Illinois Criminal Defense Legal Questions

1. They tried to summon you into court.  It was not served on you. 2.  It looks like they personally served someone.  RETD means Returned, and P.S. means personal service. 3. Default allowed means that person never showed up to Court, so they defautled and there is a judgement. It is possible to collect. For example, if you have a Chase bank account, they could garnish your account.    ... Read More

Assuming no death:     (720 ILCS 5/8-1) (from Ch. 38, par. 8-1)    Sec. 8-1. Solicitation and solicitation of murder.     (a) Solicitation. A person commits the offense of solicitation when, with intent that an offense be committed, other than first degree murder, he or she commands, encourages, or requests another to commit that offense.    (b) Solicitation of murder. A person commits the offense of solicitation of murder when he or she commits solicitation with the intent that the offense of first degree murder be committed.     (c) Sentence. A person convicted of solicitation may be fined or imprisoned or both not to exceed the maximum provided for the offense solicited, except that the penalty shall not exceed the corresponding maximum limit provided by subparagraph (c) of Section 8-4 of this Code. Solicitation of murder is a Class X felony, and a person convicted of solicitation of murder shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less than 15 years and not more than 30 years, except that a person convicted of solicitation of murder when the person solicited was a person under the age of 17 years shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less than 20 years and not more than 60 years. ... Read More

Talk to your attorney on how you would prove you didn't intentionally steal.  This is a very fact specific question. Two retail theft convictions from 25 years ago permits the State to "enhance" your Retail Theft to a felony offense.  It is a class 4 Felony, punishable by a maximum fine of $25,000 and 1-3 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.  A civil suit is not a criminal suit, therefore there is no "presumption of innocence".   Whether you should pay the civil demand letter or not is a question you should ask your attorney.  ... Read More

Sometimes you can ask the Court to reconsider or modify the sentence. It depends on what your fiance was charged with.  However, many Courts take the opinion that Jail is not meant to be a convenience.  They say, "You do the crime, you serve the time."   Whether it is possible or not depends on the Judge and the basis of the charge.  If your fiance got that much jail time on a "very minor issue" while it being his first time being in any kind of trouble, then I can say with a reasonable degree of certainty that he did not get jail time on a "very minor issue", or it was not his first time in trouble.    ... Read More

Depends if you did it or not.  If you did not do it, and your natural handwriting looks nothing like the writing on the checks, there may be some benefit to you.  If you did do it, you might be helping the police prove their case against you.   You should consult your attorney on this particular question.  ... Read More

1. Miranda only applies if it was law enforcement representatives who question you.  Your question is not clear whether it was a store security officer or the police who questioned you. 2.  You could be charged under an accountability theory.  Think of it like being a bank-robber. You helped them steal, by handing them something from the shelf.  3.  Miranda generally kicks in if you are considered "in custody".  If Officers show up and ask, "Hey what happened, we are conducting an investigation", they do not necessarily need to read Miranda.  The idea that Miranda rights need to be read the second the cops put the handcuffs on you is a fiction of television.  If they arrest you and then decide to do a custodial interrogation, then you should be read your Miranda rights. 4.  A violation of Miranda would result in the suppression of the evidence, in your case, any inculpatory statements you may have made.  However, that does not mean there is insufficient evidence to convict you.  For example, if your buddy decides to say, "Yeah, he was working with me and he handed me the item", the evidence of your buddy's statement and the evidence he had stolen goods on him is not suppressed.  Only evidence that comes from your statement is suppressed.       ... Read More

You need to take action to get this matter resolved, because if you don't eventually it's going to turn into a big problem for you. A skilled criminal defense attorney would need to discuss this matter with you in greater detail, & ask you many questions, in order to give you the complete, proper legal advice you need, & a quote to represent you. Schedule a consultation ASAP. Once the matter has been resolved to your satisfaction (hopefully), you'll be glad you paid the money to hire an experienced attorney & properly protect your legal rights.... Read More

A skilled criminal defense attorney who handles court cases in DuPage County would need to discuss this matter with you &/or your boyfriend in greater detail, & ask both of you many questions, in order to give both of you the complete, proper legal advice you need, & a quote to represent him.? Schedule a consultation ASAP.? Once the matter has been resolved to his & your satisfaction (hopefully), you'll be glad you paid the money to hire an experienced attorney & properly protect his legal rights.... Read More

It's possible you may be charged in criminal court with retail theft. If you are, schedule a consultation with an experienced criminal defense attorney as soon as possible. In addition to the possible criminal charge, you might also be subject to a provision in Illinois law that also allows the retailer to seek money damages from you for the incident (= more than just the $ amount involved in the incident). Keep a watch on your mailbox for a possible letter from attorneys for the retailer in this regard, and if you receive such a letter, again, you need to schedule a consultation with an experienced criminal defense attorney as soon as possible.... Read More

A skilled criminal defense attorney would need to discuss this matter with you in greater detail, & ask you many questions, in order to give you the complete, proper legal advice you need (& a quote to represent you). Schedule a consultation ASAP. Once the matter has been resolved to your satisfaction (hopefully), you'll be glad you paid the money to hire an experienced attorney in this field & properly protect your legal rights.... Read More

A skilled criminal defense attorney would need to discuss this matter in greater detail with your girlfriend & you, & ask her many questions, in order to give you folks the complete, proper legal advice you need (& a quote to represent her).? Schedule a consultation ASAP.? Once the matter is resolved to you folks' satisfaction (hopefully), you'll both be glad you paid the money to hire an experienced attorney in this field who knows the correct actions to take to properly protect her legal rights.... Read More

A skilled criminal defense attorney would need to discuss this matter with you in greater detail, & ask you many questions, in order to give you the complete, proper legal advice you need (& a quote to represent you). Schedule a consultation ASAP. Once the matter is resolved to your satisfaction, you'll be glad you paid the money to hire an experienced attorney in this field who knows the correct actions to take to properly protect your legal rights, & keep you from getting into a worse legal situation than you are already in.... Read More

A skilled criminal defense attorney would need to discuss this matter with you in greater detail, & ask you many questions, in order to give you the complete, proper legal advice you need (& a quote to represent you). Schedule a consultation ASAP. Once the matter has been resolved to your satisfaction, you'll be glad you paid the money to hire an experienced attorney in this field & properly protect your legal rights.... Read More

They're not going to get jail time, but they will have to pay fines and court costs/fee, + there will be several more aspects to the sentence they receive. A skilled criminal defense attorney would need to discuss this matter with them in greater detail, & ask them many questions, in order to give them the complete, proper legal advice they need (& a quote to represent them). They should schedule a consultation ASAP. Once the case has been resolved to their satisfaction (hopefully), they'll be glad they paid the money to hire an experienced attorney in this field who knows the correct things to do to properly protect their legal rights.... Read More

Since I am not sure if he does or does not per se have a conflict under the Illinois attorney ethics code, you should call the local lawyer ethics board, they call it the disciplinary board here, and run the facts past them. I wouldnt divulge his name. If they think it is an issue, a potential conflict, you then have some grounds to fire him. You may then talk to him and decide if you think he should represent you or not. ... Read More