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Recent Blog Posts
Are There Any Defenses For Carjacking Charges?
Facing carjacking charges can be a life-altering experience as it can result in jail time, expensive fines, and lasting criminal charges on your record. The severe penalties associated with this offense make it helpful to understand your legal options and potential defense strategies. An Illinois lawyer can help you understand your carjacking charges and reveal possible defenses that may be available to you.
Possible Defenses for Carjacking Charges
When confronted with carjacking accusations, several defense strategies may be applicable:
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Mistaken Identity: Eyewitness testimony can be unreliable. An attorney may challenge the accuracy of witness identifications.
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Lack of Intent: Carjacking requires intent to deprive the owner of their vehicle. This could be a valid defense if you did not intend to steal the car.
Common Mistakes in Driver’s License Reinstatement in Illinois
Losing your driving privileges can be a significant setback, impacting your ability to work, care for your family, and maintain your independence. The path to reinstating your driver’s license is often challenging. Understanding and avoiding common mistakes can distinguish between a successful reinstatement and prolonged frustration. An Illinois lawyer can help you understand the process more effectively, increasing your chances of regaining your driving privileges.
Underestimating the Complexity of the Reinstatement Process
The Secretary of State’s office has stringent requirements that must be met before considering reinstatement. These include completing all court-mandated requirements, paying fines and fees, serving the full suspension or revocation period, providing proof of insurance, and completing necessary drug or alcohol education programs.
What to Do if You Are Charged with Aggravated DUI in Illinois
Being charged with a DUI offense in Illinois is serious, particularly if the charges are for a second or third DUI offense. Even worse is being charged with aggravated DUI in the state, which is a Class X felony—the most serious criminal offense in Illinois. An Arlington Heights felony DUI attorney from [[time]] is necessary to build a strong defense on your behalf. Your attorney may be able to negotiate with the prosecutor to allow you to plea to a lesser offense, or if a conviction for aggravated DUI seems inevitable, negotiate for reduced sentencing.
What Makes a DUI Aggravated—and a Felony?
Under Illinois law, a DUI becomes an aggravated DUI when any of the following is true:
- The DUI occurred when the driver was driving on a revoked or suspended license.
Chicago Violent Crime Increase Due Primarily to Robberies
Information gathered from June 2023 through May 2024 showed a spike in violent crimes due primarily to robbery crimes across Chicago. Although the number of violent crimes increased, the arrest rate dropped to the lowest level in the past five years. Robberies in the city accounted for almost 38 percent of all reported crimes—an increase of 16.2 percent over the past year.
Coordinated robbery sprees across what were once some of the city’s safest neighborhoods appeared to drive the increase in the number of robberies. Since the penalties for an Illinois robbery conviction are severe, speaking to a knowledgeable Arlington Heights, IL robbery attorney from Scott F. Anderson, Attorney at Law can be beneficial. An experienced lawyer may be able to convince the prosecutor to reduce your charges or may find errors that could result in the charges being dropped.
Drug Sharing and Distribution Charges
You were spending time with a few friends and contributed drugs to the gathering. Maybe you and your friends wanted to try psychedelic mushrooms together, and you were the one who happened to know a dealer who could sell you some. Or perhaps you had the opportunity to pick up some MDMA for the first time since college and wanted to share. Something went wrong that night, and you got arrested. You appear in court the next morning, expecting to be charged with simple possession or maybe some form of public intoxication, depending on what happened. You are shocked when the judge tells you that you have been charged with felony delivery of a controlled substance. The first thing you should do is contact a Cook County, IL drug crimes attorney.
What Delivery of a Controlled Substance Means
This felony offense is extremely literal. Although most people would think that those charged with drug distribution are drug dealers - people who habitually sell illicit substances to others for profit - the legal definition is not so limited. In Illinois, you can be charged with delivery of a controlled substance for providing any controlled substance to another person, whether or not money is exchanged. That means even giving a friend a single dose of an illicit or controlled substance can get you charged with distribution.
What Is Felony Murder?
The simplest explanation of Illinois’s felony murder law is that anyone who was involved in committing a felony that led to a death can be charged with murder, even if they had nothing to do with the killing. Simply having been a part of a "forcible" felony in any way is enough to get you convicted of felony murder if someone dies as a result of the crime. This law can be problematic, as it allows people who never intended to hurt anyone to go to prison for murder. If you have been charged with murder in connection with a forcible felony, you need an experienced Cook County, IL violent crimes attorney to defend you.
A Recent Example of How You Can Be Convicted of a Murder You Did Not Commit
In one recent case, a woman was not even there when her co-defendants fatally stabbed a man during a home invasion. Yet, she was just convicted of his murder based on the fact that she helped the person who stabbed the victim plan the burglary. She happened to know that the man killed had an illegal amount of marijuana and a lot of cash in his house and suggested him as a target to her co-conspirators.
Traffic Cameras Lead to More Arrests
What do traffic cameras have to do with gun crime? According to advocates for license plate recognition technology, quite a lot. Shootings along Illinois expressways have decreased by roughly a third since the state started using this technology. These cameras also make it easier for police to track down stolen vehicles and recover guns used in crimes that offenders have discarded along highways. However, the ACLU and other civil rights organizations have opposed the use of traffic cameras to collect detailed information, including plate numbers and vehicle descriptions, citing privacy concerns. If you were recently arrested after being spotted by one of these high-tech cameras, you need a knowledgeable Cook County, IL criminal defense attorney to defend you.
What Data Do Traffic Cameras Collect?
Traffic cameras can do much more than mail you a ticket for stopping just past the white line at a red light. These cameras now collect a wealth of information about any vehicles that happen to drive past them - even if there is no reason to suspect that the driver is breaking any laws. Traffic cameras can now collect your license plate number, the make, model, and color of your vehicle, and timestamped GPS coordinates. The cameras can also capture images and video.
Positive Newborn Drug Tests No Longer Sent to Police
A new bill removing the requirement that positive newborn drug screenings be reported to law enforcement has just been approved by the Illinois legislature. Governor Pritzker is expected to sign the bill into law this week. This new law will come as a relief for women who have experienced addiction during their pregnancies and according to proponents, will encourage these expectant mothers to come forward and seek treatment without fear of arrest. As of now, until this law goes into effect, the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) is required to report the matter to law enforcement when a newborn baby fails a toxicology screen. If you are charged with a crime because law enforcement became involved after your child had a positive drug test at birth, an Arlington Heights, IL criminal defense lawyer can help you.
Do I Qualify for a Hardship License?
One of the most inconvenient parts of getting charged with or convicted of a DUI is having your driver’s license suspended. Although the city of Chicago has a rather robust public transportation system, the suburbs can be much harder to get around without driving. Some tasks, like bringing home a week’s worth of groceries, are not easily done via public transportation. Additionally, many people do not feel safe taking a bus or a train, especially after dark. If your license has been suspended for DUI, you may qualify for a restricted driving permit that allows you limited driving privileges. A knowledgeable Arlington Heights, IL license reinstatement lawyer can help you work towards regaining the ability to drive for certain essential reasons.
What Do I Have to Prove to Get a Restricted Driving Permit?
To qualify for an RDP, you must show that you or your family would suffer undue hardship if you could not drive at all and that you have car insurance. You will need to submit documentation showing the type of undue hardship you or your family would experience due to your loss of license. Examples of undue hardship may include:
Will I Go to Jail for a First DUI?
If you were recently arrested for a DUI, your biggest concern might be whether you will be sent to jail. Your sentence could include some jail time if you are convicted. You may have already spent a night or even a weekend in jail after your arrest while waiting to appear in front of a judge or for someone to come bail you out. Most people who have spent even a few hours in jail are not eager to repeat the experience. If this is your third or subsequent DUI, or if there were aggravating factors, you might be worried about going to prison, where people serve sentences lasting longer than one year. The best thing you can do to protect yourself right now is to find an experienced Arlington Heights, IL DUI attorney.
Do People Get Jail Time for a First DUI?
A first DUI is punishable by up to a full year in jail, even when it is charged as a misdemeanor. However, it is quite rare for people who are represented by an attorney to be sentenced this harshly. If this is your first DUI offense, there were no aggravating circumstances, and you follow the advice of your attorney, you are unlikely to spend more than a few days in jail if you are given any jail time at all. More likely, you will be sentenced to community service and may be ordered to get treatment for a substance abuse problem.
CALL US TODAY AT 847-253-3400 FOR A FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION
Client accused of burglary was acquitted due to our skillful cross examination of eye witness identification.
Client accused of causing the death of another while driving under the influence - Acquitted.
Client accused of first degree murder - Acquitted.
Client accused of embezzlement - Charges never filed.
Hundreds of Secretary of State hearings for Drivers License Reinstatement - Won.
121 S. Wilke, Suite 301, Arlington Heights, IL 60005
847-253-3400
