Although most drivers provide either a breath or blood chemical sample, about 20% of DUI cases rely exclusively on circumstantial evidence. Sometimes, information gathered at the one-on-one or checkpoint stop, which we examined in a previous post, bleeds over into the next phase of the prosecution, which is probable cause for the arrest. Most probable cause evidence comes from the three scientifically-recognized field sobriety tests. Prior to the Stop Erratic driving is nearly always an issue, unless the officer pulled...

Most people move about 11 times during their lifetimes, and nearly all these moves occur before a person turns 40. So, a physical relocation of either the parents or the children often affects divorce and other family law orders, especially those that include child visitation provisions. Often, the parents execute side agreements about pickup times, dropoff locations, and other such matters. It is not unusual for these “agreements” not to be agreements at all, but rather a string of emails...

Most DUI cases begin with a traffic stop, and although the evidentiary standard is low in these situations, officers still need specific, articulable facts to justify their decisions. Many times, these facts are simply not available, at least at the requisite level. In other situations, especially around Labor Day Weekend and other holidays that involve lots of vehicle travel, officers set up DUI checkpoints to round up intoxicated motorists. Somewhat similarly to one-on-one stops, these checkpoints must comply with many...

Although no one expects to die early, most people take out life insurance policies to be prepared for the unexpected, especially as their families grow. Similarly, although no one expects to get divorced, it is usually a good idea to make a premarital agreement to be prepared for the unexpected, especially if at least one spouse has been married before and/or has separate property to protect. Premarital agreements are more than just “divorce insurance.” In fact, they are insurance against...

The parking lot at a busy Schaumburg pharmacy was the scene of a brutal slaying, but 37-year-old Oliver Rhone’s lawyer is confident that prosecutors cannot establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. 37-year-old Quentin Tillison had been making violent threats against her client for years, prompting him to buy a gun and register for concealed handgun classes, according to Rhone’s lawyer. In fact, the circumstances in the case amount to “the most compelling facts for a self-defense case that I have...

Criminal convictions can be overturned, even decades later. Sometimes the convicted individual can prove that he or she was denied his or her constitutional rights during the trial process. Sometimes new evidence surfaces. For example, Instead of linking Nevest Coleman with the 1994 rape and murder of his acquaintance, recently-discovered DNA evidence indicates that a different person, a known serial rapist, may have been the culprit. Several weeks after 20-year-old Antwinica Bridgeman attended her birthday party and subsequently disappeared, Mr....

A licensed gun owner is the primary suspect in an East Side triple shooting that occurred in the man’s home. Police declined to say whether they intend to charge the man, who had a valid Firearm Owner Identification card, but said that “inconsistencies” in the man’s account troubled them. By all accounts, the man shot and killed a 22-year-old man, a 24-year-old woman, and a 17-year-old boy inside a house near the intersection of Ewing and 102nd Street. The man...

Cook County prosecutors may be rethinking their decision to try 16-year-old Eliza Wasni as an adult, as she is still confined in the juvenile detention center in the wake of her involvement in a bizarre and brutal killing that made headlines over Memorial Day Weekend in 2017. Since her arrest, Ms. Wasni has been involved in over 60 disciplinary incidents, including a number of violent outbursts against staff members. The young woman has also missed two court dates over the...

At a California hearing, former Northwestern University Professor Wyndam Lathem stood formally accused of the murder of Trenton Cornell-Duranleau. The 26-year-old man was found stabbed to death in the 42-year-old professor’s Chicago apartment. Prof. Lathem’s counsel suggested that he will waive extradition back to Illinois, setting up a possible Chicago jury trial. Shortly after they found the body, authorities issued arrest warrants for Prof. Lathem and 56-year-old Andrew Warren, who works in the accounting department at Oxford University. The two...

Recording Private Conversations in Illinois

posted on 8/13/17

In the old days, it was fairly easy for people to determine if their personal conversations were being recorded because private recording equipment was so arcane that about the only...

Stephanie Olsson, a partner at Glasgow & Olsson who has represented many Illinois clients in multimillion dollar divorces and complex custody issues, has just been named a top divorce attorney by the National Academy of Family Law Attorneys for 2017. Her aggressive and insightful way of succcessfully representing her clients was recognized by this award which comes on the heels of her being named a Super Lawyer Rising Star earlier this year. Only 10 Illinois lawyers under 40 received the...

Kane County prosecutors portrayed Daniel Rak as a cold-blooded murderer from the opening moments of his trial, while the defense painted a very different picture of the events that culminated in the death of 58-year-old Jeffrey Rak. Both sides agree that father and son argued after the elder Mr. Rak walked in on the younger Mr. Rak’s girlfriend as she prepared to bathe, and that argument ended violently. Several hours after he struck his father and told his girlfriend that...

The Restorative Justice Community Court, with Judge Colleen Sheehan presiding, is scheduled to hear its first North Lawndale case in August 2017. Victims, defendants, and all other interested parties will meet together under Judge Sheehan’s supervision to reach solutions to nonviolent crime, such as neighborhood drug dealing, theft, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, and so on. “This is truly the people's court,” Judge Sheehan announced. All parties will discuss restitution in a “peace circle” under the cloak of confidentiality,...

Authorities charged 16-year-old Landon Allen with first-degree murder and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon after he and another young man allegedly shot and killed a person in Washington Park; the state’s attorney said that Mr. Allen would be charged as an adult. Prosecutors claim that Mr. Allen and his friend approached 23-year-old Jermaine Brown and confronted him about a Facebook post that Mr. Allen considered derogatory. According to witnesses, the trio argued for a time before a fourth person...

Three Chicago police officers appeared in court to answer charges that they helped conceal the circumstances of a fatal police shooting involving Officer Jason Van Dyke and 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. As a result of the indictments, if Detective David March, Officer Joseph Walsh, and Officer Thomas Gaffney are called as witnesses at Officer Van Dyke’s trial, they will probably invoke their Fifth Amendment rights and refuse to testify, according to their lawyers. If so, Officer Van Dyke’s defense would suffer...