1410 or 410 Probation - A Primer

As a continuing service to our readers, we are presenting our first  article in our "Primer" series

I frequently get calls from clients inquiring about different options for avoiding a felony conviction for a drug case.  An often misunderstood type of first time felony drug offender probation that allows defendants to avoid having a felony conviction is commonly known as 1410 or 410 Probation.  Here's how it works.  When you are sentenced to 1410 or 410 Probation, you plead guilty to the drug offense at the time of sentencing.  A Motion to Vacate your plea is entered and continued until the termination date.  Once you successfully complete your probation, your conviction is vacated, as if it never happened.  So, when someone runs your criminal record, it doesn't show a conviction.  However, a record of your arrest, and the court files and records will remain.  A background search will turn up those records and an employer may not hire you once they find out that you were once charged with a felony drug case.  The only way to remove the court records and the arrest record is to expunge or seal your records.  You can expunge the case 5 years after you complete your 1410 or 410 Probation.  The law does allow you to seal your case 4 years after completion of your 1410 or 410 probation.  However, expungement is much more thorough then sealing and sealing takes much longer than expungement so you are better off waiting for the expungement.  1410 or 410 Probation is a great alternative for first time drug offenders which allows them to avoid having a felony drug conviction on their record which will follow them around the rest of their lives.  Of course, in order to expunge or seal you must not catch any other cases after you completed your 1410 or 410 probation.

On a side note, 1410 or 410 probation may not preclude an alien from being deported by Immigration.  There is at least one case from this jurisdiction, Gill v. Ashcroft, 2003, which held that a sentence of 1410 or 410 probation is considered a conviction under immigration law.  Other jurisdictions have held differently and this issue may very well make its way to the United States Supreme Court.  But the point is that practitioners need to be aware of the potential immigration consequences of a sentence of 1410 or 410 probation.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Elgin Actively Helping ICE Find Illegal Immigrants

Elgin has made it clear that it wants to help U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents track down illegal aliens involved in criminal activity.  Last week the Elgin Police Department announced that they have become the first local police agency in the area to have one of its officers join a federal task force that tracks down foreign born gang members with questionable residency status.  This move is being done to strengthen Elgin's relationship with ICE.  Currently, all foreign born people arrested in Elgin have their identities checked through the Immigration Alien Query database to verify their immigration status.  ICE has a contract with the City of Elgin to house ICE detainees for up to 72 hours in Elgin jails.  This gives ICE an opportunity to investigate the immigration status of people arrested and place a detainer on them.  The officer joining the federal task force will help track down people released by mistake before ICE was able to place a detainer on them.  Back in June, Elgin Police announced that two detectives had been assigned to the Regional Document and Benefit Task Force which tracks down people who create fake and fraudulent documents.  ICE reports that they have arrested over 280 gang members in the region so far this year, and over 4,000 nationally.  ICE credits the cooperative efforts of local police agencies for the arrests.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

California Supreme Court Upholds Dismissals Due To Judge Shortage

In Riverside County, California, 18 criminal cases were dismissed because there were not enough judges available to hear the cases.  Nearly 25% of county jail inmates had to wait for over a year to go to trial.  Up to 32 jail inmates were waiting more than four years for a trial.  18 of the defendants kept being told that courts and judges were not available for their trial dates and their cases kept getting continued.  The inmates filed a motion to dismiss their cases because the California Penal Code required that they be brought to trial within 60 days of their arraignment.  California is currently facing an estimated $20.7 billion budget deficit.  Last year the California courts implemented regular monthly closures of the courts to ease the budget burden.  The Court in Riverside County granted the dismissal of the 18 cases and on Monday the California Supreme Court upheld the trial court's dismissal of the cases.  The California Supreme Court attributed the delay in bringing the inmates to trial to the state for its fault and neglect in addressing the budget problems.  The court went on to find that no "good cause" existed to continue the trials.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

How To Solve Chicago Police Officer Shortage

As we've been reporting, the Chicago Police Department is facing a 2,300 daily shortage of the number of police officers needed to properly man the Police Department.  This problem has been going on for a long time.  According to the FBI, two of the 25 most dangerous neighborhoods are in the City of Chicago.  One of the proposals for solving the shortage is to lower the requirements for becoming a Chicago Police officer.  Currently, applicants must be between 21 and 40 years old and have completed at least 60 credit hours at an accredited college or university or served at least 4 years of active duty in the United States military.  One proposal being floated is to eliminate the education requirement for applicants.  Another possible solution is to offer written exams for applicants more often.  Most people would be surprised to find out that the last time a written exam was offered was in November of 2006.  That's over 4 years ago!  The City is looking at different ways of offering written exams more often, but the shortage problem cannot even begin to be solved unless written exams are offered.  But with the current budget problems being faced by the city, the money is not there to set up a more frequent and streamlined exam process which means that the officer shortage problem cannot even begin to be addressed.

The officer shortage problem in Chicago deserves much more media attention and scrutiny.  The upcoming mayoral election should afford the public an opportunity to see how the candidates propose to address this vexing problem.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Kane County Debuts Domestic Violence Diversion Program

Kane County has announced that they have established the first domestic violence treatment program in the state which makes it possible for defendants to avoid the harsh consequences of a conviction for a domestic battery.  The program is called the Domestic Violence Diversion Program.  To get into the program, the Kane County State's Attorney's Office will screen first time offenders, require that the offender pled guilty, and if they finish a prescribed course of treatment over a year, the charges will be eventually dismissed.  This will allow people to expunge the case and the arrest from their records, as if it never happened.  The program has a $450 fee plus a $200 donation to a domestic violence shelter.  About 1,600 people a year are charged with domestic battery in Kane County.  Officials estimate that roughly 150 to 180 people a year would be eligible to enter this program.  The program is designed for first time offenders and not for long time abusers.  

We will keep an eye on how this program performs with the hopes that other counties will copy this and try similar approaches to dealing with Domestic Battery cases.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-8--228-7295.

Kane County Files Civil Suit Against Elgin Gang Members

The Kane County State's Attorney's Office has filed a civil lawsuit against 79 members of an Elgin street gang.  The lawsuit is requesting that an injunction is granted prohibiting the gang members from associating with or contacting other gang members.  The lawsuit was filed on September 8 and most defendants have been personally served with the lawsuit.  If the injunction is granted, if gang members are caught associating with other gang members, they risk being arrested and charged with a misdemeanor.  Once they are placed under arrest they can be searched and other charges may develop if something illegal is found on them.  They also will face the consequences of a misdemeanor conviction which could carry a jail sentence of up to one year in jail.  The lawsuit also seeks unspecified monetary damages for the harm caused by the gang activity.  The lawsuit specifically refers to eight specific crimes that were committed between 1998 and 2008 including two murders, aggravated batteries with firearms, aggravated unlawful use of weapons by felons, aggravated discharge of a firearm and aggravated batteries.  

DuPage County has filed four similar lawsuits involving gangs operating in Assison and West Chicago and Boone County has also filed a similar lawsuit.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Penn. Mayor Vows To Take Immigration Fight To Supreme Court

The mayor of Hazelton, Pennsylvania has vowed to take the striking down of his crackdown on illegal immigrants to the Supreme Court.  In 2006, Hazelton Pennsylvania passed an ordinance that assessed fines against landlords who rented to illegal immigrants, denied business permits to companies that gave jobs to illegal immigrants and required prospective tenants to register with the city and pay for a permit to rent in the city.  Last month, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia struck down the ordinance because it usurped the federal government's exclusive power to regulate immigration.  Appeals courts are split over whether a state or a municipality have the right to enforce laws dealing with immigration.  The United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear oral arguments over a 2007 Arizona law that prohibits employers from knowingly hiring illegal aliens.  Following the passing of the Hazelton Pennsylvania ordinance in 2006, dozens of towns throughout the country enacting similar measures.  

We have been reporting consistently on efforts to deport legal aliens who have been convicted of criminal offenses.  We will continue to report on the evolving issue of legal and illegal immigration and the impact it is having on our criminal courts and our clients facing criminal prosecution and possible deportation.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Chicago Police Take Gang Efforts To Schools

The Chicago police are putting officers inside local public high schools to talk to students about preventing gang violence before it gets out to the streets.  For several months, officers assigned to the Gang School Safety Team have held more than 300 meetings in nearly 20 Chicago public high schools.  All meetings are voluntary and involve meeting with large groups of students if a conflict is brewing inside a school.  Some of the meetings are private involving the officers and the students they think need intervention.  A parent or school representative is always present to monitor the meeting.  If a shooting happens, officers go to the schools and meet with students to figure out what was behind the shooting and to determine whether a retaliation is being planned.  The officers explore ways to avoid any escalation of violence. 

The Chicago Police are confidant that this new approach is playing a significant role in helping reduce gang violence.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Kane County Ordered To Keep Courts Open

Last month, Kane County Circuit Court Clerk Deb Seyller, filed a lawsuit against Kane County in a dispute over providing additional funds to keep the Clerk's office open.  The Clerk's office was $500,000 short in its budget.  Seyller had requested that the county provide the additional funds but the county told Seyller to use other funds available in the Clerk's budget to pay for the general purposes of the office.  Seyller claimed that the funds could not be used legally for general purposes, such as paying salaries.  Kane County Judge Stephen Sullivan listed to over 6 hours of testimony and agreed with the county.  He ordered Seyller to use the special funds in her budget to continue operations for the remainder of the fiscal year which ends on November 30.  Seyller was pleased because she now has the legal authority to use the funds to continue operations and the Kane County Board is pleased with the judge's affirmation of the budget making authority.

Seyller's office was out of money six weeks before the end of the fiscal year.  The Judge's ruling averts what may have been a shutdown of the entire Kane County court system.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Supreme Court Refuses Felons Appeal to Allow Them To Vote

The United States Supreme Court turned down an appeal by Massachusetts prison inmates who want the right to vote.  The prison inmates sued in 2001 claiming that Massachusett's ban on incarcerated felons from voting violated the Voting Rights Act.  The claimed that keeping them from voting is illegal and unconstitutional because the percentage of imprisoned felons who are black or Hispanic is much higher than the percentage of the state as a whole.  The Federal Court of Appeals denied their claim and now the United States Supreme Court has refused to hear their appeal.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Case Against Top DUI Cop Reinstated

The Illinois Court of Appeals reinstated criminal charges which had previously been dismissed against John Haleas, the Chicago police officer once recognized as racking up the most arrests for DUI's in the entire state.  We originally reported about the discrepencies uncovered in Chicago police officer Haleas's DUI arrests on February 23, 2009.  Criminal charges of Official Misconduct, Perjury and Obstruction of Justice were eventually filed against Haleas.  On November 14, 2009 we reported that Cook County Judge James Obbish dismissed the indictment after finding that Cook County prosecutors improperly used a statement Haleas had given as part of an internal investigation.  The prosecutors appealed the dismissal of the indictment and the Court of Appeals found that Judge Obbish was correct when he tossed the internal affairs statement but erred by dismissing the indictment without holding further hearings.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C, visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us 1-800-228-7295.

Ninth Circuit Court Of Appeals Uphold Ban On Felons Voting

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Washington State's ban on felons from voting.  The ruling reverses a prior ruling by a three-judge panel from the same court which held that the prohibition in the Washington State Constitution is unconstitutional.   The vast majority of states ban convicted felons from voting.  Only two states, Maine and Vermont, permit convicted felons to vote.  In overturning the three-judge panel, the Court held that barring convicted felons from voting has long been a part of U.S. history and held that plaintiff's filing suit must show that the state's criminal justice system is infected by intentional discrimination.  A very high standard which will probably make it virtually impossible to challenge any state laws which bar convicted felons from voting.

We have reported that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that police do not need to obtain a warrant prior to placing a GPS tracking device on a citizen's vehicle.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Arab Student Finds FBI GPS Device Under Car

Yasir Afifi took his car to the mechanic to have some repair work done.  As the car was lifted up, the mechanics saw a round tube with an antenna under the vehicle.  At first, Afifi thought someone had placed a bomb under his car.  However, it turned out that someone had placed a GPS tracking device under the 20 year olds car.  Afifi put pictures of what had been found on his Facebook account and thought about putting it on Craigslist to sell.  It was wasn't too long before he noticed a couple of "sneaky" people hanging out around his apartment.  Afifi got into his vehicle and drove off.  He was pulled over by 2 FBI agents who demanded that he give them back the GPS device.  He was warned that if he did not cooperate,  his life would be made much more difficult.  Afifi eventually around the FBI to retrieve the device.  He reports that the agent who retrieved the device congratulated him on his new job an mentioned the names of his favorite restaurants.

It's not known if the FBI had a warrant to place the GPS device on his car but we have reported that recently, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the FBI does not need to obtain a warrant prior to placing a GPS device on someone's vehicle.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Chicago Cops Raid Elderly Couple's Home By Mistake

In the morning hours of Friday, about a dozen Chicago police officers, brandishing guns, raided a home near Midway Airport expecting to find large quantities of guns and drugs.  Instead they found that they had raided the home of 89 year old Andriji Jakymec and 84 year old Anna Jakymec.  Apparently, a confidential informant had told the police that they would find guns and drugs in the house and the police obtained a warrant.  According to their son, the only thing the police found was aspirin.  Anna complained that if the police had knocked on the door, or rang the doorbell, she would have left them in.  Instead, the police barged in and caused extensive damage to the home.  

The Chicago police have apologized to the Jakymec family.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

County Jail Guard Charged With Trying To Smuggle Drugs Into Jail

The Cook County Sheriff's office has announced that a 15-year jail guard has been charged with trying to smuggle drugs into Cook County Jail.  The jail guard, Timothy Fuller, is charged with Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Cocaine, Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Deliver and Possession of Cocaine with Intent to Deliver.  He was arrested after he was caught in an undercover sting operation.  Fuller had been working in the medium security Division 11 building.  He has been suspended with pay and will appear before the Merit Board for a termination hearing.  The investigation began when jail officials noticed Fuller engaging in suspicious activity with jail inmates.  It is alleged that Fuller agreed to deliver drugs to an inmate in exchange for $400.  He was arrested after he accepted a quantity of cocaine and marijuana from an undercover female officer in an exchange captured on video in an undercover police vehicle.  This meeting happened after Fuller's shift at the jail ended.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Attorney Jailed For Not Reciting Pledge of Allegiance

In a bizarre story out of Mississippi, an attorney was jailed for several hours for not reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in court.  Judge Talmadge Littlejohn asked everyone in his courtroom to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance.  When the attorney, David Lampley rose, but remained silent, Judge Littlejohn reportedly became enraged and held Lampley in contempt of court.  Lampley ended up spending about 5 hours in the county jail.  According to one report, Lampley worked with the ACLU in a controversial school prayer case back in the 90's.  It's now known if this had anything to do with the judge holding him in contempt of court.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Deportations For Criminal Convictions Increasing

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) revealed that 392,862 illegal immigrants were deported from the United States this year.  More than half of the people deported had criminal convictions.  This represents a 55 percent increase from 2008 and about 3,000 more deportations than the record number of deportations from last year.  Over 195,000 criminals were deported, a 70% increase over 2008.  The growing deportation trend shows that ICE is focusing more on deporting people that they consider to be violent and dangerous.

It's also interesting to note that the same report indicates that the number of people illegally entering the United States has dropped dramatically.  Between 2005 and 2007, about 300,000 illegal immigrants crossed the border each year down from 850,000 annually from 2000 to 2005.  It is estimated that there are roughly 11 million people in the United States without status.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Chicago Police Ramping Up Mobile Strike Teams

The Chicago Police Department is drastically increasing it's Mobile Strike Teams.  Police officials are noticing a drastic drop in murders in districts and neighborhoods where Mobile Strike Teams have been deployed.  Last month, no one was killed in the five police districts where mobile strike teams were deployed.  Over the last three years, murders were down more than 98 percent in districts on the days that mobile strike teams were deployed.  Police officials now believe that these Mobile Strike Teams are a big reason that the crime rate in Chicago dropped 4.5 percent through September of this year.  The Mobile Strike Force was started in 1998 to deploy the same tactics used against insurgents in Iraq.  There are currently four companies of Strike Force officers consisting of 48 officers, six sergeants and a lieutenant.  They all work during the evening.  One of these companies was supposed to be temporary but will now become permanent and will be used during the daytime.  This means that over 100 officers will move permanently to the Mobile Strike Force.  The officers will be taken from beat cars.  The beat cars are already experiencing a shortage of officers.  The Mobile Strike Force focuses on high crime areas, such as the Harrison and Englewood districts.  When a district commander finds out that a problem is brewing, they will contact the Mobile Strike Force and officers will be sent to quickly respond.  Apparently, gang leaders are already taking notice.  Police state that gang leaders have been heard talking about the Mobile Strike Force and have instructed their members to not sell drugs when they see the Mobile Strike Force officers in their neighborhoods.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Supreme Court Refuses Appeal of Georgia Capital Case

The United States Supreme Court has refused to hear the appeal of a man sentenced to death in Georgia.  The man claims that he went without a lawyer for 2 years because the State of Georgia could not afford to pay for a Public Defender.  The case deals with the ongoing budget problems of Georgia's Public Defender system.  The Cook County Public Defender's Office has also been under budget constraints.  Jamie Ryan Weiss had been convicted of murdering a 73 year old woman.  He claims that a "complete breakdown" of the system left him without a lawyer.  Prosecutors agree that there were funding problems but argue that the breakdown only resulted in a funding problem and not a lack of legal representation.

The case is Weiss v. Georgia, 09-10715.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us at 1-800-228-7295.

Overall City Crime Rate Drops But Vehicle Thefts Up

The Chicago Police have announced that the overall crime rate dropped 4.5% from January to September when compared to the same time period as last year.  However, vehicle thefts were up 22.3% during the same time period.  The drop in the crime rate is the 21st consecutive monthly drop.  The number of murders declined by 2.3 percent.  The murder rate had slightly increased in August of this year.  At the current rate, Chicago stands to equal the 2007 murder rate, which was the lowest since 1965.  Violent crime was down 11 percent, aggravated batteries declined 7.7 percent.  Robberies and aggravated assaults also showed major declines and criminal sexual assaults were down more than 9 percent.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.