Other legislative proposals include altering the way life insurance proceeds are distributed to former spouses and increasing the credit defendants receive toward fines for time spent in jail.
The Fifth Appellate District reversed a defendant's conviction after he was denied a motion to quash arrest and suppress evidence and statements on the basis of involuntary consent.
Some want to eliminate the requirement for cash bail, while others think less sweeping changes will keep poor defendants from being unfairly put behind bars.
In response to a recent Illinois Supreme Court decision, petitions for writ of mandamus will be on the rise in criminal-law practice. Here's how they work.
Richard Speck's brutal murder of eight student nurses in Chicago 50 years ago shocked America, and the highly publicized trial posed tough challenges to the Illinois criminal justice system.
Upon the completion of hospital emergency services and forensic services, health care professionals providing forensic services shall provide the patient the opportunity to sign a written consent to allow law enforcement to submit the sexual assault evidence for testing.
Q. How are state's attorneys and judges handling cases for possession of small amounts of cannabis that are pending after the new cannabis decriminalization law took effect?
The Third District Appellate Court reversed an order denying respondent's motion to suppress his confession because he did not knowingly and intelligently waive his Miranda rights.
On June 24, 2016, the First District of the Illinois Appellate Court vacated a defendant's conviction and sentence for stalking and cyberstalking, finding that both crimes are unconstitutional as they lack a mens rea requirement.
On June 17th, 2016, the Appellate Court of Illinois reversed a defendant's conviction for delivery of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school.
On May 9, 2016, the Appellate Court of Illinois upheld a trial court's ruling to suppress evidence obtained by a warrantless entry into defendant's home.
Two bills awaiting the governor's signature are designed to keep rape evidence moving through the system and improve the quality of sexual-assault investigations.
Senate Bill 2907 would amend the Criminal Code of 2012 by increasing the threshold value of criminally damaged property in order for the destruction to be considered a felony crime.
In Castleberry, the Illinois Supreme Court abolished the "void sentence" doctrine, under which a sentence not authorized by statute was void. How should defense lawyers and prosecutors react to the post-Castleberry world?
Chicago is one of 10 grant awardees nationwide for a DOJ project to fund pilot neighborhood-focused courts that bring offenders and victims together to resolve disputes.
On November 12, 2015, the Third District of the Illinois Appellate Court affirmed Drew Peterson's first degree murder conviction and sentencing on the grounds that his guilt was proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Public Acts 99-290, 99-296, 99-300, and 99-467, which all address DUIs and revoked or restricted licenses, prompted the implementation of the following amendments to 92 Ill. Adm. Code 1001 (eff. March 23, 2016).
Proposed marijuana decriminalization legislation would adopt the governor's amendatory veto from last year, lowering the allowable possession amount and the THC level for drivers.
On February 19, 2016, the Supreme Court of Illinois held that enhanced sentencing under the Habitual Criminal Act does not affect whether a sentence for aggravated vehicular hijacking with a dangerous weapon other than a firearm ("AVH/DW") violates the Proportionate Penalties Clause of the Illinois Constitution.
Marsy's Law, also known as the Rights of Crime Victims and Witnesses Act of 2012, was amended to afford greater protections to victims and witnesses of crime.
It's no secret that criminal suspects in Illinois and elsewhere confess to crimes they didn't commit, often after aggressive police interrogation. But how widespread are false confessions in the post-Jon Burge era?
