Posted on August 17, 2013 in Divorce

Divorce is never an easy process, but divorces involving spouses filing in different countries can be highly complicated. One recent Illinois case involves a couple who was married in India in early 1999 and moved to Illinois later that year. The couple had a daughter in Illinois and started a company here as well.

The husband alleges that during 2008 and 2009, his wife spent extended periods of time in India. He also alleges that she was living with another man during this time and representing herself as his wife.

The wife returned to Illinois from India on March 10, 2009 and the husband filed for dissolution of his marriage in India on March 14, 2009, alleging adultery and mental cruelty. Two days later the wife filed a petition for divorce in Will County, Illinois. The wife alleged that the couple had irreconcilable differences and also alleged that the husband was mentally cruel.

The husband filed a petition to dismiss the Illinois divorce proceeding arguing that there was already a divorce proceeding in India at the time.

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 Posted on August 17, 2013 in Violent Crime

Over 25 years ago, James Kluppelberg was convicted of setting a deadly fire in the Back of the Yards neighborhood. The home that was burnt contained a woman and her five children. Elva Lupercio, 28, and her children who ranged between 3 and 10 years old, died in their home on the 4400 block of South Hermitage Avenue. After reviewing the scene, investigators determined that the fire was an accident.

Four years after the incident, Kluppelberg was identified as the perpetrator by a man who was arrested for burglary. They booked Kluppelberg and, shortly after, he confessed to the crime. Sentenced to life in prison, he maintained that he was innocent of all wrongdoing.

Kluppelberg was exonerated in 2012 of this crime due to advances in fire sciences. It was also revealed that his confession of guilt was coerced by officers who had beaten Kluppelberg so badly that he started to urinate blood. The man who turned him in was found to be lying in order to receive leniency for his burglary conviction. The police department also withheld information about a drunk woman who started another fire nearby the

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 Posted on August 14, 2013 in White collar crime

The white collar community is made up of members of the middle and upper classes that have business-related, salaried jobs.

White collar crimes most often have dishonesty or cheating as their base, as entrepreneurs or other businessmen or women commit nonviolent, illegal activities behind the cover of their legitimate businesses.

Because white collar crimes are nonviolent, they usually have a lesser punishment than other criminal activities, but the punishments often include heavy fines and sometimes jail time.

Although dishonesty in a business setting is the common background for all white collar crimes, this category of criminal activity has a very broad spectrum and is hard to define. In order to avoid allowing loopholes in the law for these well-educated, intelligent criminals, the federal and state governments in America have laws that protect against specific, more common white collar crimes, but also general white collar crime laws to catch everything in one law.

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 Posted on August 11, 2013 in Criminal Defense

Assault and battery is most often heard as a single term and not thought of as two separate criminal offenses, which is what they are. A judge can charge a person with one or the other, although they are typically paired together.

Assault is defined in Illinois lawas, “conduct which places another in reasonable apprehension of receiving battery.”

Battery can be either “conduct causing bodily harm to another person or insulting, provocation or unwanted physical contact with another person.”

The main difference is that assault does not include physical contact or injury to the victim.

Once it is found that someone is guilty of battery, the court must then determine the degree, such as whether or not the crime was aggravated battery, which is more serious. Aggravated assault may be charged if the victim has a serious injury or if the defendant used a deadly weapon.

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 Posted on August 07, 2013 in Criminal Defense

Hearing about people running away from the police or trying to elude the police has become commonplace in today’s headlines. However, according to the Chicago Tribune, Vincent Richardson wanted nothing more than to be the police himself.

He first made headlines a little over four years ago when he passed himself off as a law enforcement officer at the age of 14. He showed up at the police station as if he was reporting to work and he went on patrol with another officer for over 5 hours before he was busted and his civilian status was revealed.

This time, at the age of 19, he walked into a uniform store and identified himself as a police officer that worked in the Englewood neighborhood. He presented his driver’s license and told the clerk that he wanted to try on some cargo shorts as well as checking out some utility belts. When Richardson kept repeating that he was an officer in Englewood, the clerk became suspicious and decided to look him up. He then found, through an Internet search, that he had been arrested before. When police arrived at the scene, they arrested Richardson. Upon his arrest, Richardson stated that he respected the job that the police do and that he never intended to hurt anyone, he only wanted to help.

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 Posted on August 05, 2013 in Criminal Defense

Two drivers were arrested for misdemeanor drunk driving this weekend after a serious car accident on Chicago's Southwest Side. Authorities say that two alleged drunk drivers crashed into eachother on the Stevenson Expressway, near Damen Avenue.

The crash happened shortly after midnight when a driver of a Mercury Sable parked on the expressway. A driver of a Scion TC tried to avoid the parked vehicle but was unable to.

NBC Chicago reports that a passenger in the Scion was injured and taken to John H. Stroger Hospital. A police spokesman told reporters that drugs and alcohol were factors in this crash and that both drivers were charged with misdemeanor DUI.

Drunk driving crashes such as this one are common in Chicago. There are multiple ways that a driver can defend themselves against misdemeanor drunk driving charges including demonstrating that police officers improperly administered a breath test or that the breath test equipment was faulty.

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 Posted on August 02, 2013 in Criminal Defense

The Chicago Sun Times recently published a story about a woman who has been arrested 396 times since 1978. She is now being housed in the Logan Correctional Center from which she is to be released in November of this year.

If the Chairman of the Illinois Prisoner Review Board has anything to say about it, Shermain Miles will be admitted to a mental health and substance abuse program as soon as she completes her sentence with the Illinois Department of Corrections. Her current counselor states that she has been “very cooperative and informed” while receiving care for her mental health issues while she has been in Logan.

While she has applied to several different programs and considered different options for her releases, the one that was rejected was for her to be paroled to the ward where she assaulted a council member. Most of her arrests have been for thefts, 92 in fact. She was arrested 65 different times for disorderly conduct, 59 times for crimes such as prostitution, and another 5 times for robbery related offenses. She has also been arrested under at least 83 different known identities.

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 Posted on July 30, 2013 in DUI/DWI

Most people would agree that it is the role of school employees to educate children and to serve as a good example to them. According to a report by the Chicago Tribune, a private school principal served as anything except a role model.

Joseph Academy principal, Michael Zajac, was arrested on DUI charges with a blood alcohol level that was two times the legal limit. What is ironic about the arrest is that Joseph Academy, located in Hometown, is a school that deals with children who have “severe emotional challenges”, as cited by the school’s website.

This is not Zajac’s first brush with the law. He received a DUI in 1997 as well as 2000. He also was convicted of battery in 2003 for which he received a sentence of 25 days of public service and 18 months of supervision by the court. With his current arrest, he is facing several charges. He has been charged with a felony aggravated DUI and he also received citations for improper lane usage, speeding, illegal transport of alcohol, and not having proof of insurance. He has been ordered by the Cook County Criminal Court to be held on a bond of $25,000.00.

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 Posted on July 28, 2013 in DUI

A Chicago man faces up to 12 years in jail after causing a fatal drunk driving car accident. Authorities say that the man's blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit when he hit a parked Illinois State Police car early last year. The accident killed a stranded 42-year-old motorist who was sitting in the back seat of the car and seriously injured a trooper.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the man pleaded guilty to felony DUI charges arising out of the crash.

"I'm happy he's taking responsibility," the deceased motorist's sister said. "I hope it's for the right reason - because he feels remorse."

In Illinois, any DUI that results in great bodily harm, permanent disability or disfigurement is a class 4 felony that carries significant prison time. There are a variety of things that can be done to challenge a DUI including determining whether a breath test and adequately administered by a qualified individual.

Besides evidentiary issues, there are many cases in which prison time can be avoided when an individual pleads guilty to lesser charges. It is important to discuss your options with a qualified Illinois DUI lawyer before making any decisions regarding your particular case.

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 Posted on July 26, 2013 in Violent Crime

According to a recent report by DNA Info, a 23-year-old man is facing serious charges after an altercation with his pregnant girlfriend. The couple resided together in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood.

Investigators found that the couple does have an 11-month-old child together but that Jovanny Martinez was not the father of the child that she was pregnant with. They started arguing about her pregnancy and the fight ended up getting physical. Martinez then started punching her in the stomach repeatedly. Soon after, the victim reported that she thought that her water broke. She realized that she was bleeding. The victim was then taken to the hospital where she gave birth to a stillborn daughter.

Initially, the victim told law enforcement officials that she had been attacked by a group of women and one man. However, later she recanted her statement and identified Martinez as the person who attacked her.

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