Subject Index Criminal Law and Procedure

On June 5, 2025, the Illinois Supreme Court held that an aggregate sentence is not a de facto life sentence when the defendant is eligible for parole.

On April 24, 2025, the Illinois Supreme Court held that a conviction for attempted first-degree murder requires proof of intent to kill without lawful justification.

The Illinois General Assembly amended the Criminal Code of 2012, the Cannabis Control Act, the Illinois Controlled Substances Act, and the Methamphetamine Control and Community Protection Act. Under the Code, if a judgment is withheld, the plea, verdict, sentence, or finding of guilt is no longer considered a conviction under Illinois law unless and until judgment is entered.

The Illinois General Assembly amended the Criminal Identification Act. Illinois State Police and local law enforcement authorities must now automatically seal the law enforcement records that relate to an individual’s class 4 felony conviction for prostitution when the individual’s file becomes eligible for expungement under applicable law.

On Dec. 21, 2024, the First District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that presenting new witness testimony may qualify as “newly discovered evidence.”

On March 7, 2025, the Fourth District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that prosecuting a criminal defendant for “solely malicious” reasons does not fall outside the scope of prosecutorial discretion.

On Feb. 7, 2025, the First District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that the Armed Habitual Criminal (AHC) statute does not violate the Second Amendment.

On Feb. 21, 2025, the Fourth District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that the doctrine of forfeiture by wrongdoing applies when the defendant prevents a victim from speaking to police about ongoing abuse.

On Jan. 23, 2025, the Second District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that pretrial release sanctions are not exceptions to the County Jail Good Behavior Allowance Act.

On Dec. 17, 2024, the Fourth District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that a victim owed restitution may pursue contempt actions in a criminal proceeding.

On Nov. 21, 2024, the Illinois Supreme Court held that under the Pretrial Fairness Act, the state is not required to disprove every condition that could mitigate safety threats posed by a defendant to deny pretrial release.

On Nov. 22, 2024, the First District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that eyewitness testimony is insufficient to hold a defendant guilty of murder when the testimony runs risk of errors according to modern social science research.

On Nov. 21, 2024, the Illinois Supreme Court held the state violates due process by prosecuting a defendant after previously dismissing charges through nolle prosequi as part of a binding agreement that the defendant performed.

On Dec. 3, 2024, the First District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that photographs showing marks and swelling are insufficient to show physical abuse but can indicate excessive corporal punishment.

On Oct. 18, 2024, the Illinois Supreme Court held that the state does not need independent corroborating evidence when a defendant admits to only one element of an offense.

On Oct. 3, 2024, the Illinois Supreme Court held that a grand jury indictment should not be dismissed unless the defendant can show “actual and substantial” prejudice that unequivocally infringed on due-process rights.

On Sept. 20, 2024, the First District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that the state must demonstrate more than just the defendant’s presence in a vehicle where a weapon was found to establish knowledge for convictions of unlawful use of a weapon.

On Sept. 19, 2024, the Illinois Supreme Court held that the odor of burnt cannabis alone is insufficient for probable cause to conduct a warrantless search.

On Aug. 14, 2024, the Fifth District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that if a defendant waives their Miranda rights, the fact finder has the right to observe the defendant’s nonverbal behavior during a video-recorded confession.

On Aug. 26, 2024, the First District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that no Equal Protection rights violation occurs when a sex offender who abuses a close relative receives a harsher punishment than they otherwise would have if they were unrelated to the victim.

On Aug. 26, 2024, the First District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that a parent who was aware of child-abuse allegations against another, yet continued to allow that person unsupervised access to their child, could be found to have inflicted sexual abuse on the child.

On Aug. 23, 2024, the First District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that a man who pleaded guilty to a traffic ticket cannot use the compulsory joinder statute to bar the state from pursuing separate felony charges that arose from the same incident as the traffic ticket.

On July 11, 2024, the First District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that the definition of conviction in the record-sealing provisions of the Criminal Identification Act does not include bond forfeitures in traffic cases.

The Illinois General Assembly amended the Pretrial Services Act. A new office in the Illinois judicial branch known as the “Office of Statewide Pretrial Services” has been established.

On June 12, 2024, the First District of the Illinois Appellate Court held the armed habitual criminal statute is constitutional under the Second Amendment and the Illinois Constitution.

On June 7, 2024, the Second District of the Illinois Appellate Court held a defendant’s motion for pretrial release must be heard in a timely manner.