Posted on November 02, 2015 in Criminal Defense

Many major US cities have noticed large spikes in the number of homicides this year, and government officials are wondering why. While violent crimes have steadily declined in America, this year's reported number of homicides in major cities like Chicago, New Orleans, and Cleveland have government offices worried, including the Obama administration.

Cities that have little in common, other than being large urban areas, are all experiencing significantly higher numbers of violent crimes than usual, and all within the last few months. While officials have yet to pinpoint a specific reason as to why this increase has occurred, experts have provided a few theories. Are the numbers simply reflective of a more violent than normal year, or do they indicate a larger problem?

The entire country has seen a decline in violent crimes over the past years. In the early 1990’s, drug problems led to incredibly high numbers of homicides in many major US cities, but since then homicide rates have declined steadily. While the numbers of homicides in major urban areas are still nowhere near where they were during the early 90s, there is reason for officials to be alarmed.

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 Posted on October 28, 2015 in Federal Crimes

Last night, the 2015 World Series got underway as the Kansas City Royals needed 14 innings to fend off the visiting New York Mets. By the time the game got started, however, the sports world and the Internet as a whole was abuzz with chatter about revelations made by a member of the last Mets team to win the Fall Classic. Former Major League Baseball All-Star Lenny Dykstra admitted in an interview this week that he spent more than half a million dollars on a scheme to blackmail umpires into giving him favorable calls during his playing days.

Shocking Information

The startling, yet completely unabashed, admission came during Dykstra’s appearance on The Herd, a weekday Fox radio/TV simulcast hosted by Colin Cowherd. The exchange was prompted by a comment from Cowherd suggesting that Dykstra “kept a book” on umpires, which in the context of the game can mean many things. Completely above board, a pitcher or batter would want to understand the way in which an umpire tends to call a game, and file that information away to be used appropriately. For Dykstra, however, “it was a little more than that.”

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 Posted on October 26, 2015 in Murder

A homecoming celebration turned tragic this past weekend when a car plowed into a crowd of spectators, killing four and injuring dozens. Three adults and a two-year-old child were killed when the vehicle driven by a 25-year-old woman suddenly crashed into a throng of people watching the Oklahoma State University homecoming parade on Saturday in Stillwater. The driver was arrested on charges of driving under the influence and was held over the weekend on four counts of second-degree murder. She is expected to appear in court this week for arraignment.

Murder Charges in Illinois

As the OSU community seeks to heal following the tragedy, the case may serve to highlight some important facets of criminal law here in Illinois. Charges for murder in Illinois can be brought against a defendant in the first or second degree. First degree murder is committed when a person kills another:

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 Posted on October 21, 2015 in Drug Crimes

With recent efforts to at least decriminalize marijuana, along with the introduction of a pilot program for the medical use of marijuana, Illinois seems to be remaining fairly contemporary regarding popular opinion about the drug. As one of 23 states with legalized medicinal marijuana, Illinois has stayed comfortably in the middle of the pack as it takes steps toward what many believe will be the ultimate legalization of recreational use. According to recent polling numbers, that is just what a majority of American would like to see.

Third Year in a Row

Noted polling organization Gallup reported that, for the third consecutive year, more than half of U.S. adults are in favor of making marijuana legal in this country. Gallup’s most recent numbers show that 58 percent of those polled support legalizing the drug’s use, tying 2013’s high-water mark. Polling numbers dipped 51 percent in 2014, but rebounded this year as the topic has gained momentum among 2016 presidential hopefuls.

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 Posted on October 19, 2015 in DUI

Before you were arrested on charges of driving under the influence, you probably failed or refused a blood alcohol content (BAC) chemical test. Such tests, while not the only criteria for determining your impairment, are administered to establish your BAC, and the penalties for failing or refusing them are administered by the Secretary of State’s Office.  They are applied separately from any sentence or penalties imposed as conditions of court supervision or as the result of a DUI conviction.

Statutory Summary Suspensions

Technically considered an administrative penalty as opposed to a criminal one, a statutory summary suspension applies to any driver who fails or refuses to submit chemical BAC testing. If you fail a breathalyzer, blood, or urine test for the first time, your driving privileges will be suspended for 6 months. A suspension of 12 months will be applied for subsequent failures. What constitutes a failed test depends upon the driver’s age and whether the vehicle is commercial or private. The legal BAC limit for a driver 21 or older operating a private vehicle is 0.08 percent, 0.04 percent for a commercial vehicle, and 0.00 for any driver under 21.

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 Posted on October 14, 2015 in Criminal Defense

You have probably seen it dozens of times on TV procedural dramas. A crime victim or potential witness stands behind a one-way mirror while a small parade of suspects are lined up for the purposes of identification. While not definitive evidence, the witness’s recognition of a suspect provides a basis for the continuing investigation. In the real world, lineups are also used in criminal cases to help narrow down a suspect list and, sometimes, as a form of testimony. Unfortunately, however, eyewitnesses are not always reliable sources of information and mistakes have led to the conviction of many innocent suspects. That is why the state of Illinois has developed a statutory procedure for lineups which took effect at the beginning of this year.

Photographic Lineups

Unlike the common television trope, most lineups in Illinois utilize photographs, although live lineups are still used in some cases.  However, “cognitive bias” by the lineup’s administrator, including subconscious cues or body language, can unintentionally affect the results of such procedures. To combat such influences, the new law requires law enforcement departments to have an independent administrator conduct the lineup. The administrator must be an individual with no knowledge of the case or the identity of the suspects. In addition, the lineup must be recorded on video whenever possible to ensure compliance with proper protocols.

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 Posted on October 12, 2015 in Drug Crimes

It has been more than 21 months since the Illinois medical marijuana pilot program officially went into effect. However, the program, which was designed to provide insight into how the state and society would be affected by medicinal use of the drug, has yet to offer any type of usable data since dispensaries have not had any product to make legally available. The wait, it seems, is just about over. At least one grower is reportedly beginning to harvest the first legally-grown crop of marijuana in the state, and officials indicate that dispensaries around the state will soon be able to offer registered participants the opportunity to purchase it.

Licensed Growers Only

The measure officially legalizing the use of medicinal marijuana was signed into law on August 1, 2013, by then-Governor Pat Quinn. The Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act went into effect on January 1, 2014, and those with qualifying conditions began talking to their doctors about participating in the program. To date, more than 3,000 applications have been processed by the Department of Public Health, but due to bureaucratic delays and ongoing legal battles, production did not begin until earlier this spring.

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 Posted on October 07, 2015 in BAIID

What do you get when you cross an intoxicated Navy sailor, an ignition interlock device, and raccoon? Well, if you believe everything you read on the internet, you get a creative way to start a car and very angry furry passenger. Although highly entertaining, it turns out that the story, like so many others in recent years, was the result of an active imagination, subsequently overshared and under-verified.  Various news outlets have since confirmed the viral account as a hoax, albeit with no small measure of amusement.

All From a Single Image

The story began with a post on the picture-sharing site Imgur, which allegedly showed an incident report originating at Camp Pendleton in San Diego, California. According to the report, a Navy petty officer left a bar and needed to start his personal vehicle which was equipped with a breath alcohol ignition interlock device (BAIID). Too drunk to meet the device’s requirements, he supposedly captured a raccoon rummaging in a trashcan nearby, and squeezed its body to provide the breath sample needed by the BAIID to start the car, leaving the animal unconscious. The man, the story continued, left the raccoon in the vehicle and began driving. A short time later, the animal regained consciousness and attacked the driver, causing an accident that ended up with the vehicle in an in-ground swimming pool.

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 Posted on October 05, 2015 in Criminal Defense

After more than 25 years, Illinois residents looking for cheaper drinks after work will be able to legally find them. Illinois lawmakers, earlier this year, passed a measure that repealed the ban on happy hour throughout the state. The new law took effect on July 15, 2015, and while most restaurant and bar owners are excited about the prospect of additional business, some still have concerns over the potential for danger among inebriated customers, including the possibility of drunk driving.

Why Was It Banned?

Throughout the 1980s, public safety campaigns around the country focused heavily on the dangers of alcohol-related accidents. Groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) successfully raised awareness of the problem, which, in turn, led to a demand for more aggressive preventive measures. Some municipalities, including here in Illinois, thought that a solution might be found in limiting discounted drinks to reduce binge drinking and drunk driving accidents. The state, as a whole, followed suit in 1989, albeit with rather inconsistent provisions. Happy hours were banned, but full-day specials were permitted, and many restaurant and bar owners found other, clever ways around the law anyway.

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 Posted on September 30, 2015 in Violent Crime

In a period of about 15 hours, beginning this past Monday night, 14 people were shot in the Chicago area, including six who were killed. The shootings come on the heels of two consecutive weekends in which more than 50 people were shot in the Windy City. More than 40 were shot during each of four consecutive weekends in August, as well. The rash of violent crime has not gone unnoticed by city officials, who are insistent that it is time to take action to get the violence back under control.

Sobering Statistics

According to Chicago Tribune estimates, some 2,300 shootings have been reported in the city of Chicago this year, up by nearly 400 from the same time last year. The number of homicides, through Sunday, stood at 359, a 21 percent jump from 2014, Chicago police data indicates. The problem, it seems, is not limited to Chicago, as homicides are on the rise in in major cities across the country, including Saint Louis, which is up 60 percent, Baltimore, up 56 percent, and a staggering 76 percent in Milwaukee. While the issue seem magnified when contrasted with last year’s near-record low homicide rates, there is little question that concern is certainly warranted.

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