Posted on November 20, 2013 in Criminal Defense

Among all the crimes in Illinois, domestic abuse is among those treated most seriously by prosecutors and judges. Domestic abuse is defined by two elements. First, there is an act of violence. This can be an assault or a battery. That means that there does not necessarily need to be any force or physical touching involved. It is possible to get an assault charge for merely making threats to someone.

For example, each of the following can be considered domestic abuse:

• Spousal abuse

• Child abuse

• Criminal violations of Orders of Protection

• Assault

• Battery

• Stalking

• Harassment/telephone harassment

• Threats

The second element of a domestic assault charge is the victim. What makes domestic abuse “domestic” is the victim. In Illinois there are several types of victims that qualify as domestic abuse victims, they are:

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 Posted on November 14, 2013 in DUI

A Chicago man has been charged after allegedly causing a crash that injured nine individuals, including four police officers.

Authorities say that the crash happened on the Far South Side last week when the man was traveling in a Nissan Altima on the 10200 block of South Indianpolis Avenue. CBS Chicago reports that the man hit an unmarked police car conducting a traffic cop shortly after midnight on Monday and caused a chain reaction.

Chicago Police News Affairs Officer Jose Estrada says that the 69-year-old man's car rear-ended the squad car. The police car was pushed into a Chevy Tahoe and another cop car assisting with the stop was also hit.

The driver faces a host of charges including felony aggravated DUI causing an accident involving bodily harm. The man was also charged with two misdemeanor DUI counts, and negligent driving.

Drunk driving charges can be fought in several ways including demonstrating that a blood-alcohol test was conducted using faulty test equipment or that the person conducting the test was not qualified.

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 Posted on November 14, 2013 in DUI/DWI

Drinking alcohol is dangerous for people of all ages even if they are old enough to drink legally. The law is not meant just to get people in trouble, it is to protect them, which is why the punishments can be so severe.

Not only is consuming alcohol illegal, but those under 21 cannot even transport or have alcohol in their possession. If someone underage is caught transporting alcohol in their vehicle, they can be fined up to $500 and receive a jail sentence of up to six months. The exception to this law is if a person under the age of 21 is transporting alcohol for employment or under the order of his or her parents.

If someone underage is caught drinking and driving, their punishment will be even more severe than someone who is of age because they will have broken multiple laws. If someone underage registers a Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) of 0.08 or higher while driving, he or she may be sentenced to 30 days in jail and be fined up to $500.

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 Posted on November 11, 2013 in Your Rights

May Molina was a community activist for many years in the city of Chicago. Even with her diabetes, asthma, and inability to go anywhere without a wheelchair, she still voiced her opinion against the Chicago Police Department. She was especially adamant her son’s wrongful lockup for a crime he did not commit. In 2004, her voice was silenced after being locked up for drug possession.

For 24 hours in lockup at the police station, Molina was without her medicine. Other inmates at the time as well as her attorney notified the police on duty that Molina was becoming breathless and confused. No one acted on their warning and within a few hours, Molina was found dead in her cell.

Recently, the surviving family of May Molina has decided to filed a civil suit against the Chicago Police Department. When May was arrested, she had asked the officers to bring her medicine but she was denied. May’s family is claiming in the suit that the city normally denies medical requests of inmates at holding cells of Chicago police departments.

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 Posted on November 07, 2013 in Illinois Laws

Senator Julie Morrisonhas sponsored a bill, which along with other measures will make waterways safer next year. For Morrison, this bill is personal. In 2012, her nephew, 10 year old Anthony Borcia was killed after falling off a tube on Petite Lake in Northern Illinois. Morrison stated that “for me, this law is about turning a personal tragedy into an opportunity to protect other people. Last summer, my nephew was killed by a boater under the influence of drugs and alcohol. I’m doing everything I can to keep other families from experiencing our loss.”

The person responsible for Tony’s death was David Hatyina. He was sentenced to ten years in jail after pleading guilty to operating a motorboat while under the influence of alcohol and cocaine. His blood alcohol level while operating his boat was between .09 and .12, which is over the legal limit.

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 Posted on November 03, 2013 in Criminal Defense

Federal authorities recently charged a former Cook County Forest Reserve District engineer with accepting "kickbacks" in the course of two district contracts.

Networking is an important part of many major business deals. Often individuals who are responsible for making a business deal or contract happen receive incentives from a grateful contractor or business partner.

While these incentives are common and accepted in the private sector, these types of arrangements can result in serious charges against public employees.

Federal authorities charged Joseph Mollica, a former engineer for the Cook County Forest Preserve, with federal bribery. Authorities say that Mollica had the ability to influence and award contracts for public work done under $25,000 and use this power to accept cash payments from contractors.

"Together, the indictment and complaint allege that on Oct. 14, 2011, Mollica accepted a $6,000 kickback from a $24,900 contract to refinish and refurbish the Forest Preserve District's headquarters building, where he worked, located at 536 N. Harlem Ave., in River Forest," Federal authorities said in a press release. "On Dec. 16, 2011, he allegedly accepted a $4,000 kickback from a $16,500 contract to power wash and stain the building and boardwalk and do caulking at the Sand Ridge Nature Center in Calumet City."

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 Posted on November 03, 2013 in Criminal Defense

We have all heard that texting while driving is dangerous, and that texting distracts drivers and endangers passengers and other drivers on the road. No one wants their child in a vehicle while the driver is texting or otherwise distracted from the road.

What about a vehicle with a bunch of child passengers and a texting driver? One Florida school bus driver decided to use her cell phone while driving a bus full of middle school students home from school.

A 14-year-old girl pulled out her phone to record her bus driver swearing and yelling at the students, but instead caught the driver texting.

In the video, the driver was shown driving with one hand on the wheel and the other holding her phone, texting. Her eyes were on the phone, not on the road.

ABC news reported on the video in which the bus driver jerked the wheel, apparently after drifting into another lane, and then continued to text.

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 Posted on October 30, 2013 in Your Rights

Being accused of shoplifting can be a very embarrassing experience, and there’s a tendency to want to work with store managers or security personnel to clear the air. As an accused shoplifter, however, you have rights, too. If you have been accused of or charged with shoplifting, you could face penalties or fines, so contact a Chicagocriminal defense attorney immediately.

Stores across Illinois, like Jewel-Osco, are serious about shoplifting and are taking measures to reduce occurrences. This chain has taken self-checkout stations away with a growing concern that people were not paying for their items. Sometimes, however, customers are accused of shoplifting when they did nothing wrong, being pressured to admit to a crime they never committed. Being accused of shoplifting is both stressful and humiliating, especially if you’re a regular shopper at the store.

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 Posted on October 26, 2013 in DUI/DWI

According to the state of Illinois, probation is one of the most common forms of punishment for juvenile crimes in the state. Understanding the limitations linked to probation is helpful for understanding what a juvenile’s life might look like after court. If you or your juvenile child is facing charges, contact an experienced Illinois criminal attorney today.

Probation means that those individuals are able to return to the community so long as they comply with court-ordered requirements. A probation officer is appointed to review their compliance with these court conditions. Generally, Illinois probation sentences last from 12 to 24 months, although this period can be extended to five years or until the youth’s 21^st birthday, whichever comes first. This extended probation period is mandatory for those with first degree murder cases, class X felony cases, or forcible felony charges.

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 Posted on October 22, 2013 in Divorce

Property settlements tend to be one of the most complex areas of Illinois divorces. The division of marital assets is often highly emotional and has long-lasting consequences for the partners involved.

The division of marital property is typically controlled by the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act.

The Act generally carves out property acquired before marriage from the marital estate. This means that things which you owned before the marriage cannot be taken by your spouse during a divorce.

That is, unless these items have been "transmuted."

When Illinois Property is Transmuted into a Marital Estate

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word "transmuted" means "to completely change the form, appearance, or nature of something."

Under Illinois law, property that who acquired prior to a marriage can be transmuted, or changed, into marital property under certain circumstances.

Generally nonmarital property is transmuted when it is comingled or otherwise mixed into a marital estate for the purposes of reimbursement or there other evidence that of an intention that the nonmarital property was intended to be gifted to the marital estate.

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