High profile cases usually get a lot of attention in the media. Sometimes, media attention can advance the cause of justice, and sometimes it can inhibit it. When a case is tried in the court of public opinion, facts are sometimes ignored and emotions become the measuring rod for “guilt…
Gang violence is nothing new in this country, from New York City, to Chicago, to Las Vegas and beyond, criminal gangs and gang violence has left its mark on American society. The era of the Italian Mafia is one of the most notorious periods in American history. The Mafia, whose…
In an effort to eradicate crime in the urban city of Chicago, the city officials are demolishing abandoned buildings that are magnets for drug users and drug dealers. The buildings targeted for demolition are known hangouts for gangs and drug dealers. Residents of the neighborhood have been asking Alderman Carrie…
The story of the defrocked priest, Daniel McCormack is back in the news. This time, because the prosecution has decided to drop the sexual assault charges against him stemming from a 2005 case involving the abuse of a then 10-year-old boy. In this case, the prosecution was seeking to have…
If you are not eligible to have your records expunged, what are your options? If you have multiple arrests and convictions, or if you have been convicted of certain Class 3 and Class 4 felonies, you are also not eligible for an expungement of your record. But all is not…
You have done the crime, you have done the time, and now you would like a fresh start. Your question is “Is it possible?” Is there any way to close that chapter of your life and have a fresh start without a criminal past dogging you? The answer is “Maybe.”…
We have heard of serial killers, those mentally crazed individuals that satisfy their urge to take the life of another, for no reason at all. We have serial burglars that break and enter homes, warehouses, and any place where they will find the property and valuables of another. We have…
In all jurisdictions, first degree murder is the most serious of homicide crimes that one can commit. The prosecutor in a “first degree” murder case must show, beyond a reasonable doubt that (1) one individual killed another individual, “without justification”; (2) that the individual intended to kill or do great…
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA When we send our little darlings off to college, the last thing we want to worry about is whether they become a victim of a crime while at school. How can we be sure that we are sending them to a university where they will be safe?…
Violence is on our streets, in our communities, and in our schools. Chicago weekend street violence has become a constant, so much so that no one seems to be surprised at the total number of people who are murdered on any given weekend. Whenever we have a school shooting or…