Like most cities, Chicago’s violent crimes seem local to certain areas and districts. Those areas taint the entire city with their reputation of violence. Specifically, neighborhoods that are infested with gangs and street thugs, like Austin and Englewood, have a murder rate that is much higher than any other part…
A series of events led to the death of a Chicago man, Marques Gaines, that is now being called a homicide by the coroner’s office. Gaines and an unidentified man started arguing outside a 7-Eleven Store. The argument escalated, ending up with the unidentified man assaulting Gaines in front of…
Eyewitness identification is incredibly unreliable, yet can be a determining factor in a jury finding someone guilty at trial. In a study of 525 wrongful convictions, the Innocence Project found that 73% of those wrongfully convicted (235), were found guilty due to incorrect eyewitness identification. If you are being charged…
A Saint Xavier University football player and criminal justice major, Jonathan Gilbreth, was charged with one felony count of burglary on June 26, 2015, according to a news report. At around 3:10 a.m., police responded to a security alarm at an Oak Lawn tobacco store where they saw a man…
On the heels of the Chicago “Rocket Docket” program comes a new initiative from the Cook County Sheriff’s Office aimed at identifying – and getting treatment for – Cook County misdemeanor arrestees with mental health issues. Mental Health Crisis in Cook County Jails Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart has…
A Cook County woman was charged with domestic battery for allegedly slamming her boyfriend’s head into a public restroom following his refusal to have sex with her. She was also charged with illegal possession of prescription drugs after police saw prescription pills in her purse that had the name of…
Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are changing more than just how we communicate with friends and family. It is changing the way law enforcement and criminal defense attorneys handle their cases as well. The Oak Brook police department, for example, posts alerts on its Twitter and…
A DuPage County man who was charged with the attempted murder of his mother was declared not guilty by reason of insanity and sentenced to up to 30 years in a mental institution. A DuPage County judge found the defendant mentally unfit to stand trial for the 2011 stabbing and…
Two Chicago residents were arrested recently for allegedly committing retail theft at two different stores at Lincolnwood Town Center. But the value of the stolen goods may leave you wondering why police and prosecutors even bothered pressing charges. Chicago Retail Theft In the first incident, a man was charged with…
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…