A DUI conviction can significantly impact your academic future, affecting both juvenile and adult applicants. Even if juvenile records are shielded, a DUI conviction leaves traces on your driving record, like license suspensions or revocations, that colleges may see. For adult applicants, a DUI conviction can be especially detrimental, as it may hinder their acceptance prospects due to the seriousness of the offense.
There is a long-standing tradition in American jurisprudence. Indeed, in English jurisprudence likely pre-dating the very existence of American jurisprudence. That a person has the right to represent him or her self in court. Representing yourself is known under the...
Can You File for Expungement Without a Lawyer? Expungement of criminal records is a way of removing the record of criminal charges from your public record. While this is quite common for juvenile offenses, it can be much more difficult to have adult offenses expunged....
Breathalyzer Test Results and Officer Testimony In DUI cases, the two factors that play a significant role in determining the outcome are the results of the Breathalyzer test and the officer’s testimony regarding the driver’s behavior. However, not all drivers exhibit...
Expunged Records & the Impact on Background Checks A Criminal record can significantly impact one's employment prospects. Expungement of eligible criminal history can limit access by others to your criminal history. Expungement is a legal process that...
Is it Illegal to Film Police in Illinois? For many years, Illinois had one of the strictest eavesdropping laws in the nation. For decades, Illinois outlawed any recording of communications made without the consent of all parties to the conversation. Illinois remains a...
Probation and parole, while two very different beasts, both result in a criminal offender either not going to jail at all or getting out of jail early. Both probationers and parolees face the prospect of jail time—including completion of their original sentence—if...
What Qualifies as Identity Theft? Public awareness of identity theft is constantly on the rise in recent years, as more and more news reports describe cyber attacks on websites and retailers that result in the theft of customers’ personal information, including names,...
There Are Collateral Consequences to an Illinois DUI Conviction You go out for a night on the town with your friends. You drink a few beers, maybe a shot or two. Or maybe you just go out for a dinner with friends that includes some wine. Maybe a little more than some....
Grand juries work in secret. It actually is a crime to reveal what a grand jury is convened to consider. Naturally, operating under this kind of secrecy, it is no surprise that most people have no idea what the function of a grand jury actually is. Most people...
Lots of people run criminal background checks. These days, people you ask on a date often run commercially available background checks that search public records for information on you. Most background checks, though, are run by potential employers and law...
Perhaps things started innocently enough. You went to a ball game with your friends and had a few beers—or more. Or you went to a happy hour after work that lasted just a bit more than an hour. You got behind the wheel to drive home, and somewhere along the way,...
Opioids is now coming to the forefront yet years ago, meth was the big problem, and a hugely successful cable television show told the story of a fictional high school chemistry teacher who took up manufacturing meth to pay for his cancer treatments. Meth was huge,...
The Significant Consequences of an Arrest on Opioid Charges Most people agree that the country is in the grip of an unprecedented opioid-abuse crisis, and Illinois is no exception to a nationwide trend. As in so many states throughout the country, many thousands of...
Fraud charges in Illinois cover a lot of ground. Virtually any transaction involving an exchange of money or property in some way can give rise to fraud charges. Fraud basically amounts to utilizing deception to gain a financial advantage in a transaction, whether...
If a police officer arrested you on charges of driving under the influence (DUI) or driving while intoxicated (DWI), you need a lawyer right away. The consequences of a conviction for drunk driving charges can be quite serious, and having a proper defense can be...
When the police arrest you, you are not automatically considered guilty under the law. This is true no matter what you might think, as knowing an arrest is for something you did will still not result in an automatic conviction. In fact, the American criminal...
It could be easy to believe these days that marijuana use or possession is pretty much not a big deal. Certainly as a legal matter
The Importance of Probable Cause in Arrests The Fourth Amendment requires the police to have probable cause before they can make an arrest, search, or obtain a warrant. But what exactly does probable cause mean? The term is defined by the courts as a basis for a...
Probation is an alternative to a jail sentence given by a judge in Illinois for minor offenses or where the offender shows a willingness to be rehabilitated. However, probation is not available for everyone, particularly those with extensive criminal records or who...
Even Legal Marijuana Use Can Result in a Charge of Driving Under the Influence Illinois policy on marijuana is a little bit of a mish-mash. For years, state policy held that any trace of marijuana in the bloodstream or urine of a driver could support a charge of...
The Outcome of a Juvenile Case Can Have Life-Long Consequences When a juvenile commits a minor offense in Illinois, it is possible the minor will be given what is known as a station adjustment, meaning the juvenile will be processed but not charged with a crime. Other...
Juvenile Charges Can Have Far-Reaching Impacts A wild youth, it seems, no longer is enough of an explanation for juvenile criminal charges. These days, such charges can have long-term consequences, even when they seem to be minor offenses. Such consequences can...
The Serious Consequences of an Arrest on Cocaine Charges Possession or delivery of cocaine is a felony charge in Illinois. Even small amounts of cocaine will yield a felony charge, which means things start out bad. Depending on the amount of cocaine involved, things...