Chicago Criminal Lawyer Blog

Image source: http://bit.ly/1efAOO2 It was, according to news reports from that time, a brutal and undeserved death. A 36-year-old female bartender was found dead in the men’s restroom of the bar where she worked in Phoenix, Arizona, on December 29, 1991. Apparently, she had died from a fatal stab wound, and there was little evidence…

When hearing the word “rape,” the image most people conjure is that of a masked assailant sneaking behind a helpless victim at night and dragging him/her to dark alleyways, where they can fulfill their criminal intentions. However, that’s not the only type of rape and also not nearly the most prevalent one: stranger rape is…

Statistically, there’s a good chance that you didn’t buy the pen in your purse or jacket pocket, but took it from work. People take things from work all the time, either intentionally or not. Most don’t really think about such pilfering as theft, rationalizing that it’s one of the “benefits” that come with the job,…

The following dialogue between Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and his arresting officer Sergeant James Crowley should have never taken place in a country that was founded on the principles of individual freedom. And yet, it was enough for Gates to simply yell at Crowley on the steps of his own home – not…

The general public is finally starting to understand what criminal defense attorneys have known all along: the forensic evidence used to convict people of heinous crimes is often flat-out wrong. As reported on PBS’s Frontline: The Real CSI, there have never been any rigorous national standards applied to any forensic science, except for DNA testing.…

A national retail store chain recently reported a break-in at one of its stores in Florida. Apparently, burglars had smashed through the window doors, entered the building, quickly grabbed $35,000 worth of jewelry, and took off, before police could respond to the security alarm. Jewelry stores are perhaps prime targets, but thieves are not shy…

Legal experts have signaled that, over the past decades, the punishments for federal crimes have seen a significant increase in severity (far greater than what was meted out in the past) and even more so in fraud and money laundering cases. The sentences for individuals arrested and convicted of white-collar crimes are established using a…

1968 was the year when the federal government was first allowed to use wiretapping to record telephone conversations of alleged offenders believed to be involved in drug trafficking and other narco-related crimes. Although there always were mixed opinions about the technique – given the fine line between investigators’ needs and the individual’s privacy rights –…

What would you think if you heard someone who had stolen a car say, “It’s not my fault—my brain made me do it.” While it might sound absurd when phrased that way, that essential argument is one that is being used in more and more criminal defense cases across the country. We’ve all heard of…

Sex crimes involving women and children have dominated Chicago headlines in 2013. From the track and triathlon trainer accused of sexually molesting a 16-year-old boy over a two-year period to the 81-year-old dentist charged with fondling a young girl in his office, Chicago newspapers abound in shocking examples such as the ones above. According to…