Probation If you are sentenced to probation, you have been given a sentence with lesser jail time than usual because you may be a first time offender, and a probation time period is attached to the sentence which indicates that any violation of the probation will require you to serve…
A few bad apples can spoil the whole barrel, or so they say. But in the case of some Chicago precincts where rogue cops are allowed to use their badges to commit crimes against its residents, this is all too true. Cities are discovering that the cost of allowing these…
You have been arrested. You do not have a “get out of jail” free card, so what do you do? If you are accused of a crime and arrested in Chicago, the first thing you will want to do is call your attorney. The very next thing you will want…
If you have ever been arrested for committing a crime in any state, whether convicted or not, you have a criminal record. Despite what you have been told, adult criminal records and juvenile criminal records (also known as “rap sheets”) are never automatically cleared. If you incurred a “rap sheet”…
Arrested, charged, prosecuted, imprisoned, but innocent. This scenario is played out over and over again in our judicial system across the nation. While America has one of the finest judicial systems in the world, sometimes we get it wrong and an innocent person ends up spending time in prison for…
Pop quiz: If suspected of committing a crime such as sexual assault, when should you talk to an attorney, before or after interrogation? Some people charged with a crime think they know the answer to this question, but sadly, many find out too late that they did not. Police officers…
Multiple murders on the streets of Chicago on any given weekend now seem to be a fact of life. The murder rate in Chicago has increased by 13% since 2013; shootings not ending in death were up 40% during the first three months of 2015. It is little wonder that…
First-degree murder carries the highest sentence of any single crime in all of Illinois and is subject to the mandatory minimum statute. This means that those convicted are almost guaranteed at least a 20-year prison term, and if a gun is used the mandatory minimum jumps to 45 years. Felony…
When a person is arrested and faces criminal charges that may result in jail time, there is often a lengthy period of time between the initial arrest and the trial. During the time between your arrest and the eventual trial, bail can be posted, allowing you to remain free until…
At any given time, thousands of Illinois residents are unable to secure a good job or any job at all, as a result of past mistakes. Even if you have paid your debt to society as a result of a criminal conviction, you may be one of the thousands of…