You met with a possible “match” on one of the many dating apps. The meeting very quickly led to hookup sex. You thought you were both enjoying yourselves, and that the other party had asked you to choke them. But now the police have arrested you. What are the possible charges? What can you do? Under Illinois law, choking or strangling someone is defined as intentionally impeding the normal breathing or circulation of the victim’s blood by applying pressure on their throat or neck or by blocking their nose or mouth. The charges depend on whether the other person is…
Continue Reading WHAT IS A CHOKING OFFENSE UNDER ILLINOIS LAW?

An officer generally must have a warrant in order to search you or your property unless an exception to the warrant requirement exists. One exception is that you consented. But did you really? While this may seem like a straightforward yes or no question, the facts can be murky, and different judges may interpret the same facts very differently. To prove consent, the state must show you did so freely and without coercion. Consent cannot be extracted by implied threat or covert force. If your consent was nonverbal, the court will look at whether you intended to consent or were…
Continue Reading DID YOU CONSENT TO A POLICE SEARCH?

In Illinois, endangering the life or health of a child is a Class A misdemeanor for a first offense and a Class 3 felony for subsequent offenses. The offense includes knowingly allowing or causing the endangerment or permitting the child to be placed in an endangering situation. (See 720 ILCS 5/12C-5.) Under the law, if you leave a child age 6 or younger, unaccompanied by someone at least age 14 and out of your sight, the child may be considered unattended. Illinois courts have convicted parents for leaving a baby in a car for close to an hour and…
Continue Reading WHAT IS THE OFFENSE OF CHILD ENDANGERMENT IN ILLINOIS?

A friend of a friend asked you to help them get some narcotics. You don’t do drugs yourself, but you don’t have a problem with other people using them. At first, you said you couldn’t help, but the person kept badgering you until finally you gave in. Turns out the person was a police officer and you are now charged with dealing. Is this entrapment? Quite possibly. To plead entrapment in your defense, you must present at least slight evidence that (1) the State induced you to commit the crime, and (2) you were not otherwise predisposed to do so.
Continue Reading CAN I PLEAD ENTRAPMENT AS A DEFENSE?

Under Illinois law, you act in self defense if: (1) there is a threat of unlawful force against you; (2) you are not the aggressor; (3) the danger of harm was imminent; (4) your use of force was necessary; (5) you actually and subjectively believed there was a danger that required you to use that force; and (6) your belief was objectively reasonable. See 720 ILCS 5/7-1. Self defense can include defense of another. To claim self defense, you cannot be the initial aggressor. Therefore, you cannot start a fight and then cry self defense because you were on…
Continue Reading WHAT IS SELF DEFENSE IN ILLINOIS?

Under one definition (720 ILCS 5/11-1.60(f)), you commit aggravated criminal sexual abuse if 1) you have sexual conduct with a victim who is aged 13 to 17, 2) you are at least age 17, and 3) you hold a position of trust, authority, or supervision in relation to the victim. In Illinois, “trust,” means the victim has confidence in your integrity, ability, character, and truth. For example, in People v. Miki, the defendant was a soccer coach, and the victim had been on his team starting in sixth grade. The criminal conduct occurred about a month after…
Continue Reading WHAT IS AGGRAVATED CRIMINAL SEXUAL ABUSE BASED ON “POSITION OF TRUST?”

The answer is yes, provided each offense contains at least one element that differs from your other offense(s). Under the one-act, one-crime rule, you may not be convicted of multiple offenses based on precisely the same single physical act. To determine if a one-act, one-crime violation has occurred, the court looks at 1) whether your conduct consisted of a single physical act or separate acts, and 2) whether any single act formed the basis for separate but lesser-included offenses. In People v. McCloud, the defendant abducted and sexually assaulted a woman off the street. The court found that within…
Continue Reading CAN YOU BE CHARGED WITH MULTIPLE CRIMES BASED ON ONE ACT?

Police arrested you on charges that were pretty stiff, but you feel confident that the state can’t prove the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. That does not mean, however, that you are out of the woods. The court can convict you of a lesser-included offense even if you were not originally charged with that offense. Under Illinois law, you may be convicted of a lesser-included offense if it is within the offense for which you were charged and the evidence at trial supports conviction on the lesser offense and acquittal on the greater offense. For example, in People. v. VanHoose…
Continue Reading WHEN CAN I BE CONVICTED OF A LESSER INCLUDED OFFENSE?

As U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart once famously said about obscenity: “I know it when I see it.” If you are charged with child pornography, your case may likewise depend on how your particular judge sees it. Under 720 ILCS 5/11-20.1, the offense of child pornography includes knowingly possessing an image of a child that you should have reasonably known was under age 18 where the child is depicted in any pose or setting while lewdly exhibiting the child’s unclothed (or transparently clothed) genitals, pubic area, buttocks, or fully or partially developed breast (if female). In People v. …
Continue Reading WHAT IS LEWD UNDER ILLINOIS CHILD PORNOGRAPHY LAW?

After a witness at a crime scene picked you out of a group of photos, police asked you to participate in a line up. You stood alongside several other subjects, but something didn’t seem quite right. For one thing, you were the only person wearing a t-shirt and jeans. Can you challenge the line up? Under Illinois law, you have a due process right to be free from identification procedures that are unnecessarily suggestive and are conducive to an irreparable mistaken identification. If the line up was unduly suggestive, your attorney may be able to petition the court to suppress…
Continue Reading CHALLENGING A PHOTO IDENTIFICATION OR LINE UP IN ILLINOIS

In Illinois, you commit battery if you knowingly without legal justification by any means (1) cause bodily harm or (2) make physical contact of an insulting or provoking nature with an individual. (See 720 LCS 5/12-3). Under Illinois law, “knowingly” means you were consciously aware that your conduct was practically certain to cause a particular result. In People v. Jackson, the defendant did not act knowingly because he did not understand what was happening to him and appeared to be suffering from a psychological issue. Being drugged or intoxicated, however, is not a defense, unless your intoxication was…
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When you are arrested, an officer must read your Miranda rights. If you keep talking, you may be giving up those rights. Once you have clearly invoked your right to an attorney, any police interrogation must stop unless you initiate communication. If instead police restart the conversation, your statements will be presumed involuntary and will not be admissible at trial. To determine admissibility, the court looks at 1) whether you, rather than police, started the conversation in a manner demonstrating a willingness to discuss the investigation, and 2) if so, whether you knowingly and voluntarily waived your Miranda rights. To…
Continue Reading WERE YOU CAPABLE OF WAIVING YOUR MIRANDA RIGHTS?

You have a loved one in prison. He hung out with some people who were not his friends and got involved in a robbery. You want to shorten what seems like an unfair sentence. Are you looking for a commutation or a pardon? It depends on whether your loved one has completed his or her sentence. If you want to get someone out of prison, a commutation could shorten their sentence. If your loved one has completed their sentence and cannot seal or expunge their record, they can petition for a pardon. A commutation can be granted for health reasons…
Continue Reading HOW IS A COMMUTATION DIFFERENT FROM A PARDON?