Investigation Uncovers Police Relying Solely on Facial Recognition Software
As we have previously covered, law enforcement agencies across the country have begun to utilize emerging and sophisticated technology in their investigations, sometimes to catastrophic effect for individuals who are misidentified by these new technologies. The Washington Post recently uncovered numerous instances in which investigators have utilized facial recognition technology powered by artificial intelligence to identify and charge individuals with crimes based solely on those automated results. In some instances, the investigators relied on grainy or blurry images captured from some surveillance system at the crime scene that then cross…
Continue Reading Artificial Intelligence Surveillance Technology Continues to Lead to False Arrests

Proposed Legislation Would Have Effectively Banned Delta-8 Products Outside Dispensaries
As we have previously covered, there have been increasing pressure from some lawmakers to crack down on Delta-8 and other hemp derived products as they have soared in popularity, particularly amongst teenagers and young adults. In 2018 the federal government unwittingly legalized Delta-8 and other psychoactive products when it legalized the sale of products that contain hemp derivatives, which sought to provide for the legal sale of CBD and other wellness products that do not come with psychoactive effects. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker recently weighed in on the matter,…
Continue Reading Governor Pritzker Call for Regulation of Hemp Derived Products Fails

Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Reinstates Injunction as Deadline Looms
In an update to our previous post concerning the implementation of a new law designed to crack down on money laundering through small businesses and LLCs, a three-judge panel in the 5th Circuit reinstated a Texas District Court judge’s previously issued injunction, halting the new rule from taking effect saying that the Corporate Transparency Act which authorized the rule was unconstitutional. Before the injunction was reinstated, most companies had until a January 13, 2025, deadline to submit their initial reports to the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) identifying…
Continue Reading US Appeals Court Blocks New Money-Laundering Law from Taking Effect

Justice Department Suspends Controversial DEA Civil Asset Forfeiture Program
Last month it was announced that the Department of Justice was shutting down the DEA’s controversial practice of targeting airline passengers for “consensual encounters” at airports, in which agents would ask for permission to search an individual’s belongings and then potentially confiscate their property via an asset forfeiture. In a memo to the Deputy General and the DEA administrator, the Inspector General outlined the concerns that, “The DEA was not complying with its own policy on consensual encounters conducted at mass transportation facilities, resulting in personnel creating potentially significant operational and…
Continue Reading Reform Needed for Federal Asset Forfeiture

Class Action Lawsuit Alleges BOP Failing to Comply with First Step Act
As we have previously covered, there have been numerous allegations that the BOP has kept inmates in custodial settings longer than they should per the various rules that govern how inmates’ sentencing credits are calculated and when they are eligible for some type of release from custody, such as being placed into home confinement or in what is commonly referred to a a halfway house. Soon after Senators Dick Durbin and Chuck Grassley wrote an open letter to the Director of the Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) over…
Continue Reading ACLU Sues Bureau of Prisons on Behalf of Prisoners

Several New Laws to Go into Effect in the New Year
Many new laws are set to take effect with the new year, with several affecting the Illinois criminal justice system which will have varying degrees of impact. Some are instructive, such as providing law enforcement with training for responding to people with autism or changing the names of offenses such as “unlawful use of a weapon” to “unlawful possession of a weapon” and “armed habitual criminal” to “unlawful possession of a firearm by a repeat felony offender.” Others can be more substantial, like the law that eliminates the defense…
Continue Reading Changes to Illinois Criminal Laws on the Horizon

Majority of Users Who Had Call Records Stolen Not Notified
Earlier this year, at least eight telecommunication companies were hacked by the group Salt Typhoon, which is possibly connected to the Chinese government, with many high-end political figures as the target, including Donald Trump’s and Kamala Harris’ respective presidential campaigns, but the threat is said to be ongoing. One industry source said that the metadata, including call logs and text messages, of more than a million people were hacked, along with attacks on the FBI and others. Certain carriers that were hacked, like AT&T and Verizon, have reportedly not contacted…
Continue Reading Latest Mass Telephone Hack Provides More Evidence of Need for End-to-End Encryption in Communications

Illinois Supreme Court Releases Standards for Lawyers Using AI in Practice
Following the recommendations of the a newly created task force on artificial intelligence (AI), the Illinois Supreme Court recently announced their formal policy and rules regarding the use of AI and machine learning technology for lawyers practicing in the state. As we have previously covered, there have already been instances in which lawyers have been caught relying on artificial intelligence programs like ChatGPT that have at times fabricated cases when communicating with attorneys and those attorneys in due course cited to these fake cases in official court documents.
Continue Reading Artificial Intelligence Policy for Lawyers in Illinois Recently Revealed

EM Program to Shift Towards Program Run by Judge’s Office
In another update to the ongoing saga of changes the Safe-T Act has had on the legal system, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart announced that his agency would be phasing out their Electronic Monitoring (“EM”) program in the new year, citing changes in the law that leave his office unable to run the EM program safely and effectively. The program, which currently monitors over 1,530 people who were released pending the outcome of their case but placed on monitoring, will stop accepting new detainees starting April 1, 2025, but will…
Continue Reading Cook County Sheriff Announces Plans to Discontinue Running Electronic Monitoring Program

Plans to Abruptly Close Several Facilities Due to Budget Restraints Revealed
As we have previously covered, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) has been grappling with several issues that have hampered the BOP and its ability to provide necessary support for inmates, with a key factor being budget constraints in many instances. Last week, the BOP informed Congress and their employees that it would permanently close seven facilities, FCI Dublin in California (a woman’s prison) and six minimum security prison and satellite camps which typically house inmates with the lowest risks of violence and/or escape. “As the agency navigates…
Continue Reading Numerous Federal Prisons Set to Close

Supreme Court Rules Raw Cannabis Smell Justifies Search of Vehicle
Just months after ruling that the smell of burnt cannabis alone cannot justify a police officer subsequently searching a vehicle, as we covered here, the Illinois Supreme Court found that the opposite holds true for raw cannabis alone and its smell does satisfy the probable cause needed to justify a police search. After marijuana was legalized in Illinois in 2019, there were challenges to the long-standing precedent in Illinois that the smell of marijuana by itself provided the justification needed for police to search a vehicle. Earlier this year…
Continue Reading Courts Continue to Grapple with Marijuana Uncertainty in Illinois

Lack of Staffing, Crumbling Infrastructure, and Presence of Contraband Plaguing Bureau of Prisons
Following a series of unannounced inspections by the Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) of Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) facilities, the OIG recently released a publicly available report that details what it saw as some of the more serious issues facing the federal prison system, including staffing shortages, prisons in need of massive investment in their infrastructure, and the continued presence of contraband in the BOP. Longtime legal observers would not be shocked by these issues, as they have been systemic and the OIG has detailed many of…
Continue Reading Recent Reports Outlines Continued Issues in Federal Prison System

Search Reveals Over $40 Million of Cocaine in Vehicle
Illinois State Police brought felony charges against 27-year-old Vanshpreet Singh and 36-year-old Manpreet Singh, both from Canada, after recovering over $40 million of cocaine during a traffic stop. Police pulled the duo over on the eastbound lane of Interstate 80 in Henry County near the Quad cities and officers noticed “numerous indicators of criminal activity” which they say provided justification for officers searching the vehicle. “ISP’s coordinated focus on trafficking is helping keep dangerous drugs out of our communities,” Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly said in a statement following the…
Continue Reading Police Arrest Canadian Duo Along I-80 for Trafficking Cocaine