Criminal Defense

Over the last few years, cell phone technology has been a major point of contention between law enforcement and the general public. Police and investigative agencies, as one might expect, have sought to exploit available technology to track and build cases against alleged criminals and those who were known to have committed crimes. That very […]

United States Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued a scathing dissent this week in a case involving unlawful police stops and how courts may use evidence found in certain situations. Hers was a minority opinion as the high court ruled that evidence obtained during an otherwise illegal stop may be used if the individual already

Every so often, a new fad or cultural phenomenon will take the world by storm. Suddenly, everybody is interested in a particular person, music, movie, or other form of engagement. Right now, we are in the midst of one largest such events the gaming world has ever seen. Earlier this month, the augmented-reality game Pokémon

When a person is arrested on suspicion of a crime, there is likely to be a significant amount of time between the arrest and eventual trial. During that period, the court has three options: the defendant can remain in jail until trial; the defendant can be released on his or her own recognizance after promising

As we have talked about recently on this blog, the right to a fair trial is one of the cornerstones of the American criminal justice system. Of course, amidst local and national concerns of false testimony by law enforcement and apparent flaws in forensic evidence processing, many wonder if a fair trial is an impossible

When you are accused of any type of criminal activity, your right to a fair trial is guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. A fair trial presumes that everyone involved is invested in the equal application of the law, properly convicting the guilty, and acquitting those who are not guilty by legal

According to the National Registry of Exonerations, a compendium maintained by the University of Michigan Law School, nearly 150 convicted criminals were fully exonerated in 2015, the highest number in a single year ever. The list included 13 individuals convicted in Illinois of murder and sex crimes. While any wrongful conviction is a matter of

A legal process consisting of several steps led to the dismissal of murder charges against the man previously convicted of what had once been the nation’s oldest cold case. According to the law, the man could potentially face similar charges in the future, but prosecutors close to the case claim that further prosecution is highly

The statutes that govern the criminal justice and court systems in Illinois are full of references to fines, penalties, and financial sanctions to which an individual may be subject in certain situations. These monetary obligations could be the result of a simple traffic violation, a conviction on DUI charges or other crime, or simply as

As it currently stands, more than 40 states are authorized to charge prison inmates for the costs related to their incarceration. In Illinois, the process generally involves a lawsuit filed by the Attorney General’s office on behalf of the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) against a current or former prisoner who inherited or otherwise collected

To many people, and especially those working toward the abolition of the death penalty in the United States, the application of capital punishment in the state of Texas represents a cause for serious concern. While proponents of the death penalty continue to point to the alleged deterrent factor, the danger of condemning the wrong person

Truck drivers often face long hours and demanding working conditions in order to secure a living for themselves and their families. Therefore, it makes sense that protecting their commercial driver’s license is an important element of their job that keeps them on the road. However, a new federal mandate that will monitor exactly how much