Drunk driving in Illinois carries both civil and criminal penalties. On the criminal side, a person convicted of a first DUI offense faces up to one year in jail and a $2,500 fine. Separately, the Illinois Secretary of State's office can “summarily” suspend the license of any driver who either fails a blood-alcohol test or refuses to take one at a police officer's request. A summary suspension is a civil matter. This means the Secretary can suspend your driver's license even if you are never charged or convicted of a criminal DUI offense. Additionally, while you can challenge a civil summary suspension in court, the state's burden of proof is much lighter than in a criminal prosecution. License Suspension Upheld Despite Police Losing Evidence For one thing, the burden is on the defendant, not the state, to establish there are grounds to rescind the civil suspension. Only after the defendant makes this “prima facie” case does…
How Do I Get My Driver's License Back Following a DUI Arrest?
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Divorce – Just Another Statistic?
By Staff AttorneyThe Gasper Law Group, PLLC You’ve no doubt heard that 50% of all marriages end in divorce. That statistic in and of itself is discouraging. However, it is true or just a myth? Is this divorce in general, or does this consider the age in which couples get married? Does it relate to a specific time in our history, say when the financial crash of 2008 occurred or does it coincide with the education levels of the married couple? There have been several studies that try to quantify divorce rates and answer some of the questions above regarding divorce. According to the American Psychological Association (http://www.apa.org/topics/divorce/) 40 to 50 % of all marriages in the United States end in divorce and the rate is even higher for subsequent marriages. Claire Cain Miller is a correspondent for The New York Times, where she writes about gender, families and the future of work for The Upshot, a Times site for analysis of policy…
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Falsely Accusing Another of a Criminal Offense – Is it a Crime?
False accusations occur more frequently than most people think. Especially when it comes to cases involving bitter divorces and child custody battles. Depending on the circumstances of the accusation, however, penalties range from a proverbial slap on the wrist to up to 20 years in prison. The penalties you may be facing for making false criminal accusations are largely dependent on your intent, what you accused someone of, and how you made the accusation. Accidentally making a false accusation is not a crime. If you report in good faith that someone has committed a crime, you are not likely to face criminal prosecution even if that person did not, in fact, commit a crime. Of course, you may have to convince the court that your accusation was made in good faith. A MA defense lawyer can help if you find yourself in this situation. If, however, you cannot show that you reasonably believed the accusation to be true, you may find yourself criminally and civilly liable. Was There…
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Georgia teacher facing drug charges
Members of some professions seem to be held to a higher standard than others. When a member of one of these professions is charged for some alleged wrongdoing, the media appears to be compelled to notify the public. One recent example of this involves a Georgia teacher who is now facing a variety of drug charges. What many fail to keep in mind, however, is that these individuals are simply accused of a crime; they are not guilty of anything until and unless proved so in a court of law. According to media reports, a Georgia teacher, along with another individual, was recently arrested. Police records indicate that they were found to be in possession of heroin and cocaine with a street value in excess of $6 million. They were arrested and charged with both drug possession and drug trafficking. In addition to the criminal drug charges that the teacher is facing, it appears that these charges are also impacting her employment. Her place of employment has been publicized, and…
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Federal Criminal Statistics
The Bureau of Justice Statistics has released a report on Federal Justice Statistics 2013-2014. Note the time lag. That's part of the problem with justice statistics.Another problem is that statistics are sometimes defined in ways that people would not expect. "Tracking recidivism rates involved identifying prisoners released from federal prison following a U.S. district court commitment between 1998 and 2014."What about people released from federal prison and subsequently prosecuted by state authorities? Not in the definition. Not tracked.Three-fifths of federal arrests in 2014 were made in just 5 of the nation's 94 judicial districts -- Southern Texas, Western Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Southern California. What do these five districts have that none of the others have? You guessed it.
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Beyond a Reasonable Doubt with Conflicting Evidence
Conflicting Evidence and the Burden of Beyond a Reasonable Doubt Whether conflicting evidence can still result in a jury verdict beyond a reasonable doubt was address in a recent case, State v. Bourk. Bradley Edward Bourk was convicted of aggravated robbery, and the aggravating factor was his use of a dangerous weapon. Store employees stopped[...] The post Beyond a Reasonable Doubt with Conflicting Evidence appeared first on Utah Criminal Defense Lawyer | Salt Lake City DUI Attorney.
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News Scan
Rape/Murderer Sentenced to Death: A Las Vegas jury has sentenced a repeat sex offender to death for the rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl. David Ferrara of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that after finding 24-year-old Javier Righetti guilty of the 2011 rape and murder of high school freshman Alyssa Otremba, the jury deliberated just three hours before unanimously agreeing on the sentence. Righetti attacked the girl in a tunnel, 100 yards from her home, as she was walking to a friend's house to borrow a schoolbook. After he raped Otremba, he tortured her, inflicting at least 80 stab wounds on her face and body before he she died. He later returned to burn the body. Righetti admitted to raping two other women inside the same tunnel and to raping his cousin in Mexico three months before he killed Otremba. Maryland Governor to Veto Sanctuary Bill: Less than a week after a 14-year-old high school student was…
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Federal Enforcement of Marijuana Laws May Impact Pennsylvania
In December of 2015, the Pittsburgh City Council voted to decriminalize the possession of less than 30 grams of marijuana. This means that if you get caught with a few joints within Pittsburgh city limits, the police will give you a citation for $25 to $100 instead of taking you to jail. Philadelphia passed a similar ordinance in 2014. Both initiatives have been credited with filling city coffers and reducing the strain on the criminal justice system. In reaction to California, Washington, and Colorado legalizing recreational marijuana, Obama stated that the federal government had “bigger fish to fry” than prosecuting marijuana cases in jurisdictions where it’s legal. Will things change under the administration of Donald Trump? If so, the Pittsburgh marijuana attorneys of Worgul Law Firm will be ready to defend your rights. If you’ve been charged with a marijuana crime, contact us today at to find out how we can help you. President Trump’s…
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"Illinois lawmakers propose legalizing recreational marijuana"
Despite lingering uncertainty about enforcement of federal drug law under the Trump Administration, marijuana reform continues in the states. Yesterday, legislators in Illinois introduced bills that would legalize small amounts of marijuana. According to The Chicago Tribune: Lawmakers are proposing to legalize recreational marijuana in Illinois but say the legislation...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MarijuanaLaw/~4/nLFcGJK7Ypo" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Right to Fair and Impartial Trial Applies to Bench Trials
In Paul McKernan v. Superintendent Smithfield SCI, 849 F.3d 557, the Third Circuit held that the right to a fair trial applies not only to jury trials, but also to bench trials. This right cannot be waived. Therefore, a bench trial cannot proceed when the judge is biased. Ultimately, the Third Circuit found defense counsel’s failure to ask a biased judge to recuse herself was ineffective assistance of counsel, and granted petitioner’s request for habeas relief. Petitioner McKernan was charged by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania with murder and opted for a bench trial. The state judge presiding over the bench trial became aware of a website run by one of the victim’s family members, in which she was criticized as being too lenient and soft on crime The judge proceeded to have a conversation, in her robing room, with the attorneys and the victim’s family regarding the website; the defendant was…
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Robinson et al. on Somali Criminal Law Recodification
Paul H. Robinson and Criminal Law Research Group (University of Pennsylvania Law School and University of Pennsylvania Law School) have posted Draft Report of the Somali Criminal Law Recodification Initiative. Here is the abstract: The Government of Somalia and the...
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If You Gave Me a Magic Wand (Some Unsolicited Thoughts on Reforming the Sentencing Laws)
The School of Government is a nonpartisan, non-advocacy institution. That’s a tradition I take seriously. If you can find something in the nearly 400 blog posts I’ve written here since 2009 that makes you think otherwise, I hope you’ll let me know. That said, I am occasionally asked what I would do if someone gave me a magic wand and told me to make our sentencing law better. “Better” can be a tough concept to navigate while staying true to the School’s policy-neutral underpinnings. But I don’t mind sharing a few ideas focused on the mechanics of the sentencing law—largely as a thought experiment designed to call attention to some of the more confusing aspects of existing law. For all of the suggestions that follow, please assume they would be implemented in a resource-neutral way. In other words, I’m not trying to propose anything that would necessarily increase or decrease North Carolina’s correctional…
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How Much Is a Lawyer for a Felony Case?
There are many different felony charges, and the amount that a lawyer charges for one as opposed to another may differ. There are a variety of reasons why different felony offenses may cost different amounts. First, some types of cases are more complex than others. Some cases require great preparation, thorough legal research, and the allocution of the correct resources. Resources may include the use of private investigators, expert witnesses, subpoenaing of records, etc. Second, some cases take a lot more time for a lawyer to handle. Sometimes the amount of discovery the lawyer receives is so large that it takes days to review it all. Some cases require preliminary examinations, motions, and evidentiary hearings to challenge the evidence being presented. If the case requires a lot of time the criminal defense lawyer may not have the time or ability to take on new cases. Continue reading
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My New Book Is Out, Explains Persistence of Mass Incarceration in America Despite Two Decades of Reform Efforts
My new book, The Failure of Sentencing Reform, is now out. (Publisher webpage here; Amazon here.) The book is a sort of coming full circle for me. Back in 2002, near the start of my career as a law professor, I wrote a short essay entitled “The New Politics of Sentencing,” in which I heralded bipartisan sentencing reforms that had recently been adopted in a handful of states. The reforms focused particularly on reversing excessive drug imprisonment and resulted in large part from the fiscal pressures created by mass incarceration. “Faced with crushing budget deficits,” I predicted, “states will no doubt continue to look to corrections as a source of cost-savings.” Fifteen years later, my prediction has been confirmed: nearly all of the states have now adopted reforms that roll back mandatory minimums, permit earlier release from prison, or promote alternatives to incarceration. Yet, the national prison population stands today essentially…
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Fuerza Popular, SIP y el derecho a la libre información
http://larepublica.pe/politica/858876-sip-rechaza-proyecto-fujimorista-que-busca-controlar-medios-de-comunicacion No he sido, no soy ni seré simpatizante de la japonesa menos de las alimañas de congresistas del partido “FP” que lidera, NO son SUS congresistas ni empleados domésticos para ordenarles que apoyen en la limpieza de un sector afectado por las lluvias como lo resaltara en un discurso en Pucusana. También soy hombre de principios; Las alimañas han presentado un proyecto que en el enlace que comparto –para el que guste leerlo- se sostiene que la SIP lo rechaza???, quién mierda es la SIP, sino un conjunto de garrapatas aliadas al poder con el cuento del ejercicio LIBRE a la información. Estoy de acuerdo “prima facie” con el proyecto, ningún manipulador o saboteador de la voluntad popular merece los cargos en los medios que el proyecto prohíbe. …
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Review of the Cross Examination of Bradley in the Aaron Hernandez Double murder trial
The Cross Examination of Alexander Bradley had many points where as a criminal defense lawyer I intend to borrow from Attorney Baez’s style. This was a perfect example of a cross examination of a confrontational and difficult witness who would not want to concede anything to the defense. While at times it was objected to, I thought Baez commentary, before asking question, such as, I want to be very precise with my questions conveyed to the jury, that this is someone very slick answering questions. I thought Bradley undermined his own credibility by rather than answering a question, would sometime request to see the document. It was clear that he had his testimony well planned out. He conceded that he was very successful as a drug dealer with very few arrests. Bradley testified that he was a witness to the double murder that occurred on the night of July 16, 2012 in the South End of Boston; Bradley was driving the car that Hernandez allegedly…
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Steinzor on The Yates Memo
Rena I. Steinzor (University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law) has posted White Collar-Reset: The DOJ's Yates Memo and Its Potential to Protect Health, Safety, and the Environment (7 Wake Forest Journal of Law & Policy 39 (2017))...
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What If I Don't Show Up For Court In State of NJ?
When a person has a scheduled court date in New Jersey, it is imperative that they show up. If they don’t attend court at the proper date and time, it is known as a failure to appear. In New Jersey, if you have been charged with a fourth-degree criminal charge and fail to appear in court, you will be charged with an additional fourth-degree charge.If you have been accused of committing a third-degree offense and fail to appear, a second third-degree offense will be added to your charges. In order to avoid trouble on top of trouble for failing to appear, an accomplished and adequate attorney is necessary.If you or a loved one have been arrested and now are facing a charge for failure to appear, contact the IMG Legal Group with offices in Red Bank and Jackson, New Jersey.Hire Criminal Defense Attorney .Ian Goldman is an experienced criminal attorney at www.IMGLegalGroup.com afree consultation lawyer in NJ. Put your trust in Monmouth County NJ Lawyer Ian Goldman.Ian…
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Surrendering a Healthcare or Medical License While Disciplinary Charges Pending Will Get You a Medi-Cal Suspension
When a physician, nurse or any licensed healthcare provider has a state disciplinary proceeding pending, one of the issues that arises is whether they should surrender the license. In order to analyze this issue, one question is whether the person will be working in healthcare in any capacity in the future.Imagine a case where a licensed physician or nurse decides to stop practicing medicine but still wants to work in healthcare businesses and wants to surrender his or her license while an Accusation is pending. Another example is where the physician or nurse is not using their New York license and ends up on probation in New York due to being on probation in California and decides to surrender the New York license. What happens to their ability to work at a healthcare business that bills government programs? Under California Welfare and Institutions Code Section 14043.6 if your healthcare license is suspended while an Accusation is pending (or revoked after a hearing),…
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Witten on Proportionality
Lauren Witten has posted Proportionality As a Moral Process: Reconceiving Judicial Discretion and Mandatory Minimum Penalties (Ottawa Law Review, Vol. 48, No. 1, 2017) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This article reconceives proportionality in sentencing as a constructive reasoning...
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