Posted on September 25, 2020 in Criminal Law

School is back in session, and odds are you’ve seen those big yellow buses on your morning or afternoon commute. Buses are carrying some precious cargo, which is why Illinois penalizes drivers harshly for driving illegally around these vehicles. In fact, the state just recently increased the penalties for stop arm violations. Below, we take a closer look at how school bus stop arm violations are penalized in Illinois.

What Is A Stop Arm Violation?

As the name implies, a stop arm violation is a citation for illegally passing a school bus that has its flashing warning lights and stop arm engaged. More specifically, it is illegal for a driver to pass a school bus with its lights and stop arm engaged while it is stopped to pick up or discharge passengers. It doesn’t matter if it’s in a roadway or parking lot, if you’re caught passing a stopped school bus with its lights on and arm engaged, expect to be ticketed.

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 Posted on September 18, 2020 in Traffic violation

Like many states, Illinois has a point system attached to speeding violations that acts as a way to help drivers understand how close they are to potentially losing their license for too many driving infractions. But how many points is a speeding citation worth, and how many points are you allowed to receive in a given period? We explore Illinois’ speeding ticket point system in today’s blog.

How Many Points Is My Speeding Ticket Worth?

Every speeding ticket in Illinois carries a minimum of a five point penalty, and the points increase as your speed over the posted limit increases. Here’s a look at how many points each speeding violation is worth:

• 1-10 MPH over the posted speed limit – 5 points
• 11-14 MPH over the posted speed limit – 15 points

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 Posted on September 11, 2020 in Criminal Law

Nobody likes to see the red and blue lights in their rearview mirror, but you can make a bad situation even worse if you decide not to pull over for an officer who has directed you to do so. Failing to pull over when directed is considered an attempt to flee or elude police, and depending on the circumstances, it can be a misdemeanor or felony offense. In today’s blog, we take a closer look at the crime of fleeing or eluding police in Illinois, and how you can defend yourself against the charges.

Fleeing and Eluding Police In Illinois

The crime of fleeing or eluding police is laid out in 625 ILCS 5/11-204, which states:

“Any driver or operator of a motor vehicle who, having been given a visual or audible signal by a peace officer directing such driver or operator to bring his vehicle to a stop, wilfully fails or refuses to obey such direction, increases his speed, extinguishes his lights, or otherwise flees or attempts to elude the officer, is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.”

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 Posted on September 04, 2020 in DUI

Labor Day weekend is almost upon us, and if you’re just counting down the last few hours in your cubicle until the long weekend is here, you’re probably thinking about the fun things you’re hoping to do this weekend. Maybe you plan on catching up with friends and family, or maybe you’re just planning on kicking back and relaxing. However, you plan to spend the long weekend, if alcohol is involved, make sure you don’t get behind the wheel and drive.

Labor Day weekend is one of the most dangerous weekends on the roads in Illinois and across the US. Weather conditions are still ideal, meaning people can travel at faster speeds, and the long weekend gives people more opportunities to consume alcohol. Coupled with the fact that there will be more drivers on the road, and you can see it could be a recipe for DUI disaster.

Illinois police have already announced that they will be conducting extra DUI enforcement throughout the long weekend as part of the nationwide “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign. Alongside extra patrols on major roads, police across the state have also announced a number of DUI checkpoint locations, so they will be doing everything they can to keep inebriated drivers off the road.

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 Posted on August 28, 2020 in DUI

The legal blood alcohol limit to operate a vehicle in Illinois is 0.08 percent, but it’s important to remember that standard only applies to individuals over the age of 21. If you’re under 21, the presence of any alcohol in your system renders you ineligible to legally drive a car. That means drinking half a beer then getting behind the wheel can lead to underage DUI charges, which can have major implications for your future. In today’s blog, we take a closer look at the potential penalties for underage DUIs in Illinois.

Zero Tolerance Law

As we mentioned in the intro, Illinois has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to BAC in drivers under the age of 21. It doesn’t matter if you don’t feel impaired or if you’re sure you could pass a field sobriety test; if you have alcohol in your system, you are considered in violation of the law and subject to criminal charges.

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 Posted on August 21, 2020 in Civil law

If you’re owed money for a job you performed or for unpaid rent, and that amount is under $10,000, you can take action by filing a small claims suit. These types of disputes are handled a little differently than a typical lawsuit, and they are heard in what’s called Small Claims Court. Since you’re not required to have a lawyer for small claims court and the process often involves a he-said, she-said type of disagreement, it’s not uncommon for someone with a strong case to make a mistake and tank their case. In today’s blog, we’re going to share five mistakes that are commonly made in small claims court so you have a better chance of winning your case.

Avoid These Small Claims Court Mistakes

Here’s a look at some of the mistakes and the reasons why these mistakes are made in small claims court in Illinois.

• Failing To Consider Your Options Before Court – We’re all for helping people get what they rightfully deserve in court, but there’s a chance you don’t need to get the court involved at all. Don’t rush into a small claims suit because you’re angry without exploring other options. You may be able to settle it behind closed doors or with the help of a mediator without involving the court system.

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 Posted on August 14, 2020 in Criminal Law

By now you’ve probably seen at least one video where an employee is verbally or physically assaulted – or worse – by a patron after the employee tells them of the store’s mask policy. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, many large and smaller retailers are trying to do their part to slow the spread of their virus, and some individuals feel that a private business enforcing a mask mandate is a violation of their civil rights. Those patrons are free to choose to shop elsewhere if they don’t want to wear a mask, but what they aren’t free to do is assault an employee who is trying to get them to acquiesce to the store’s mask policy.

With a recent law change, Illinois has spoken up for worker protections and ensured that individuals who want to get angry over a mask policy will think twice about taking their frustrations out on an employee. Under the new law, anyone who commits assault or battery against a retail worker who is communicating a public health guidance will be charged with aggravated battery, oftentimes pursued as a felony here in Illinois.

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 Posted on August 07, 2020 in DUI

DUI checkpoints catch hundreds if not thousands of drunk drivers in Illinois every year. But did you know that these checkpoints aren’t legal in every state? In today’s blog, we take a closer look at the legality of DUI checkpoints in the US and in Illinois, and we explain what you should do if you end up getting in trouble at a sobriety checkpoint.

Why Illinois Allows DUI Checkpoints

In order to understand that legality of DUI checkpoints, we need to take a closer look at a case that reached the United States Supreme Court back in 1990. In the case of Michigan Dept. of State Police v. Sitz, 496 U.S. 444, the legality of sobriety checkpoints came under question. The defendant in the case argued that these checkpoints were inherently a violation of a person’s 4th amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. After all, police are essentially conducting a search of a driver without any reasonable suspicion that they may be in violation of the law.

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 Posted on July 31, 2020 in Criminal Law

If a friend or family member has been placed in handcuffs and loaded into the back of a police cruiser, your mind is probably racing thinking about what you can do to help them. This can become a hectic time, and if you take the wrong steps, it can really hurt their case, so it’s important to know what to do next. In today’s blog, we explain what you can do to help if a loved one has been arrested in Illinois.

When A Friend Or Family Member Is Arrested

If you witness a loved one getting arrested or you get a call from the police department saying they have been taken into custody, you need to take a moment and collect your thoughts. Once settled, here are some things you can do to help your loved one.

1. Call An Attorney – Arguably the best thing you can do for your loved one is to call an attorney and let them know about the situation. You probably won’t have all the details, but if you can, let them know what they are being charged with and where they are being held. The lawyer may be able to help secure their release and move forward with a case. Even if you don’t want to pay for a lawyer yourself, the lawyer may be able to secure someone’s release and then work out the financial side with the client. You’re not going to be on the hook for a massive bill because you called a lawyer for someone else, so while you may want to broach the subject of payment when you’re talking with the lawyer if you don’t intend to pay, know that you’re not putting yourself in a financial hole just because you reached out to a lawyer on someone else’s behalf.

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 Posted on July 24, 2020 in Criminal Law

If you are charged with a criminal offense, you might feel like the court situation is out of your control once you hire an attorney. It’s true that your lawyer will handle the bulk of the case, but in order to avoid surprises and improve your chances of a favorable outcome, you’ll need to know how to effectively communicate with your lawyer.

Effective communication with your legal counsel is more than just picking up the phone when they call (but that is a good start!). It all revolves around coming to an agreement and holding up your end of the bargain. We explain more about this process in today’s blog.

How To Communicate With Your Lawyer

Effective communication between lawyer and client begins the moment you walk in the door for your initial consultation. That’s where the framework for your communication plan will begin. During this meeting, some points of communication you’ll want to touch on include:

• How To Contact – If we need to get a hold of you, where should we try first? Should we give you a call at this number, or is it easier for you to respond to text messages?

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