Some folks are afraid to fly. Other folks are afraid of COVID-19. One man, who was afraid of both, hid inside O’Hare International Airport for three months to ostensibly avoid the dual-threat of airplanes and COVID. Now he is being charged with felony criminal trespass and misdemeanor theft. A Chicago…
Judges have broad discretion when it comes to allowing defendants to represent themselves. In a recent case, a judge denied a pro se petition by Dwight Doty to represent himself in the slaying of a 9-year-old boy whose father was a member of a rival gang. But another recent case…
Juries in Illinois and other states have been asked to measure the reliability of latent fingerprint evidence for decades. Latent fingerprints are collected samples of hidden fingerprints in a crime scene. Examiners use them to relate with those that are known to come from recognized sources. Forensic science is crucial…
In Chicago, the government has pushed legal help for juveniles involved in murder cases. This means that whenever the police interrogate juveniles, a lawyer should be present. This includes the juveniles who are younger than 15 years of age and are involved in sex or murder offenses. Illinois lawmakers believe…
Chicago has never been able to quite shake off its sometimes unwarranted reputation as a corruption center in the USA. Take the case of a city insider who has been sentenced to 10 years in jail for taking bribes in a scandal that ironically involved jumping red light cameras. The…
Recently, President Barack Obama pardoned a number of people who had been given mandatory sentences for drug trafficking that many in the legal profession considered to be excessive. More worrisome was the notion that the judge in a court case lost the right of discretion at sentencing because the mandatory…
The Wisconsin State Journal reports that two suspects are currently in custody in Illinois in connection with a violent home invasion that took place in Madison last January. Allegedly, the two suspects robbed a 27-year-old man at gunpoint, forced the man into his apartment, and once inside bound the man…
The Chicago Police Department (CPD) has a list of Chicagoans who are believed to be at risk of either killing or being killed. The police started compiling their Strategic Subject List three years ago in an attempt to save the lives of everyone listed, reports the Chicago Tribune. One by…
According to the Chicago Metropolitan Battered Women’s Network, approximately 77% of women who are currently incarcerated are victims of abuse. This figure is staggering and is part of the reason why this nonprofit helped to pass Illinois’ new domestic violence law, SB0209. SB0209 is important because it allows being a…
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…