Three Chicago men were charged with murder for the shooting death of a Chicago resident recently. The men are accused of pulling up alongside the victim’s car and opening fire; the victim later died of a gunshot wound to his arm after trying to flee the scene. Co-Defendants and the…
A Chicago man out on bond was arrested last week and charged with unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, cocaine possession and marijuana possession. The defendant was arrested after Sheriff’s Office personnel noticed crack cocaine on a plate on the defendant’s dining room floor; a subsequent search uncovered…
A Cook County correctional officer was charged with theft for allegedly purchasing a watch he knew was stolen property. The arrest was the result of a joint operation by the Cook County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, part of the Sheriff’s Office’s continued effort to cut down…
A new law designed to protect Illinois residents from police officers using an individual’s cell phone tracking capability to determine their whereabouts passed the Illinois Legislature in August and went into effect immediately. The law, called the Freedom from Location Surveillance Act, was designed to prevent law enforcement from obtaining…
Former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge was released from prison earlier this month, after serving a three and one-half year sentence for lying to federal investigators regarding alleged torture committed by himself and Chicago police officers under his command. For more than 20 years, Burge and those under his command…
A law signed by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn in August allows Illinois prison inmates who pled guilty to murder, rape or any other crime where DNA evidence is present, to petition the court to have that evidence tested in an attempt to have their conviction overturned. Illinois Post-Conviction DNA Testing…
An Aurora man convicted of murder in 2009 will have a second chance at post-conviction relief after the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that a judge’s dismissal order was filed one day too late. Illinois Post-Conviction Relief and People v. Perez Ivan Perez was convicted of the 2004 murder of Francisco…
The recent indictment of Minnesota Viking’s running back Adrian Peterson on charges of child abuse, which stemmed from his admission that he disciplined his young son with a switch, is raising questions over just what constitutes corporal punishment, and when it crosses the line from discipline to child abuse. Chicago…
A Chicago police sergeant was relieved of his duties after being charged with one count each of predatory criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a 9-year-old girl. The alleged victim is the daughter of the sergeant’s co-worker, and defense attorneys claim that the nature of the relationship between the…
The Illinois Supreme Court recently upheld a Chicago man’s conviction on a charge of aggravated discharge of a firearm toward a police officer, despite the fact that the defendant did not fire the weapon and claims he was unaware the shooter was armed. Illinois Common Criminal Design Rule In People v. Fernandez,…