*Indicates Required Fields
When you face felony charges, the road ahead may be unclear. You know that a felony conviction could mean years in jail or big fines, but what happens in between a charge and a conviction? How do people defend themselves? When do you have to go to court?
There are a few steps between when you first hear the charges against you and those charges either get dropped or dismissed or you get sentenced. Knowing what’s ahead will help [...]
Domestic violence is currently a rising epidemic and controversial topic in America. As more attention is drawn to these crimes, sentencing and charges seem to be harsher and more common. If you are charged with domestic violence, will you be facing a felony?
It depends. Let’s go more in depth and talk about when domestic violence is and is not a felony in the state of Illinois.
Defining Domestic Violence
Domestic violence is any act of violence [...]
When you are charged with a crime, you will be given a specific name and classification of the crime you are charged with. Each state has its own way of classifying crimes the terms “felony” and “misdemeanor” are universal – even if they don’t always mean the same thing everywhere.
So what do these terms mean in Illinois? How are crimes classified? What does it mean to be a “convicted felon”?
Illinois has three classifications of misdemeanors and [...]
A felony conviction is a serious matter everywhere in the United States, but in Illinois our lawmakers take felonies particularly seriously. Classified as Class X, 1, 2, 3, or 4 offenses, felonies here are punishable by state prison sentences that can last decades, fines up to $25,000, and restitution that has to be paid to victims.
And the penalties don’t stop after you have served your time and are allowed back into the real world. A felony conviction [...]
Prison time. Huge fines. Stringent probation.
These are just a handful of the penalties you may face if you are convicted of a felony in Chicago. But after prison and probation sentences have been served and fines have been paid off, a felony conviction may still follow you for the rest of your life.
How? Because a felony conviction will leave a permanent blemish on your criminal record, which may create a number of problems for you down [...]
