At least for the foreseeable future, it appears that video conferencing apps such as Zoom will be a part of the legal landscape. When the worldwide pandemic hit early this year, everyone and everything was affected, including the court systems in Chicago and all Northern Illinois counties such as Cook, Lake, DuPage, Will, Kane and...
Read MoreWhen a person is charged with a criminal or traffic matter in Illinois, the defendant’s attorney will typically seek out the state’s attorney or local prosecutor in an attempt to negotiate a plea agreement and avoid a trial if at all possible. Then, depending upon the negotiating skills of the defense attorney, the receptiveness of...
Read MoreLike “Facetime”, Zoom is a free app that allows multiple people to meet online and speak to one another for a variety of purposes. Primarily used for business meetings in the past, court systems across Illinois and the country were quick to adopt this as a partial solution despite some security and privacy issues during...
Read MoreIf you did not read part 1, you can find that information here. What Will Happen to me in Court? Typically, if this is your first instance of this traffic offense, our legal team will be able to negotiate with the prosecutor and get you just a small fine and a sentence of supervision, which...
Read MoreEvery city in Illinois, from Chicago to Arlington Heights to Joliet is governed by the State’s Mandatory Insurance laws. Basically, the Illinois Secretary of State trusts that its citizens are in compliance and have valid insurance on their vehicles that meet basic policy limits. Normally, our DMV (Illinois Secretary of State) doesn’t take part in...
Read MoreThere are only three ways a person can be charged with a crime or offense in Illinois. Illinois law provides that a prosecution may be commenced by complaint, information or indictment. That’s it. Well, if you count local ordinance tickets there are four ways. But tickets are just a type of complaint. What is a...
Read MoreRecently, I spoke to a person who had recently been charged with a theft arising out of the recent Black Lives Matter demonstrations in the Chicago area. Despite the city’s nonviolent protests, he was part of a group that unfortunately took the opportunity to loot businesses, rather than engage in peaceful protest. What happened in...
Read MoreYou are just minding your own business when all of a sudden, you are being confronted by a police officer, displaying a badge, asserting their authority, and commanding you to comply. “Wait a minute--isn’t this America? Do I not have rights under the Constitution?” The answer is yes, of course you have rights; but resisting...
Read MoreConsider the following. You and your friend Bill decide to drive to the University of Illinois Chicago campus to check it out. You agree to drive because Bill does not have a car. On the way there, you stop at the Sac-O-Suds convenience store to pick up some snacks. Because you are good citizens who...
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