Posted on September 29, 2016 in Drug Charges

Illegal drug deals can take many forms, but nearly all drug deals have something in common: they are all transactions. At their core, all drug transactions are the same – they are an exchange where each party gets something that they want. Drug transactions involve a recipient party (i.e., the drug “buyer”) providing something to a drug dealer in exchange for the drugs. A majority of the time, drugs are traded for money.

But in some situations, a drug dealer might accept something other than money as payment for drugs. Sometimes a dealer will want certain services (e.g., the dealer may want the drug “buyer” to commit a crime, or perform some act in exchange for the drugs) in exchange for drugs, or the dealer might want property or valuables instead of cash. Sometimes the dealer may want the drugs to be paid for in stolen goods, like a stolen car or stolen jewelry, watches or electronics. The dealer might even encourage a buyer to commit burglary in order to get the drugs.

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 Posted on September 22, 2016 in Traffic Offenses

Many people have received a traffic citation for a mistake made behind the wheel. You might have been driving too fast, may have failed to use your turn signals, or may have placed your vehicle somewhere it should not have been. Furthermore, many people who end up with a traffic citation are unsure what to do about it. In this situation, contacting an experienced traffic offense lawyer could help.

Basics of A Traffic Citation

At its core, a traffic citation is a charge for violating a state or municipal traffic law. The citation is a piece of paper, or ticket, that includes your information, the information about your vehicle, and your alleged offense. The ticket provides you with the statute of the law that you allegedly violated along with the fine you are required to pay, and provides instructions on how to pay the ticket, or details about when you are required to appear in court.

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 Posted on September 20, 2016 in Traffic Offenses

Many drivers in Illinois are stopped by law enforcement and issued traffic citations when they allegedly violate one of Illinois many traffic laws. While a ticket could be embarrassing, or might make you mad, you must take some sort of action regarding your traffic ticket.

Consequences of Pleading Guilty to a Traffic Violation

Most tickets are simple to deal with, and many do not even require the driver to appear in court. There are many types of traffic tickets that can simply be paid over the internet or at the courthouse. Many drivers elect to pay their fine and be done with their ticket. But payment of the ticket fine is effectively the same as pleading guilty to your traffic citation.

Countless Illinois drivers do not realize that this is the case and are surprised to learn that there are consequences for paying the fine and effectively pleading guilty to a traffic offense. For instance, in some cases, it can mean that points will be added to your driver’s license by the Illinois Driver Services Department. If you get too many points on your driver’s license in a certain amount of time, your driver’s license can be suspended. The more points you have on your driver’s license also translates to increased car insurance premium rates.

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 Posted on September 16, 2016 in Prenuptial Agreements

Statistics show that Americans are, on average, waiting longer than ever to get married for the first time. While the maturity that normally accompanies age may be a factor in the recent decrease in the divorce rate, waiting to get married also means that each spouse tends to bring more property, assets, and debts to the marriage. As a result, many couples are turning to prenuptial agreements to help them establish which property is whose and how certain assets are to be addressed in the event of a divorce.

Free to Make Your Own Choices

Prenuptial agreements in Illinois are governed by the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act which the state adopted in 1990. The law gives prospective spouses the right to negotiate the terms of a prenuptial agreement in whatever manner suits them. The only topics that a prenuptial agreement is statutorily prohibited from addressing are the rights of a child regarding child support and custodial (parental responsibilities) plans made in advance of such a need.

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 Posted on September 15, 2016 in DUI/DWI

Until recently, it was illegal to drive while under the influence of marijuana, regardless of how much marijuana was in your system. Illinois law used to employ a zero tolerance approach when it came to driving under the influence of marijuana. Specifically, if any amount of marijuana was detected in the suspected drugged driver’s system, the driver could be charged with a marijuana DUI. But the recent passage of Illinois bill SB2228 changes things and puts a measurable limit on when an Illinois driver is too high to drive.

Under the old law, prosecutors were not required to demonstrate that the driver was actually intoxicated by marijuana at the time of their DUI arrest, according to a recent article in the Pekin Daily Times. Instead, the prosecution only had to show that marijuana, even in trace amounts, was detected in the driver’s system. A blood test could be used to analyze a blood sample for any trace of THC, which is the active psychoactive chemical ingredient in marijuana.

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 Posted on September 13, 2016 in Illinois Laws

Everyone has heard the story of the little boy who cried wolf. Repeatedly the little boy made false assertions that a wolf was nearby, alarming everyone else in the town. But in truth, there was no wolf. Finally, others stopped believing the boy, and when the boy saw a wolf that posed a real threat to those in the town, no one would heed his warnings because he had developed a reputation as a liar. The moral of this children’s story is that it is not a good idea to report false threats and place groups of people into a state of alarm unnecessarily. A similar premise underlies Illinois disorderly conduct law.

Falsely alerting groups of people of danger is a serious offense in Illinois. When there is no real threat of danger, there is no need to alert others. Alerting others to a false danger can place these people in a state of panic or distress, and can cause them to act in an alarmed way unnecessarily. In effect, false reports of danger put people on edge, and cause them to do things that they might not normally do because they feel like they are in danger, and these false reports of danger can cause disruptions of the peace. Some examples of offenses that can warrant a disorderly conduct charge include:

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 Posted on September 12, 2016 in Drug Charges

Drug trafficking is one of the more serious drug offenses, as people are often found to be transporting large quantities of drugs into and around the state. The purpose behind trafficking illegal drugs is to import large quantities of drugs into the state in order to distribute and sell those drugs in a smaller quantity to others. That is why law enforcement takes the responsibility of catching a drug trafficker so seriously.

What Is Drug Trafficking?

Drug trafficking charges are based on the type of drug that is being trafficked across state lines. If you are caught with large quantities of illegal drugs in Illinois, you can be charged with trafficking:

• Controlled substances, such as heroin, cocaine, hallucinogens, depressants, stimulants and prescription drugs, under the Illinois Controlled Substances Act;
• Marijuana, under 720 ILCS 550/4(f)-(g), i.e. possession of cannabis in a quantity of more than 2,000 grams; or

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 Posted on August 30, 2016 in DUI/DWI

When you are suspected of driving while under the influence, law enforcement may request that you submit to blood alcohol concentration testing. While this testing often takes the form of a breathalyzer test, where a breath sample is analyzed for its alcohol content, sometimes blood testing is requested to determine a suspected drunk driver’s blood alcohol concentration. Blood samples are taken in one of two ways, either as part of a DUI kit that is completed at a hospital or as part of an emergency blood draw.

• DUI Kit Blood Samples. When blood is taken as part of a DUI kit, the arresting police officer must request the blood test and the driver must consent to the blood draw. The test must be done at a hospital by a qualified medical professional (i.e., a registered nurse, licensed physician, certified paramedic or trained phlebotomist). Urine samples are often also collected when a driver completes a DUI kit.

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 Posted on August 26, 2016 in Divorce

When you are considering divorce, there is a seemingly unending list of things to think about. Will you keep the family home? Who will be responsible for the children? Will you have to pay child support or alimony? In many cases, the implications of the divorce are given more thought than the process itself. The process includes filing the necessary paperwork, responding to the court when required, and remaining in compliance with deadlines and court orders. For many, the first important decision to be made is in regard to where the petition for divorce should be filed. An experienced divorce attorney can help you make the right choice for your unique situation.

What the Law Says

According to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, the proceedings for a divorce are to take place in the county in which either the petitioner or the respondent resides. If you are the spouse who files, you are the petitioner, and your spouse would be the respondent. This means that the law presumes that you will file for divorce in the county where you live or where your spouse currently lives. The law also provides that your divorce matter may be redirected to any county within the state of Illinois as needed.

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 Posted on August 24, 2016 in Theft

In Illinois, retail theft under 720 ILCS 16-25 is a crime that is taken seriously by businesses, law enforcement, and the courts. It is a crime that is committed so regularly that certain stores hire their own security guards to help combat and prevent retail theft from happening. You could be stopped and detained by store employees or store security if you are suspected of shoplifting. You could also be arrested by police. But what is the difference between being detained by store security and being arrested by law enforcement?

Store Security and Employees Have Limitations

While store employees and security have the legal ability to hold a shoplifting suspect, their ability to do so is limited under the law. You can be detained by a store’s security or employees on for a reasonable length of time and in a reasonable manner. Store security is not required to read you your rights, wait for a parent or guardian, or wait for a lawyer before questioning a suspected shoplifter. However, police are required to do these things when you are placed under arrest.

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