act within his or her official capacity commits a Class A misdemeanor.” This definition is a little bit circular, though, so we have to look at how the courts have defined the crime in practice. The Illinois Supreme Court said in a case called People b. Raby that:
Juveniles Are More Likely to Be Bullied into False Confessions
The television news show 60 Minutes called Chicago the false confession capital of the United States just a couple of years ago. This is because there are twice as many documented cases of false confessions in the Chicago area as there are in there are in any other city in the country. A false confession is what happens when an innocent person commits a crime he or she did not commit. It may seem like no one would ever do this, but unfortunately it happens regularly, even in serious felony cases. While adults sometimes confess falsely, false confessions are even more common amongst juveniles.
Study Shows False Confessions More Common Amongst Juveniles
The Innocence Project is the organization that is responsible for using DNA evidence to prove that hundreds of prisoners in the United States were actually innocent. Last year they reported on a new study that shows false confessions are more likely among juveniles. The study was conducted by Florida International University, and was funded by the National institute of Mental Health. A psychologist, Lindsay C. Malloy, examined the interrogations, confessions, and guilty pleas of 193 teenage boys between the ages of 14 and 17 who were convicted of serious crimes. The results of the study showed that these teens were much more likely to falsely confess than their older counterparts.
Congress Says No Funds to go to Medical Marijuana Prosecutions
After generations of taking a hardline stance on the War on Drugs, Congress finally effectively ended the federal government’s ban on medical marijuana, at least for now. This extraordinary news can provide comfort for those involved in Illinois’ medical marijuana program. Rather than facing potential federal drug charges, nationwide users, growers, and sellers who comply with state laws regulating medical marijuana will finally be able to relax when it comes to the fear of federal prosecution.
Congress Cuts Funding for Medical Marijuana Prosecutions
While Congress did not actually “legalize” medical marijuana on a federal level, it did the next best thing. The Los Angeles Times reports that Congress included language in its massive spending bill that cut funding for prosecuting these crimes. So while operating a medical marijuana dispensary is still technically a violation of federal law, federal agents and prosecutors will not be able to prosecute these crimes because they will not have the money to do so, so long as the so-called criminal is complying with state laws regarding medical marijuana. Congress’ action comes on the coattails of the Obama administration’s efforts to follow a similar policy over the last year, but Congress’ action is the first time that the federal government has actually codified any type of decriminalization of marijuana since criminalizing it in the first place.
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