Recent Blog Posts
Now You Must Be 21 To Buy Tobacco in Chicago
The City of Chicago is about to make some big changes to its sale of tobacco laws. Joining approximately 170 other local jurisdictions and major cities across the country, on July 1st, young Chicagoans will have to wait until they are 21 years old before they can legally buy tobacco products and accessories within the city. It does not matter the type of tobacco product: the sale of cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco and pipe tobacco to people under the age of 21 is prohibited. Buying tobacco while underage is not just a juvenile offense anymore. If the law change is effective in reducing the number of young people who are smoking, by limiting legal access to tobacco products, state lawmakers have already indicated that they would consider making a similar law change state-wide.
Why Was The City Law Changed?
For many years, legislators have been concerned about the health and safety of young people. The Chicago City Council, in particular, has worried about smoking and tobacco addiction rates amongst young Chicagoans for quite some time. The main concern is that young people do not have fully developed brains before entering their twenties and this can leave young people particularly vulnerable to nicotine addiction.
Police Stops Down, But Gun Violence Up
If you live in or around Chicago, you are well aware that crime in the city is rampant. There is no shortage of crime news in Chicago, and it seems like there is no end in sight. Looking at gun violence in the city specifically, shooting crimes, and crimes involving guns, are up 80 percent this year over last year. There were more than 650 shooting incidents in 2016 by March. Memorial Day weekend in Chicago this year saw 64 shooting victims, with six of those ending in fatalities, according to an article in The New York Times. Additionally, police have seized nearly 100 fewer guns this year than they did at this same time last year. These startling statistics indicate a serious problem. So why has there been an increase in gun crime this year?
What’s Causing the Spike in Gun Violence?
For a long time, Chicago law enforcement officers were very aggressive when it came to stopping and frisking subjects. While taking an aggressive approach to police stop and frisk is good for identifying crime and stopping it before something catastrophic occurs, it also risks ensnaring a significant amount of innocent people. There is also evidence that indicates that stop and frisks were conducted disproportionately on African Americans and other minority groups in Chicago.
Diversion of Controlled Substances Is Two Crimes: Theft and A Drug Charge
All too frequently in the news the media reports on a nurse, pharmacist, or other hospital employee who steals controlled substances that are meant for patients. When this happens it is often referred to as diversion, or theft, of controlled substances, and it is a drug crime as well as a theft crime. Not only did the defendant steal the drugs, but if they are caught with the stolen drugs in their possession, they can be charged with possession of a controlled substance under the Illinois Controlled Substances Act.
Controlled substances are often stolen by healthcare workers who have an addiction. Their addiction drives them to take the drugs and to cover their tracks. Less frequently, a healthcare worker will be motivated to steal controlled substances from their place of employment by the potential of financial gains – by selling the controlled substances for a profit.
Methamphetamine Manufacturing Drug Charges
If the television show “Breaking Bad” taught us anything, it is that the manufacturing of methamphetamine can be a highly lucrative endeavor. Methamphetamine manufacturing laboratories that are well hidden can be hard for law enforcement to detect, and so individuals who operate a methamphetamine lab might be operational for quite a while, even possibly years, before getting caught by the police.
However, the possession, sale, distribution, and manufacture of methamphetamine is illegal under the Methamphetamine Control and Community Protection Act. Regardless of whether the operation involves making a tiny batch of methamphetamine, or pounds of it, those who are caught will be charged with a felony.
Methamphetamine Manufacturing Conviction
Anyone who is charged with methamphetamine manufacturing faces a felony conviction, which most likely means years of jail time, in addition to the payment of hefty fines. A conviction also means that the criminal defendant’s name will be placed on the Convicted Methamphetamine Manufacturer Registry, which is maintained by the Illinois State Police. This registry is made available to the public and lists the convicted felon’s name, date of birth, the offense(s) that landed them on the registry, their conviction date, and the county where they were found to be manufacturing methamphetamine.
Falsely Accused of Domestic Battery: What Is, and Is Not Domestic Violence?
Many Illinois families and couples find themselves in disagreements. They might yell at each other, act aggressively, or maybe behave in a crazy manner. Sometimes things get out of control and the police are called. One of the people involved in the fight might make the call, or a concerned neighbor could do it. When the police are called to investigate an alleged domestic dispute, they can make an arrest if they believe that a crime, such as domestic abuse, has been committed. Because the situation is often tense when the police show up, and those involved in the fight are often emotional, things are said, exaggerations might be made, and the police might haul off one party, even though his or her actions during the fight did not really rise to the level of domestic violence.
False allegations of domestic violence are made all too frequently, and it can be a major inconvenience, and even a problem, for the accused abuser. As a criminal defendant charged with domestic violence, you are facing serious consequences if you are convicted. That is why it is so important to work with an experienced criminal defense lawyer who understands domestic violence defense to fight the charges that have been levied against you.
The Difference Between Actual and Constructive Possession of Drugs
Drug possession is one of the most common drug charges that criminal defendants face. When it comes to drug possession, whether it’s marijuana, heroin, methamphetamine, prescription pills or other controlled substances, it is important to understand that there are two types of drug possession: actual possession and constructive possession.
What Is Actual Possession of Drugs?
Actual possession arises when you are caught with the drugs on your person. This might mean that the drugs were found by law enforcement who are conducting a search, in your pocket, or tucked away in some other article of your clothing. Actual possession can also be established if you are found with drugs in your purse or backpack that you are carrying with you when you are searched.
Drug charges based on actual possession are tough to defend against since you are basically caught red-handed. But just because drugs were found on your person does not necessarily mean that you had knowledge that you were carrying drugs (someone else could have slipped the drugs in your purse or pocket), or that the drugs are yours. Furthermore, the drugs can only be entered as evidence against you if the stop conducted by the police officers, the search, and the seizure were all done legally.
Specific Intent Crimes
Some crimes in Illinois are referred to as “specific intent” crimes. These crimes require that the criminal defendant have the specific intent, or a particular state of mind, to do something in order to make a conviction of a criminal defendant for the crime. To think of this another way, the criminal defendant must have had a specific state of mind, or purpose, that was the reason behind committing the crime. The specific requisite intent is often defined in the criminal statute that governs over any particular specific intent crime that a defendant is charged with.
The good thing about specific intent crimes is that the prosecution has the burden of showing that the criminal defendant had the requisite state of mind that is needed to commit the alleged crime. Proving the necessary specific intent for a crime is often the prosecution’s weakest link in their case against the criminal defendant, as it is difficult to prove a person’s state of mind. Sometimes the prosecution’s whole case will turn on proving the requisite intent element of a crime, and the prosecution may only have circumstantial evidence to support its position. A skilled criminal defense lawyer can fight the prosecutors by attacking the weakest aspects of their case.
Spousal Support Not Automatic in Divorce
For many years, spousal support, or alimony, was a generally accepted part of the divorce process. When a couple decided to end their marriage, one spouse—usually the wife, statistically speaking—would be a severe financial disadvantage due to roles and responsibilities she assumed regarding the family. In most cases, the wife would also be granted primary responsibility for the couple’s children, meaning that it was even more difficult for her to obtain sufficient employment to support herself and her family. As such, the other spouse—usually the husband—would often be required to make spousal support payments, helping to ease the other party’s financial burden and making the end result of the divorce more equitable.
Changing Society, Changing Expectations
Over the last four decades or so, it has become increasingly more difficult for families to rely on a single income. This shift has been accompanied by a dramatic evolution of our cultural expectations for spouses in a marriage. Today, gender is much less of a factor for most families when determining household and family responsibilities. As times have changed, so has the state’s approach to granting spousal support or maintenance, as it is known in the law.
Understanding Possession of Burglary Tools Criminal Charges
Some criminal defendants find themselves facing possession of burglary tools, under 720 ILCS 5/19-2, perhaps in addition to burglary charges, and do not understand why they are being charged with this crime. Sometimes they may not have even committed a burglary, and yet they still will be charged with possession of burglary tools. This can be confusing and distressing for the defendant, since the defendant is facing felony criminal charges, with serious consequences, such as loss of their freedom, if they are convicted. A skilled criminal defense lawyer can help you fight burglary and possession of burglary tools charges.
A conviction for the crime of possession of burglary tools does not require that the prosecution show that the criminal defendant had the specific intent to break and enter into a building or dwelling. Rather, possession of burglary tools is a general intent crime, i.e., the mere possession of burglary tools implies that the defendant had a general intent to use the tools for their intended purpose, which is for breaking and entering a building. Possession of burglary tools merely requires that the criminal defendant knowingly possessed tools that are used for the purpose of committing burglary or breaking and entering.
A Violation of Scott’s Law Is A Serious Traffic Offense: Fight The Charges
Illinois drivers are required to respect and protect emergency workers while driving on roadways. This means acknowledging and respecting an emergency vehicle’s need to get somewhere much faster than your average driver and getting out of the way so that emergency vehicles and personnel can get to where they need to go as quickly as possible. It also means moving over on the highway to give a stationary emergency vehicle as much room as possible.
Codified at 625 ILCS 5/11-907, the law that protects emergency vehicles and emergency personnel is referred to as Scott’s Law, after Scott Gillen, a Chicago Fire Department Lieutenant who was killed by a passing motorist while trying to do his job. The law is necessary because emergency workers face many dangers when responding to accidents and trying to save lives.
Getting To An Emergency
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3030 Salt Creek Lane, Suite 120, Arlington Heights, IL 60005
847-253-3100