When a person is suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol, the police can usually use a breath test machine to determine the person’s BAC fairly quickly and in the police station. When a person is suspected of driving under the influence of cannabis or other drugs, the testing process is more complicated. Police usually need to send samples out to a crime lab that can test for the presence of drugs. New reports are now suggesting that testing errors in a Chicago lab may have led to an uncertain number of false positive results for cannabis. This means…
Continue Reading Lab Error Impacts Hundreds of Cannabis DUI Cases

The winter holiday season is supposed to be the happiest time of the year, but most adults know that the season can be stressful as well. Domestic violence arrests tend to increase drastically around the holidays. Emotions tend to run high during the holiday season, making disputes between family members and romantic partners more likely to turn violent. Conflict can escalate rapidly, and something as simple as pushing that annoying cousin out of your way at the family holiday party can get you arrested and charged with domestic violence. Domestic violence is considered more serious than a typical assault, because…
Continue Reading Domestic Violence Arrests Increase Around the Holidays

There is a lot of confusion regarding where, when, and why a person may fire a gun. You may have heard that if you are on your own private property, you are always allowed to shoot as long as you are not shooting at another person. Conversely, a lot of people have been taught that shooting a gun anywhere except at a range is illegal unless you are acting in self-defense. Neither of these statements is entirely true. Illinois’s reckless discharge laws are much more nuanced than that. You can be charged with this offense for firing a gun…
Continue Reading Understanding Reckless Discharge of a Gun Charges

Driving drunk with anyone less than 16 years old in the car is an enhanced DUI offense in Illinois. A first offense is still a misdemeanor, but a second is a felony. This law applies to everyone – it is quite common to see it used against older teenagers who are driving around with their peers. However, a lot of those charged with DUI with a child passenger are parents who had their own children in the car. Parents who get arrested for drunk driving while transporting their children are likely to be charged with a felony DUI and may…
Continue Reading DUI Arrest with a Child in the Car

A simple dispute between drivers can escalate quickly into actual violence or firearms charges. In the last few months alone, there have been numerous arrests made related to road rage assaults. Many of these incidents involved firearms, while others involved only vehicles themselves being weaponized. In June, a Naperville motorist was arrested for assault after allegedly drawing a firearm on another driver during a road rage incident. Another Illinois arrest involved a cyclist reaching into a vehicle and stabbing the driver. Drivers on social media have casually reported a large number of aggressive driving incidents that did not result…
Continue Reading Road Rage Shootings On the Rise in Illinois

If you have had a DUI charge recently, you may need to have a breath alcohol ignition interlock device (BAIID) installed on your car before you can drive again. These devices are designed to prevent drunk driving by physically preventing an intoxicated person from starting a vehicle and periodically ensuring you are sober while you are driving. While this device is installed on your car, you will not be allowed to drive any other vehicle. Having a BAIID is generally a condition of getting a restricted driver’s permit, and some DUI offenders are required to use them for some time…
Continue Reading How do Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Devices Work?

Heated protests are expected nationwide after the election, regardless of the election’s outcome. Especially if you are in or near a major city like Chicago, IL, you are likely to encounter political protestors. Everyone has a constitutional right to free speech, and political speech in particular is heavily protected. However, there are time, place, and manner restrictions on protestors. There is sometimes a fine line between a protected political protest and an unlawful riot. If protestors begin to conduct themselves in a violent manner that causes public alarm, they could be charged with crimes, like looting, disorderly conduct, assault,…
Continue Reading When a Protest Becomes a Riot

The police cannot simply pull over whoever they want, whenever they want, without a good reason. If you were pulled over illegally, any evidence of a crime the police found during that stop can be thrown out of court. If the only evidence the state has against you is what the police found during an illegal traffic stop, that probably means your case will be thrown out. Illegal traffic stops most commonly result in DUIs, drug possession charges, and weapons charges. If you were charged with any of these offenses following a traffic stop, you need a knowledgeable Will…
Continue Reading What Is an Illegal Traffic Stop?

Assault and battery charges are often associated with an injured victim. When the victim is bruised, bleeding, or has broken bones, it is usually fairly clear to law enforcement that he or she has been battered. However, it is possible to be charged with assault, battery, or both even if the victim is physically unharmed. You do not need to cause real injury to commit an assault or a battery. This type of assault or battery is usually charged as a misdemeanor offense, while a battery involving serious injury is usually charged as a felony. If you are facing assault…
Continue Reading Can You Be Charged With Assault or Battery if the Victim Was Not Injured?

Although recreational cannabis use has been legal in Illinois for years, people are still getting arrested over marijuana-related offenses. Many people who are charged with a cannabis offense mistakenly believe that what they are doing is legal. Unfortunately, not knowing exactly what Illinois’ rather complex laws related to marijuana say is not a defense. However, there is a lot an experienced Joliet, IL marijuana crimes attorney can do to defend you. You may have another defense, like having been subjected to an illegal search.
Cannabis Crimes That Still Exist in Illinois
Cannabis is regulated much like alcohol is. While…
Continue Reading How Illinois Residents Can Still Get Arrested for Marijuana

A first DUI can be written off as a simple lapse in judgment or a youthful mistake. The consequences, while painful, are usually not too harsh. Getting a second DUI is a much more serious matter. After a second arrest for driving drunk or high, you are probably going to be almost automatically deemed an alcoholic or addict. The court might start to think that letting you drive might be a risk to the public’s safety. If you avoided jail time the first time, you may not be so lucky the second time. However, you have the same opportunity to…
Continue Reading What Happens if I Get a Second DUI in Illinois? 

Some people truly are out looking for a fight. Having a run-in with one of them can turn a fun night out into a disaster. Even if you made a good effort to defuse the situation before it escalated into violence, you might still have found yourself caught up in a bar brawl you had no desire to be in. If there were numerous people involved in the brawl, you may not even know what started the fight. While you may have tried to avoid getting in a fight, there is still a chance you could be arrested and charged…
Continue Reading Can I Be Charged for a Fight I Did Not Start?

A lot of people find that the worst part of being charged with a DUI is not being able to drive for a year or more. When you lose your driving privileges, you lose your independence. While nearby Chicago has an excellent public transportation system, making it possible to get anywhere in the city without a car, the same cannot be said for more suburban Will County. Even if you work in the city, getting close enough to its borders to catch a train may be a struggle. Fortunately, there are steps a Joliet, IL criminal defense lawyer can take…
Continue Reading The Cost of Not Driving After a DUI