The security of our homes and personal spaces is very important and yet, sometimes it can be taken for granted. Unfortunately, instances of home invasion can shatter that sense of safety and leave lasting emotional and physical scars. In Illinois, the law takes home invasion seriously and provides stringent measures to protect individuals and their properties.
What is a Home Invasion?
Home invasion refers to the unlawful entry into a dwelling with the intent to commit a felony or inflict harm on the occupants. It is important to note that mere unauthorized entry without criminal intent does not constitute home
Continue Reading Know Your Rights: Home Invasion Laws in Illinois and Chicago Explained
Latest from Luisi Legal Group blog - Page 3
What to Know When You Have Been Accused of Retail Theft in Cook County, Illinois
Most people are aware that if you are charged with retail theft or shoplifting in Illinois, you may face harsh criminal consequences that could seriously affect your future. These effects frequently include being able to find work, qualify for housing, and receive loan approval, among other things. With all mentioned above, it is important to speak with an experienced criminal defense lawyer.
What Are the Penalties for Retail Theft?
The severity of the punishment for retail theft typically depends on the value of the goods that were either stolen or attempted to be stolen. You will likely be charged with
Continue Reading What to Know When You Have Been Accused of Retail Theft in Cook County, Illinois
What to Do If You Are Arrested for a Drug Paraphernalia Charge in Illinois: A Guide for Protecting Your Rights
If you or someone you know has been arrested for a drug paraphernalia charge in Illinois, it can be a scary and overwhelming experience. However, it is important to stay calm and take the necessary steps to protect your rights.
Contact a Criminal Defense Lawyer Immediately
The first and most important step is to contact a criminal defense lawyer immediately. A skilled lawyer can guide you through the legal process, explain your rights, and defend your case in court. It’s important to find a lawyer who is familiar with Illinois drug laws and has experience handling drug paraphernalia cases. A
Continue Reading What to Do If You Are Arrested for a Drug Paraphernalia Charge in Illinois: A Guide for Protecting Your Rights
License Suspension Resulting From Chemical BAC Tests
When a driver in Illinois refuses to submit to or fails a chemical test for an alleged driving under the influence (DUI) offense, it can result in a statutory summary suspension of driving privileges. State law provides that a person fails a chemical test when they have a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 or more, a THC level above the legal limit, or other illicit substances in their system.
Statutory summary suspensions are automatic and become effective 46 days after the date of a suspension notice. People can request judicial hearings to challenge arrests, but the requests may not
Continue Reading License Suspension Resulting From Chemical BAC Tests
Understanding Illinois Domestic Violence Laws
The Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986 is established under 750 Illinois Compiled Statute (ILCS) § 60. Domestic battery is one of the most common kinds of domestic violence offenses committed in the state. Domestic violence charges are only applicable when allged crimes are commited against certain types of people.
Under 750 ILCS § 60/103(6), domestic violence offenses involve harm against spouses, former spouses, parents, children, stepchildren and other people who are related by blood or by present or prior marriage, people sharing or formerly sharing a common dwelling, people with a child in common, and people with dating or
Continue Reading Understanding Illinois Domestic Violence Laws
What Are the Penalties for Repeat DUI Convictions?
Most people in Illinois are aware that the state imposes criminal penalties for drinking and driving, but fewer realize that criminal penalties for driving under the influence (DUI) crimes increase with repeat offenses. If you were arrested for a second or third DUI offense, you may be facing severe criminal penalties. It is important to work with a DUI defense lawyer who can help you defend yourself against the charges.
Repeat DUI Penalties in Illinois
There are administrative penalties for failing a chemical blood alcohol content that are separate from any criminal penalties resulting from a DUI conviction. Many DUI
Continue Reading What Are the Penalties for Repeat DUI Convictions?
How Marijuana Charges Work in Illinois Now
Illinois legalized marijuana in 2020, and adults over 21 years of age are able to legally possess, consume, and purchase cannabis in the state. However, it must be consumed on private property or properties with on-premises consumption licenses. Public consumption is still illegal in Chicago. It is also illegal for people to consume cannabis in any vehicle or operate a motor vehicle under the influence of cannabis. Cannabis may be transported in a vehicle but it cannot be accessible by any occupant of the vehicle during transportation and must be in a child-resistant container. Cannabis purchased in Illinois cannot be
Continue Reading How Marijuana Charges Work in Illinois Now
Were Your Roadside Sobriety Test Results Valid?
Roadside sobriety testing can be embarrassing, frightening, and sometimes confusing. Officers do not always use the most reliable or reasonable methods for attempting to make a snap judgment about a person’s level of intoxication. More than that, roadside sobriety testing can sometimes be greatly unfair, occasionally to the point where the results genuinely reveal little or nothing about whether a person is intoxicated. Police officers are often more interested in making a DUI arrest than in ensuring fair and reasonable field sobriety tests, on which they frequently base their decisions to make an arrest. Many factors, from weather-related challenges to
Continue Reading Were Your Roadside Sobriety Test Results Valid?
When to Consider a Plea Bargain
Everyone wants their case to be dismissed, or at least to be acquitted at trial. In many cases, getting off the hook completely is entirely possible. If the evidence is not so strong, or the police have violated your rights in a serious way, then hoping for dismissal or acquittal is not unreasonable at all. However, courts do not just dismiss cases once criminal charges have been filed without a very good reason. In some cases, taking a plea bargain may be the best strategy for minimizing the impact the charges could have on your life. Before you consider changing
Continue Reading When to Consider a Plea Bargain
Understanding Your Violent Crime Charges
Violence is all too common in Chicago. The city is known for having constant struggles with violent crime, often including a disproportionate amount of homicides and shootings. Attempts to crack down on violent offenses are underway – and you do not want to get caught in a wave of prosecutions against those accused of committing them. If you have been charged with an assaultive offense, it is important that you understand what your particular charge actually means. You may find that your charges seem incredibly aggressive or are far too severe in regards to what actually happened. In many cases,
Continue Reading Understanding Your Violent Crime Charges
What Is the Difference Between Misdemeanor and Felony DUI?
Getting charged with a DUI can be frightening. If you find out that you have been charged with a felony DUI, the situation is even direr. Felony charges can carry more than a year of prison time should you get convicted. While most DUIs are charged as a misdemeanor, even a first DUI can lead to felony charges in the wrong circumstances. Or, repeated DUIs can be charged as a felony. In some cases, it is possible for an attorney to help have your charges reduced back to a misdemeanor or dismissed. A lot will depend on the specific
Continue Reading What Is the Difference Between Misdemeanor and Felony DUI?
What to Do After a False Accusation of Domestic Violence
Being charged with a crime you did not commit can be a nightmare. One of the most common offenses that innocent people are charged with is domestic violence. It is shockingly easy to be arrested for domestic violence based on a false accusation, often by an angry romantic partner. There are a number of reasons that people make these false accusations. It is extremely easy for a simple fight between a couple to spiral out of control. Perhaps a neighbor called the police because they heard yelling and the police arrested you for lack of a better solution. Or
Continue Reading What to Do After a False Accusation of Domestic Violence
When Can Traffic Violations Lead to the Loss of a CDL?
Drivers of commercial vehicles, including long-haul trucks, delivery vehicles, and other vehicles driven for work-related purposes, put significant time and effort into obtaining a commercial driver’s license (CDL). Since this type of license is a requirement for certain occupations, the loss of a CDL may affect a person’s ability to continue earning an income, and it could cause significant financial difficulties for them and their families. Because of this, drivers will need to be aware of CDL violations that could affect them, and they will want to respond promptly to traffic tickets or other issues that could affect their careers.
Continue Reading When Can Traffic Violations Lead to the Loss of a CDL?
UPDATE: Drug-Sniffing Dogs May Now Be Overqualified
Originally published: December 26, 2016 – Updated April 20, 2022
Update: At our law firm, we have consistently kept up with all of the changes to the laws regarding marijuana use in the state of Illinois. A few years ago, we put together the post shown below as a consideration in the decriminalization of cannabis that was going on at the time. We highlighted some expert opinions that expressed concern over the use of drug-sniffing dogs in the state as the criminal penalties for low-level marijuana possession were being lifted.
Today, these concerns have grown even further as the state
Continue Reading UPDATE: Drug-Sniffing Dogs May Now Be Overqualified
What You Need to Know About Statutory Summary Suspensions in Illinois
When you are arrested on charges of driving under the influence, you probably realize that the criminal penalties for a conviction can be severe. It may come a surprise to learn that you could face administrative penalties, including the suspension of your driving privileges, even if the criminal charges against you are dropped or you are found not guilty of DUI. Our experienced criminal defense lawyers understand that most DUI cases are multi-faceted, and we are equipped to help you at every stage of the proceedings.
Blood Alcohol Content Testing
Chemical testing for blood alcohol content, or BAC, is
Continue Reading What You Need to Know About Statutory Summary Suspensions in Illinois
Can the Results of Field Sobriety Tests Be Challenged After an Illinois DUI Arrest?
If someone asked you right now, could you stand on just one foot for 30 seconds while holding your other foot just off the floor? What about walking heel-to-toe along a straight line, then turning and coming back on the same line? What if the line was imaginary, and you could not see it? Did you know that if you had trouble with either of these exercises, federal agencies indicate that there is about an 80 percent chance that you are currently intoxicated?
Clearly, this was meant to be an exaggeration, but the reality is that the tests mentioned
Continue Reading Can the Results of Field Sobriety Tests Be Challenged After an Illinois DUI Arrest?