Over the next few weeks, we will examine a story that is entirely fictitious. The legal issues presented in this fact patter represent some of the legal inquiries that we receive in our office every day. The Initial Story Assume that a middle-aged mother and father, Donna and Charles, along with their 13-year-old daughter with autism, Brianna, share a nice, yet not ostentatious, home in suburban Chicago. One night, the daughter comes home after curfew with her older boyfriend, James,...

You are sitting at your desk at work looking at the last bit of paperwork on a Friday at 3pm.  You look up past the pictures on your desk of your family in front of your home at a coworker as she enters the door of your office.  “Hey, it’s been a rough week.  Some of us are going to knock off early and go down the street to Sam’s  for happy hour.  They have $5 martinis.  Want to join...

There are significant restrictions to the Illinois carrying a concealed weapon law. For example, the Concealed Carry Licensing Review Board may deny licensure to any applicant if the Board determines that a law enforcement agency has “a reasonable suspicion that the applicant is a danger to himself or herself or others, or a threat to public safety.” Section 65 contains many restrictions, as well, because this is the provision that forbids even legally licensed gun owners from possessing a weapon...

As a rule of thumb, any judicial process that contains the word “summary” usually does not turn out well for individuals who are caught up in the process. DUI arrest-related Statutory Summary Suspension (SSS) is no exception, as these proceedings are almost impossible to avoid and almost as difficult to “win.” Especially in SSS proceedings, “win” is a relative term, and in fact, opposing these proceedings almost always yields a positive result. Technical Aspects Once the flashing lights appear in...

In a previous post, we discussed Statutory Summary Suspension (SSS) following a DUI arrest. One of the salient features of SSS is that, even if the driver does nothing, the state automatically reinstates the suspended license after expiration of the suspension period, payment of a reinstatement fee, and perhaps compliance with another odd rule or two. However, if that same person is convicted of DUI and has his or her drivers’ license revoked, that revocation is permanent, unless the driver...

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...