Erick Maya has successfully appealed his conviction by arguing that he suffered from ineffective assistance of counsel. This is despite the fact that he was represented by one of the most highly-regarded criminal defense attorneys in Illinois, George Lenard. Maya was accused and convicted of murdering Romeoville 15-year-old Briana Valle…
The Office of Jury Administration is in charge of producing qualified teams of jurors for trials in Chicago. Jurors play a big role in ensuring that all citizens’ rights are protected during trial. Jury service is a crucial and serious responsibility that all US citizens share. The aim of the…
Criminal defense trials, whether fictionalized accounts on television or in the movies or the real life versions, usually end in one of three ways – a guilty verdict, a non-guilty verdict or a mistrial. The first two are self-explanatory. But what exactly constitutes a mistrial? Reasons for Chicago Mistrials A…
The recent announcement that the grand jury chose not to indict the Ferguson, Missouri police officer who shot and killed unarmed teenager Michael Brown this past summer on charges of first-degree murder or manslaughter raised many questions, the most troubling for many being, “Why shouldn’t Officer Wilson at least stand…