Being charged with a single crime is serious enough in itself to require a strong criminal defense attorney. Unfortunately, many prosecutors engage in “charge stacking,” which involves charging a defendant with as many relevant charges as possible—even when the true relevancy is thin at best.
Often, more charges than are fair or just are filed against a defendant to strengthen the prosecutor’s case and up the chances of securing a conviction on at least one of the charges. Charge stacking is akin to the adage of “throwing everything against the wall to see what sticks” and is common in both white-collar offenses and violent criminal charges.
Violent crimes are typically stacked with other violent crimes and white-collar crimes with other white-collar crimes. The exception might be the offense of racketeering, which is often used as a “stack” offense in both white-collar and violent crime offenses. If you are facing multiple criminal charges, it is extremely important that you speak to a highly experienced Chicago, IL criminal defense lawyer as quickly as possible.