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Recent Blog Posts
Cook County Study Suggests Judges Are Ignoring Bail Guidelines
When a person is arrested on suspicion of a crime, there is likely to be a significant amount of time between the arrest and eventual trial. During that period, the court has three options: the defendant can remain in jail until trial; the defendant can be released on his or her own recognizance after promising to appear when requested; or a bail amount can be set as a financial incentive for the defendant to be released and still appear at trial. Determining an appropriate bail amount can be complex, as one might expect, but the law in Illinois and in individual counties provides guidelines for doing so. A recently obtained study, however, suggests that judges in at least one local county have been playing by their own rules when setting bail for criminal defendants.
Serious Discrepancies
The Chicago Sun-Times¬ obtained a review conducted earlier this year by the Cook County sheriff’s office. The study looked at cases from 30 daily court sessions between February and March in Central Bond Court at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse at 26th and California. The review included more than 1,500 cases and showed that the bail decisions made by the judges in these cases deviated from the guidelines at a rate of approximate 85 percent. Even amidst the complicated variables and circumstantial considerations, the sheriff’s department described the bail decisions as “inconsistent.” The review also indicated that the amount and conditions of bail were largely dependent upon which judge presided on a particular day. County officials and judges dispute the sheriff’s department review, claiming that its numbers are not representative of the bigger picture. A court spokesman said that 1,500 cases were too small of a sample size to draw accurate conclusions. He went on to say that judges are following the prescribed guidelines, but that, in some cases, sound judgment appropriately overrides written recommendations and required risk assessments.
Pokémon Go Helping Criminals and Law Enforcement
Every so often, a new fad or cultural phenomenon will take the world by storm. Suddenly, everybody is interested in a particular person, music, movie, or other form of engagement. Right now, we are in the midst of one largest such events the gaming world has ever seen. Earlier this month, the augmented-reality game Pokémon Go was released, and, almost immediately, users were hitting the streets trying “catch ‘em all.” The record-breaking popularity of Pokémon Go—it recently doubled Facebook’s number of active daily users—has, as you might expect, created opportunities for criminals to prey on unsuspecting players, with assaults, robberies and other violent crimes having been reported. However, there have also been stories about the game providing assistance to law enforcement efforts.
Get Up and Go
The creators of Pokémon Go designed the game to reward players for physical activity. The app requires users to walk, jog, or bike around their communities, seeking out new creatures and collecting needed items. The gameplay interface uses a smartphone’s GPS signal to guide users through the streets of their town, while “catching” a Pokémon overlays an animated creature on the image captured by the device’s camera in real time.
Women Charged With Assault of Fast Food Employee
Three women have been arrested following an incident that took place outside of a McDonald’s restaurant in Sandusky, Ohio. All three women, who appear to be smiling and unconcerned in their booking photographs, were charged with assaulting a store employee, two were charged with child endangerment, and one faces an additional charge for theft.
According to news reports and the Sandusky police department Facebook page, the assault occurred in the parking lot of the restaurant. The women were allegedly frustrated by the speed of service offered by the employee, who they felt was working too slowly. Though complete details are not yet available, the children of two of the women participated in the attack, leading to the endangerment charges.
Assault and Battery in Illinois
While this particular incident occurred along Lake Erie in Northern Ohio, it can serve as a reminder of the seriousness of assault charges here in Illinois. Assault is an offense that frequently misunderstood, as it is often confused with the related offense of battery. The definition of assault, in fact, depends on that of battery, so the confusion may be justified.
Understanding Gun Laws to Combat Weapons Charges in Illinois
Chicago may be the epicenter of gun violence in Illinois, but it is not the only place in the state that experiences serious violent crimes as a result of illegal gun ownership. There were reportedly 1,117 deaths in the state of Illinois caused by guns in 2013. Just over half of all these were ruled homicides (52 percent). Just slightly below that came suicides, accounting for 44 percent of all gun deaths in the state in the same time period.
These staggeringly high numbers are just one reason that many advocate for stricter gun laws regarding the sale, possession, and ownership of a gun in Illinois. The logic goes that if the state was able to reduce the number of guns that are floating around, it would consequently be able to reduce the number of violent crimes perpetrated using such weapons.
A Hotly Contested Issue
Restricting gun ownership, however, has serious implications when considered in light of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees all citizens the right to bear arms. Advocates for gun control argue that certain types of guns serve no purpose other than to harm another human being. Critics may counter this argument with the acknowledgment that the Second Amendment makes no stipulation about what types of gun a person may possess. The most important way to deal with gun laws is to understand them. Only when a person has a full comprehension of what the state does and does not allow when it comes to owning and carrying a gun can he or she begin to make an argument against such laws—and to combat charges brought based on an alleged violation of them.
U.S. Supreme Court Says Sixth Amendment Does Not Guarantee Speedy Sentencing
As we have talked about recently on this blog, the right to a fair trial is one of the cornerstones of the American criminal justice system. Of course, amidst local and national concerns of false testimony by law enforcement and apparent flaws in forensic evidence processing, many wonder if a fair trial is an impossible ideal.
Be that as it may, the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states, “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury.” This means that a defendant has the right not only to a fair, public trial, but also a speedy one. The United States Supreme Court, however, has ruled that the Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial does not extend to the sentencing phase once a defendant has been convicted.
Betterman v. Montana
The case before the high court essentially began with a guilty plea by a man in Montana for skipping bail in 2012 and failing to appear on charges for domestic assault. The man then waited in prison for more than 14 months for his sentence to be determined, much of the wait blamed on institutional delays by the court. The man was ultimately sentenced to seven years in prison, with four of the years suspended. He appealed his sentence on the basis that the 14-month delay violated his Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial.
Chicago Police Investigating Officers for False Testimony
When you are accused of any type of criminal activity, your right to a fair trial is guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. A fair trial presumes that everyone involved is invested in the equal application of the law, properly convicting the guilty, and acquitting those who are not guilty by legal standards. Of course, not every person will always tell the whole truth in court, even under oath. The concern becomes even more serious when the individual providing false, misleading, questionable testimony is an officer of the law. False testimony by police officers seems to be a fairly significant problem in Northern Illinois, as the Chicago Police Department has announced that six officers are now under investigation for false testimony regarding cases in which they were involved.
Investigative Reporting
The Chicago Tribune recently conducted an investigation which allegedly found more than a dozen examples of officers making false or questionable statements in court. This number does not include many more officers who may have created false reports but never testified in the courtroom. The involved cases ranged from large-scale investigations to small-time operations, and reportedly included testimony regarding a $50,000 brick of cocaine and a $30 bag of heroin. Some officers, according to the newspaper investigation, would even lie about the direction they were driving at a given time. Now, it appears, the Department is attempting to address the problem.
Study Suggests Tests for Marijuana Impairment Not Based in Science
Even as Illinois lawmakers consider a bill that would, for the first time, provide a marijuana intoxication standard for charges of driving under the influence (DUI), a new study claims that the foundation for such standards is seriously flawed. The study even went so far as to suggest that setting legal limits of THC in a driver’s blood has no scientific basis and that comparing the effects of alcohol and marijuana on a driver’s ability to operate a vehicle safely is not an apples-to-apples comparison.
BAC and THC Levels
Across the country, a driver found to have a blood-alcohol content (BAC) of .08 is considered to be under the influence, as decades of research have supported a relationship between BAC levels and impairment. With the increase in legalized use of marijuana, including recreational use in several states and medical use in about two dozen, including Illinois, lawmakers and law enforcement officials have been looking for a similar way to relate marijuana impairment to a quantifiable standard.
Charges Dismissed Against Man Convicted of 1957 Murder
A legal process consisting of several steps led to the dismissal of murder charges against the man previously convicted of what had once been the nation’s oldest cold case. According to the law, the man could potentially face similar charges in the future, but prosecutors close to the case claim that further prosecution is highly unlikely.
Cold Case “Solved”
In December of 1957, a 7-year-old girl was abducted near her home in Sycamore, then a farming town in DeKalb County. Her body was found some five months later. The case remained open for more than five decades. In 2012, a man who had been questioned by the FBI in 1957 was suddenly back in the spotlight, despite apparent evidence that he had not been in Sycamore at the time of the abduction. Based on a photo lineup using a 50-year old image of the man, an eyewitness—who was with the victim the night of her disappearance—identified him as the person who approached them. The man was subsequently convicted in a bench trial and was sentenced to life in prison.
State Senator Claims Chicago Is “False Confession Capital of the Whole United States”
According to the National Registry of Exonerations, a compendium maintained by the University of Michigan Law School, nearly 150 convicted criminals were fully exonerated in 2015, the highest number in a single year ever. The list included 13 individuals convicted in Illinois of murder and sex crimes. While any wrongful conviction is a matter of great concern, the high rate of false confessions in such cases is alarming, with 27 reported nationwide and eight of 13 here in Illinois. False confessions—while a problem for any defendant—are especially likely when the suspect is a juvenile, as younger individuals are often unsure of their rights and are unable to maintain composure during interrogation.
Based on these concerns, State Senator Patricia Van Pelt, D-Chicago, has introduced legislation to ensure that all juvenile suspects have legal counsel present for entire interrogation process. Sen. Van Pelt says she is looking to protect the rights of young suspects in the state and in her home city. “The one thing about Chicago,” she said. “It is the false confession of the whole United States.”
Domestic Violence Defined: What Does Illinois State Consider Abuse?
Domestic violence is among one of the most controversial topics in both public and private arenas and is a serious matter throughout the world of criminal law. Every state enforces different laws to address domestic abuse, but there are certain circumstances that are considered to be criminal offenses across the United States, regardless of where you live. All are direct threats to a person’s physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
Is It Really Abuse?
The state of Illinois recognizes that domestic violence comes in many forms. Words hurt, as does mental agitation, manipulation, and any act that forces a person to experience something against their will. Any of the following circumstances are considered by the state to be valid, serious cases of abuse:
- Harassment - Stalking, following, or watching someone to the point where they are uncomfortable, unable to function, or go about their day normally are all forms of harassment. If it interferes with someone’s personal space, distracts them from work or other important obligations, or negatively impacts them emotionally or physically, it is a crime.
