Posted on September 15, 2013 in Criminal Defense

According to a recent report by the Chicago Tribune, a man and two teenagers have been charged in the murder of an Englewood man. The man was found stuffed into a trashcan in the alley.

Cook County prosecutorsallege that a dispute started when 51-year-old Ernest Pritchett III walked into the front yard of 32-year-old Bryan Perkins. Perkins asked Pritchett for the money that he was owed. When he stated that he did not have the money, it is alleged that Perkins grabbed a piece of a fence and started hitting the older man in the head with it. At that time, two teens joined in the beating. The 16 and 17 year old began kicking and stomping Pritchett. Perkins then picked up a large rock and hit the man with it.

Perkins retrieved a rolling trash can from the alley and with the assistance of the teens; he put Pritchett’s body inside of it. He then proceeded to roll the trash can several blocks down the street, where he abandoned it.

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 Posted on September 11, 2013 in Criminal Defense

Marijuana, Mary Jane and pot are all names for the drug that come from the plant Cannabis Sativa. It is a very common drug in high schools and colleges across the country and has even made its way into quite a few movies in recent years, like “21 Jump Street” and “Pineapple Express”.

It is a psychoactive drug that is sometimes inhaled from a rolled cigarette, or joint, but can also be consumed when mixed into recipes such as brownies, cookies, butter or candy.

According to the University of Illinois marijuana laws, the marijuana that is used today is as much as ten times stronger than it was in the early 1970s.

Effects of marijuana include an increased heart rate, dry mouth and throat, bloodshot eyes, sleepiness and increased appetite.

Not only is marijuana illegal in most states, including Illinois, possession and sale of marijuana is also against the policies of many colleges and universities, including the University of Illinois. If a student has been found with marijuana, he or she may find herself in serious legal trouble, as well as suffering consequences related to school and financial aid.

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 Posted on September 10, 2013 in Criminal Defense

A homeless Chicago man may find some mental health help after causing a scene with Chicago Police Officers in Uptown last week. Huffington Post reports that the 41-year-old man was arrested on the North Side last Wednesday.

The Chicago Tribune reports that the homeless man was attempting to sleep when someone reported him as trespassing. When police officers attempted to move him, he allegedly threw items at the officers.

Several media outlets report that in addition to allegedly pepper spraying the officers, the homeless man also tossed bottles of bodily waste at the officers.

The man faces several charges including aggravated battery, resisting a peace officer and criminal trespass.

James Cappleman, the 46 Ward Alderman, expressed relief on his Facebook page that the homeless man may finally get some mental health help.

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 Posted on September 08, 2013 in Traffic Offenses

Usually, if someone has a relatively clean driving record and they get a ticket, they have the opportunity to have the points removed from their license. When those points cannot be removed, however, they can add up quickly because they are on your record for at least two years. Once you get too many points, you may lose your license for an extended period.

If you are unsure whether your license has been suspended, it is important to find out; driving with a suspended license can have stiff penalties. To view your driving record, which will inform you of the state of your license, you can contact your Secretary of State’s office.

The Secretary of State can give you a copy of your driving record online, in person or by mail. If you request one in person or by mail, you must provide your full name, driver’s license number, your date of birth and a $12 processing fee.

A question that many people have when their license is suspended is whether or not it is suspended in all states. The National Driver Register keeps records of suspended and revoked drivers’ licenses so that those drivers cannot get licenses in another state. The Driver’s License Compact also keeps tabs on drivers nationally. The Driver License Compact keeps track of all driving penalties while drivers are in states other than their home state.

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 Posted on September 04, 2013 in DUI/DWI

Knowing what to expect in a DUI arrest can be helpful if you are involved in an incident. Knowing what’s required of the officer and what steps should be taken to protect your rightscan also make a difference in the success or failure of your DUI case. If you have been charged with a DUI in Illinois, you need the help of an experienced criminal attorney.

At the outset of the arrest, the officer will stop a vehicle at a roadside safety check or for probable cause, reasonable suspicion, or unusual operation. The officer should then observe the driver and request proof of a driver’s license, insurance card, and vehicle registration information. In the event the officer does not suspect operation of the vehicle under the influence, he or she will release the driver without any further charges.

If the officer suspects that the driver is under the influence of alcohol, he or she will ask the driver to submit to field sobriety tests. If the field sobriety tests give the officer probable cause, the driver can be arrested for DUI and taken to the local police station. The driver should be asked to submit to chemical testing for the breath, blood, or urine.

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 Posted on September 02, 2013 in Criminal Defense

Last week we extensively covered a case involving a Chicago man named Gary who was challenging his conviction of aggravated battery against his neighbor's girlfriend. Ultimately the problem is that sufficiency of evidence appeals are notoriously hard to win in cases that hinge on the testimony of witnesses rather than hard physical evidence.

In reviewing a case based on sufficiency of evidence, a Cook County appeals court asks whether any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of a criminal offense beyond a reasonable doubt. The court views the evidence in a light most favorable to the prosecution and makes all reasonable inference in the prosecution's favor.

This means that that even if the appeals court judge would have decided the case differently, the court will uphold a verdict if it is possible that any reasonable trial court or jury could have decided in favor of the prosecution.

This makes it easy to see why the court could not overturn the Gary's aggravated battery conviction. Although it's highly likely that his neighbors were more intoxicated and hostile than they admitted to, it is also likely that Gary had ill-will toward his neighbor and hit Tara in the heat of the argument.

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 Posted on August 30, 2013 in Theft

Late last year, Clark Merrefield from The Daily Beast reported on a minor who committed a crime, was sentenced in court as an adult, and brought out concerns about what was the proper age to begin charging children as adults.

After he was found guilty of robbing two local businesses, Sean Shevlino, now 22, was sentenced to 10 years in jail.

In 2006, when Shevlino was 16 years old, he robbed a Piggly Wiggly. His friend’s older brother, who was an employee of the southern chain at the time, told him how easy it would be to rob the store.

Sean’s mother, April, told The Daily Beast that although his father and herself were providing a positive, college-bound life for Sean and his brothers, Seamus and Alex, when Sean turned 15, he became very angry and began to act out.

Sean said that his friends thought he was crazy when he told them about his idea to rob the Piggly Wiggly, but once he got away with money, they quickly changed their minds.

He wanted the money to repay his friends for allowing him to stay at their houses, but once they got it, they wanted toget enough money to get their own apartment. Sean had every intention of completing school, but doing so outside of his family home.

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 Posted on August 29, 2013 in Criminal Defense

During the past week we have followed a case involving a fight between two Chicago neighbors named Gary and Ken. During the fight Gary punched Tara in the face. Gary alleges that this happened because Ken swung at him, and then used Tara as a shield when Gary attempted to return his blow.

No one contested the fact that Gary hit Tara and that she was severely injured as a result. Gary argued that he lacked the requisite intent to harm Tara as he was attempting to return Ken's punch.

The trial court rejected the defense's version of events and said that it was unlikely that Ken would be able to pull Tara in front of him during the short time it would have taken Gary to return Ken's punch.

Gary also argued the fact that Ken and Tara had been drinking prevented them from being able to accurately remember the incident. The trial court noted that although intoxication is relative to the value of a person's testimony, it did not preclude the trial court from accepting their version of events.

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 Posted on August 28, 2013 in Criminal Defense

This week we are covering an aggravated battery case that arose out of a fight on South Homan Avenue in Chicago. The fight involved a man named Ken and his girlfriend Tara who got into an argument with a neighbor named Gary one July evening.

The evidence indicates that Tara was punched in the face while talking to a woman who hanging out with Gary. Tara and Ken say that the punch was the culmination of Gary's hostile behavior throughout the evening.

The woman that Tara was talking to was named Kelly, and she had a drastically different version of events that night.

Kelly testified that she was over at Gary's house for a barbeque and that she had nothing to drink that evening.

Kelly says that Gary and another man were sitting on the porch when they saw Gary's neighbor Ken pull up to the drive way.

Contrary to Ken's testimony that he was not drunk, Kelly said that Ken "missed the driveway," ran over the curb and onto the grass. Kelly said that Ken and Tara then fell out of the car and had to lean on each other to make it to the house.

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 Posted on August 27, 2013 in Criminal Defense

This week we are following the case of a man who was convicted of aggravated battery after a getting into a fight with his neighbor, Ken, and Ken's girlfriend, Tara. The fight happened early one summer evening and the two sides have drastically different versions of events.

Ken and Tara testified that Gary immediately started screaming at them after they returned home from a bar one evening. The couple said that they had been drinking, but were not drunk, and that Gary's profane insults were wholly unprovoked.

Tara said that she wanted to mend the feelings between the two men, so she went back outside to try and make peace with Gary. Upon approaching the fence that divided the two houses, Tara testified that she asked Gary to shake her hand, but he would only curse at her.

The woman who was with Gary then walked up to Tara and the two had a calm conversation about how the two men should resolve their differences.

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