Illinois Criminal Defense Legal Questions

If there are disciplinary proceedings that have started, including the possible revocation of parole, he has the ability to retain counsel to represent him and fight the accusations.  This often happens in the context of someone on parole who is accused of violating his parole and then is taken into custody where the admnistrative board then reviews matters and decides whether to sustain the violation that most often the parole officer has brought.  I hope this is of a help to you. He should retain a lawyer at this point to prepare for whatever the Illinois Department of Corrections is planning to do to him.    Good luck. ... Read More

Depending on how much trouble she's in, of course. People who are facing lots of prison time are encouraged to give someone else up by law enforcement, prosecutors, and their own lawyers.  The problem is, sometimes that person who's cutting a deal to try to save their own skin is telling the truth, and sometimes they aren't. Sometimes the lies are really convincing. And sometimes, law enforcement doesn't care and buys into the lie anyway.  You need a criminal defense lawyer.  If you're questioned by law enforcement, don't lie about who you are or refuse to answer, but in response to any other question, you should tell the police:  1. that you want to invoke your right to remain silent, and  2. that you want to have your lawyer present during any questioning.    That should be your answer to all questions.  And assume anyone that you're talking to is trying to cut a deal to help themselves. Don't talk to anyone about this but the lawyer you hire.     ... Read More

Because it's against the law. Here is the text of the statute, partially highlighted by me:   (a) A person commits battery if he or she knowingly without legal justification by any means (1) causes bodily harm to an individual or (2) makes physical contact of an insulting or provoking nature with an individual.   "By any means" means exactly that.  If I throw a rock at someone's face, that's just as much against the law as my punching that person in the face.  Or butt. It makes no difference. It's no defense to say "I never touched him, the rock I threw did."  ... Read More

I am not sure what you mean by open murder or 3 offense gun charge.  If you're speaking of first degree murder in the State of Illinois, that generally carries a minimum 20 years and a maximum 60 years. There are some exceptions that can raise the sentencing range.  This time is served at 100 percent, meaning no good time credit is available. So a 20 year sentence means 20 actual years.  If a firearm is used during the offense, this significantly increases the sentencing range (as opposed to using any other weapon).  If a weapon is possessed during the murder, the judge must increase anyone's sentence by 15 years.  That makes the sentencing range 35-75, with no good time.  If a weapon is fired, whoever personally discharged that firearm faces a mandatory 20 year increase.   That makes the sentencing range 40-80, with no good time.  And if someone personally discharges a firearm that causes death or great bodily harm to a crime victim, that means a sentencing add on of anywhere from 25 years to life in prison.  So where someone who stabs another to death is generally looking at 20-60 years, one who shoots another to death is looking at a 45 year minimum with a maximum of life in prison.    I hope this helps. ... Read More

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 More

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 More

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 More

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 More

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 More

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 More

Your options essentially are to turn yourself in but have sufficient money on you to post bond.  2d option : ask that it be vacated but you need a reason for vacating it.  Logistically you need to know how to get it in front of the court and that can be tricky depending on the county.  Your comment said you called the lawyer about this problem but you didn't indicate that you actually retained him/her which would explain why the lawyer didn't show up. ... Read More

You have some very big decisions to make. If Federal you have a prior drug offense that could double the 5 year mand. min. to 10 years. If state, I am in CA so I would not know what IL state drug laws are like. Your cooperation probably would benefiot you in the long run assuming the stop and arrewst are valid. Errol Stambler errolstambler.com... Read More

   Please contact an attorney as soon as possible. If there are active warrants and you are stopped for any reason, these warrants could cause you to be detained in custody. An attorney can assist you in getting these matters resolved in an appropriate way which will, hopefully, limit your exposure.    You did not indicate in which county these warrants are outstanding. That may effect the process in resolving the issues. As you can see, your life is already being impacted by these old cases. Please contact an experienced criminal defense attorney.     This posting is for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice nor does it constitute an attorney client relationship between the parties. Lori G. Levin Attorney at Law 180 N. LaSalle, Suite 3700 Chicago, IL 60601 312-972-3756 levin@lorilevinlaw.com www.lorilevinlaw.com... Read More