Criminal cases are often fact-intensive. If a defendant provides a chemical sample and the sample is substantially above the legal limit, the best lawyer on the planet would be hard-pressed to defend the matter, unless there was another issue like lack of reasonable suspicion for the stop. However, if the result is only slightly above the legal limit, perhaps .09 or .10, the legal landscape is dramatically different. In many of these cases, it may be a good idea to...

To recap our story, Charles and Donna found their young daughter, Brianna, with her boyfriend after curfew, and a yelling match ensued in front of the family home. When James, the boyfriend, called the police out of fear for an escalating situation, the officers who arrived on scene ended up taking James himself into custody for drugs they found in his vehicle. After the chaos subsided, Brianna ran away from the family home, incurring scratches on her face as she...

To recap our story, Charles and Donna found their young daughter, Brianna, with her boyfriend after curfew, and a yelling match ensued in front of the family home. When James, the boyfriend, called the police out of fear for an escalating situation, the officers who arrived on scene ended up taking James himself into custody for drugs they found in his vehicle. After the chaos subsided, Brianna ran away from the family home, incurring scratches on her face as she...

To recap our story, Charles and Donna found their young daughter with her boyfriend after curfew, and a yelling match ensued in front of the family home. When James, the boyfriend, called the police out of fear for an escalating situation, the officers who arrived on scene ended up taking James himself into custody for drugs they found in his vehicle. After the chaos subsides, Brianna runs away from the family home, incurring scratches on her face as she does...

To recap our story, Charles and Donna found their young daughter with her boyfriend after curfew, and a yelling match ensued in front of the family home. When James, the boyfriend, called the police out of fear for an escalating situation, the officers who arrived on scene ended up taking James himself into custody for drugs they found in his vehicle. After the chaos subsides, Brianna runs away from the family home, incurring scratches on her face as she does...

To recap our story, Charles and Donna found their young daughter with her boyfriend after curfew, and a yelling match ensued in front of the family home. When James, the boyfriend, called the police out of fear for an escalating situation, the officers who arrived on scene ended up taking James himself into custody for drugs they found in his vehicle. After the chaos subsides, Brianna runs away from the family home, incurring scratches on her face as she does...

To recap our story, Charles and Donna found their young daughter with her boyfriend after curfew, and a yelling match ensued in front of the family home. When James, the boyfriend, called the police out of fear for an escalating situation, the officers who arrived on scene ended up taking James himself into custody for drugs they found in his vehicle. After the chaos subsides, Brianna runs away from the family home, incurring scratches on her face as she does...

To recap our story, Charles and Donna found their young daughter with her boyfriend after curfew, and a yelling match ensued in front of the family home. When James, the boyfriend, called the police out of fear for an escalating situation, the officers who arrived on scene ended up taking James himself into custody for drugs they found in his vehicle, and taking Charles into custody, as well, for suspected domestic battery, when his daughter was discovered with scratches on...

To recap our story, Charles and Donna found their young daughter with her boyfriend after curfew, and a yelling match ensued in front of the family home. When James, the boyfriend, called the police out of fear for an escalating situation, the officers who arrived on scene ended up taking James himself into custody for drugs they found in his vehicle, and taking Charles into custody, as well, for suspected domestic battery, when his daughter was discovered with scratches on...

Although he is not technically a part of the family, especially if Charles has anything to say about it, the first issue is the boyfriend’s arrest on drug charges. James seems like a good guy caught up in a bad situation. Of course he was nervous when the police showed up, but should he have given them permission to search his car? Was the search legal? What will happen to him now? Legally, the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment prohibits “unreasonable”...

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...