Earlier this week, the Elgin Police Chief appeared before the City Council for her 2020 budget and informed the Elgin City Council that serious crime dropped approximately 17% from last year. The Chief of Police is requesting that she be allowed to hire 2 more 911 operators and 4 new…
Lately, many of the phone calls I receive start off with clients telling me that they received a “speeding ticket” and asking whether they can really go to jail for their “speeding ticket.” I ask them how fast they were going, and if they were going 26 miles per hour,…
Earlier this week, I met with a client who was pulled over by the State Police for driving 38 miles an hour over the speed limit on the Tollway. The client did not realize that driving 38 miles an hour over the posted speed limit in Illinois is a crime.…
A very common question I get from clients with criminal cases is whether they have to appear for every Court date. Earlier today I received a phone call from a prospective client who is facing a Possession of Stolen Motor Vehicle (PSMV) case in DuPage County. He informed me that…
Early this morning I received a phone call from a prospective client who wanted to talk to me about a “speeding ticket” they received last night for going 30 miles per hour over the posted speeding ticket on a local highway. I receive such phone calls from prospective clients almost…
Today we are going to talk about hearsay. The legal term, “hearsay,” is one of the most misunderstood legal terms in the law. Last weekend I had a client in my office that I was preparing to testify for a trial that was coming up. I asked the client a…
I frequently meet clients who are expecting to be arrested in the near future. This past weekend, I met with a client who was questioned by their employer about some money that was missing. The client admitted to me that they had stolen some checks that have been written to…
The title to this article comes from one of the most common questions I get asked by clients who call me to discuss their case. When I ask them what their question is, I’m frequently asked whether the client should have a lawyer for their case. Many clients do not…
The Grand Jury plays a very important role in our criminal justice system. Few people understand what a Grand Jury is and why it plays such an important role in our criminal justice system. A big reason for this is that the entire process is clouded in such secrecy. Clients…
The right to a jury trial is one of the fundamental constitutional principles that applies to all criminal cases. If you are accused of a crime that carries a punishment of incarceration for more than 6 months, you have a constitutional right to a trial by a jury. The Illinois…