Illinois Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

First of all, anything you say can be used against you in a court of law. Please be mindful of that whenever you're talking to your employer, law enforcement, or posting online.  There is no way to answer your question whether to fight the case or work out a deal based on what you've posted. (Don't post any more details).  Every case is different. Any good criminal defense lawyer cannot evaluate the strength of any one given case without looking at the police reports, photos or video the prosecutor has, hear your side of the story, etc.  The best advice is to shut up and lawyer up ASAP.  Plenty of good criminal defense lawyers offer free consultations so you can decide on the best course of action for yourself.  Good luck to you. ... Read Answer

By alligator, I assume you mean the person making the allegations (not called an alligator).    The State's Attorney has the power to issue a subpoena against this person.    A subpoena is a court order that directs a witness to show up to court for a court date at a specific place on a specific date and time.  Then that person, if called to the witness stand, is to tell the truth to all queations posed.  If that person fails to show up, then there is the issue of the witness being found in contempt of court, which can mean fines and/or jail for the witness.  Over the course of my career, I have had too many people tell me that the defense is that the witness isn't coming. This is always a bad defense strategy.  If the State's Attorney wants to win bad enough, they will subpoena the witness and then seek its enforcement if the witness declines to come.  I would get a good criminal defense lawyer to map out a good defense for you.  Good luck to you. ... Read Answer

I am not sure what you mean by "no evidence".    I have heard people say "There's no evidence against me" when they confessed to the crime on video camera.  I have heard people say, "There's no evidence" when their fingerprint is on the gun.  It's important that this home care worker get a good criminal defense lawyer to discuss his or her issues.  If the State proves their case beyond a reasonable doubt to the court, then yes, jail is a possibility.  And before you say, "well, this home care worker is innocent, so no lawyer is needed," that is exactly wrong.  You need only look at the work innocence projects do to try their best to get people out of prison when there now exists compelling evidence of the prisoner's innocence.  Thousands of them.  Hope this helps.   ... Read Answer

Labor certification applications test the availability of US workers in a particular area at the prevailing wage for that location. A prevailing wage determination from New Jersey has no relevance to the level of prevailing wages in the state of Illinois. Your employer should begin the labor certification process all over again beginning with the local prevailing wage determination. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.  ... Read Answer

If the question is whether you can apply successfully for your husband, that would depend upon the reasons for which he could not come to the US previously. I note that we have had a number of cases done successfully where the spouse abandoned permanent residence and was later reapplied for by the US citizen spouse. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.  ... Read Answer

Unfortunately there is no changing an H-1B from consular processing to change of status in the US when it has been approved. Your choice appears to be going through the consular processing or having the employer refile the H-1B package all over again with the request for change of status. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.  ... Read Answer

You may want to report the abuse, particularly the physical abuse, to Adult Protective Services.  However, please note that your father may deny that he is being abused:  he is dependent on her for care. You may also want to consult with an elder lawyer.  You can locate one near you using the Find a Lawyer function on the website of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (www.naela.org)  ... Read Answer

Immigration law does look to the foreign jurisdiction where the marriage took place to verify its validity. Where did the marriage take place? Illinois has some restrictions on cousin marriages but you may be able to fall into the exception such that your case wouldn't violate Illinois public policy when you apply for your spouses green card. Discuss with counsel anywhere in the USA for a full review of the facts. More facts are needed to form an opinion. ... Read Answer

The problem is that, if the gun is discovered by law enforcement, who is to say the felon didn't have access to the firearm?  I say this because I recently had a client charged where he borrowed a family member's car and was pulled over. The gun was in the car. He didn't know it at the time, but with his record, he was charged.     ... Read Answer

The only thing I can say for sure is that the 16 year old needs a trained criminal defense lawyer, because a number of things can happen.  First of all, the 16 year old can be charged with Attempted Murder or Murder depending on whether or not the man shot lives or dies.  The 16 year old could face a transfer petition to be tried as an adult.  I am not saying it's likely, but it's possible.  It's also possible to be charged under statutes making juvenile punishments possible..... along with adult penalties.  It's also possible that he could simply be charged as a juvenile.  That 16 year old needs counsel that has experience in violent crime defense as well as juvenile court. ... Read Answer

The good news is that your background is somewhat dated and appears to be for misdemeanor conduct (most mob actions are misdemeanors).  However, there's still not enough information here to answer your question. One factor will be the amount of loss in question based on the forgery. The higher the amount of loss, the greater one's chances of being locked up.   Another issue here is who the judge is. One truth about the justice system is that one can find different results and therefore different justice in front of different judges.  A really good criminal defense lawyer who has a handle on the law, good sentencing advocacy, and the judge is a must.    I hope this helps. ... Read Answer

That''s going to depend on the traffic violation. So there's not enough information here to answer the question.  Some traffic violations are fine only. Some are misdemeanors that carry a maximum of 364 days in the local county jail, and some are serious felonies that can lead to serious prison time.  Unless he posts bail per the current orders, he'll remain in jail until the case is over. If he gets sentenced to jail or prison, he will be earning credit for time served.       ... Read Answer

She should see an experienced criminal defense attorney along with all of her paperwork, including that notice to appear you mentioned. Without seeing the paperwork, it's hard to say much more for sure.  The Clerk's Office for the County where this happened should be able to do a name search on her to see if there are charges pending. For many counties, this can be done online. For Cook County, one must go to the Clerk's Office to see for one's self.  It could be that there's been a paperwork snafu and that the investigation is ongoing. It could also be that your wife received the wrong court date or the mailing got sent to the wrong address.  I wouldn't wait for something in the mail or someone to approach your wife. If one does, she should assert her right to remain silent and her right to a lawyer to be present during any questioning for any question except what her name and other personal information like address. ... Read Answer

If one goes into court with the defense that he only hit the guy one time, the answer to that will be that that was one time too many.    One does not get a free pass for hitting anyone so long as the number of hits is a low number.    It can be a defense to aggravated battery that.....if the guy was the first aggressor that your boyfriend was defending himself, but whether or not that's successful will depend on the facts of the case.  I would leave the interviewing of witnesses, including video of the witnesses to the attorney and his or her investigator. If you're following the guy around, you and your boyfriend could face witness intimidation charges. Such actions could also mean increasing your boyfriend's bond because one standard special condition of bond is no contact by the defendant or his friends/family with state witnesses. Your actions could be misinterpreted.  If your boyfriend doesn't have an attorney, he should call an experienced criminal defense attorney right away.    Good luck to you. ... Read Answer

There's not enough information to answer your question for certain.  The only thing I can say for certain is that you need an experienced criminal defense lawyer immediately to help you with the warrant and with the charge.    If they can prove you took something from the store that you were not authorized to take, it really doesn't matter that they didn't figure it out right away.    The statute of limiitations....... in other words... the time limit to bring a criminal charge...... for a misdemeanor is 18 months in the State of Illinois.  For most felonies, it's three years. I would start making calls right away to make an appointment to see an experienced criminal defense lawyer.    Good luck to you. ... Read Answer

My opinion is that it is okay to apply for a tourist visa, but that your father should be entirely truthful in filling out and interviewing for the nonimmigrant visa. If he obtains the visa, he should further be truthful with CBP when he arrives at the airport or other port of entry if questioned about his  past and his intended period of stay. He would also be advised to bring proof that he has been outside the US for 10 years and of your mother's condition. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.  ... Read Answer

The loan is secured by the property.  With the lender's permission, you can pay off the loan.  The lender can also foreclose. Please note that a quitclaim deed is not a "quick claim deed" and does not transfer title to (ownership of) land.  It only records that one person quits their claim to disputed land, such as an easement or alleyway.  ... Read Answer