Evanston Lessens Penalties For Pot Possession

Last night, the Evanston City Council unanimously passed an ordinance which lessens the penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana.  Evanston always had a Village Ordinance in plays which provides that if someone was caught with 10 grams or less of marijuana, they could be issued a ticket for a fine between $50 to $500.  State law provides that possession of 10 grams or less of marijuana is a Class B Misdemeanor, punishable by up to 6 months in county jail and a fine up to $1,500.  Under the old law, Evanston police had the discretion to charge someone with the Village Ordinance or the state law.  Yesterday's measure removes the discretion from the police and mandates that only tickets be issued but that the fines remain between $50 to $500.  This measure had originally been proposed by the Mayor of Evanston who was concerned that arrests of young people caught with small amounts of marijuana made them unable to find jobs in the future.  Evanston joins a slowly growing national movement towards lessening the punishment for being caught with small amounts of marijuana.  Locally, Cook County passed a measure in 2009 which lessens the penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana and in October, Skokie, also passed a measure which allows for the issuance of tickets for the possession of 2.5 grams or less of marijuana.  Nationally, 14 states have taken steps to lessen the penalties for the possession of small amounts of drugs.

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.

Oregon Governor Halts Executions in State

The Governor of Oregon, John Kitzhaber, announced yesterday that so long as he is Governor of Oregon, he will not allow any executions to happen.  Kitzhaberwent on to say that he has determined that the death penalty is morally wrong and that he refuses to be part of a system that puts people to death.  The next execution in Oregon was scheduled for December 6.  Kitzhaber's announcement effectively ends the impending execution.  In the last 49 years, Oregon has carried out 2 executions, both during Kitzhaber's first term as Governor.  He left office in 2003 and was re-elected to another term in 2010.  He was sworn into office in January of this year.  He stated that the 2 executions that were carried out during his first term in office were "the most agonizing and difficult decisions he has made as governor" and has determined that he can no longer be part of something that he now considers to be morally wrong.  This move follows a growing trend where we are seeing more and more states moving away from the death penalty.  Sixteen states, and the District of Columbia, have abolished the death penalty.  Earlier this year, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed a bill into law ending the death penalty in Illinois.

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.

Awaiting State's Attorney News Conference About Retail Theft Ring Bust

There's news this morning that Cook County State's Attorney, Anita Alvarez, will be holding a press conference this morning to announce arrests involving a retail theft ring operating in Chicago and in surrounding suburban shopping malls.  One of the items that was stolen by this ring is a $5,000 vase stolen from a store on Michigan Avenue.  The operation has been named "Operation Whoville" and the investigation has apparently been going on for about a month.  We'll report once more information is available after the press conference.

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.

2nd Inmate in 4 Days Hangs Self in Lockup

In the second time in four days an inmate in a Chicago police lock up has been found dead, hanging in their police jail cell.  This morning, Melvin Woods, was found hanging in his jail cell at the police station on 111th Street.  He was pronounced dead on the scene.  Woods had been arrested last night and charged with an Aggravated Assault after police responded to a domestic incident with his girlfriend at his home.  Woods was found hanging by his underwear at about 1:30 this morning.  On Thursday morning, also at 1:30 in the morning, another inmate was found hanging in his jail cell.  He was being held for the murder of a store security guard at an Aldi.

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.

Budget Passes - Cook County To Start Charging To Park At Courthouse Garages

Yesterday, the Cook County Board unanimously passed its budget.  Inside the budget is a slew of fee and tax increases hat will effect virtually every resident of Cook County.  One measure will especially hit people who have to go to court.  If you park in a parking garage at any Cook County Courthouse you will be charged $4.75 a day to park your car.  The measure exempts jurors and law enforcement personnel but sticks everyone else with this new fee.  In reading the measure, it indicates that the fee will be charged at parking garages at the courthouse.  This would cover Rolling Meadows, Skokie, 26th and California, and Juvenile Court at 1100 S. Hamilton, where an hourly parking fee is already charged.  It seems as if the parking fee would not apply to the courthouses that do not have parking garages, such as Maywood, Bridgeview, Markham, 555 W. Harrison, and the branch courthouses such as Grand and Central, Belmont and Western, Harrison and Kedzie, 51st Street and 111th Street.   It should take a little time to set up the process so we will keep an eye out on when this new revenue enhancement measure will be put into place and how this will happen.

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.

Law Allowing Police To Obtain Cell Phone Records Without Warrant Ruled Unconstitutional

In the face of increasing legal challenges to the government's power to obtain information, a Texas District Court Judge struck down a Federal law which gives authorities the right to obtain cell phone records without a warrant.  The Electronics Communications Privacy Act of 1996 allows authorities to obtain certain digital records, such as emails and cell phone records, without a warrant so long as the police are able to show specific and articulable facts that the records sought are relevant and material to an ongoing investigation.  When it comes to searching a person's home, the police generally have to obtain a search warrant which requires that they show a judge that probable cause exists that a crime has, or is being committed.  Some large technology companies, such as Microsoft and Google have been lobbying Congress to change the law to require more than what the Electronics Communications Privacy Act of 1996 allows.  Meanwhile, lower courts have been struggling with the issue releasing conflicting rulings.  Yesterday, U.S. District Court Judge Lynn N. Hughes of the Southern District of Texas issued a one page ruling which struck down the Electronics Communications Privacy Act of 1996.  In her opinion, Judge Hughes held that 'when the government requests records from cellular services, data disclosing the location of the telephone at the time of particular calls may be acquired only by a warrant issued on probable cause."  She concluded her opinion by stating that "the standard under the [existing law] is below that required by the Constitution."  This case comes in the heals of last week's Supreme Court's oral arguments on a case involving whether the police need to obtain a search warrant to place a GPS tracking device on a defendant's vehicle.  During last week's Supreme Court oral arguments, several justices, both liberal and conservative, expressed concern over the government's contention that a search warrant is not required to place a GPS tracking device on a suspect's vehicle.  This line of challenges to the government's authority will go on for many years as the law tries to establish boundaries on the limits of the government's authority over new and innovative technologies that were not present when the Constitution was written.

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.

Local Attorney Jailed For 2 Days For Missing Jury Trial

In a case out of the Rolling Meadows courthouse, a local attorney was jailed for 2 days by the judge because he failed to come back for a jury trial that his client had requested.  The attorney's client had been charged with a traffic violation.  The attorney requested a jury trial.  The court sent the case to the jury room in Rolling Meadows and the attorneys for the town and the defendant chose 12 jurors in the morning.  They were supposed to return in the afternoon for the actual jury trial.  The attorney for the defendant failed to come back to court and the judge held him in contempt of court and ordered that he be jailed for 2 days in Cook County Jail.  The attorney for the defendant told reporters that he had a real estate closing scheduled for that afternoon and had requested a continuance of the trial in the afternoon.  The attorney believes that the court was upset at him for demanding a jury trial for a traffic ticket, something that is very rarely done, and took out its frustration on him by holding him in contempt of court and putting him in jail.  In addition to the jail sentence the attorney was fined $500.  He indicated that he intends to appeal the ruling of the 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.

Supreme Court Hears Arguments On Louisiana Murder Case

On Tuesday the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments on an interesting Louisiana murder case.  Juan Smith had been convicted of five murders at a New Orleans house party in 1995.  At trial, a witness testified that he saw Smith walk through the front door of the house and was face to face with Smith and that he would never forget him.  But on the night of the murders the witness had told the police that he could not identify the shooter other that he was African-American and had gold teeth.  Five days later he told the police the same thing.  The prosecutors never revealed this to Smith's attorneys prior to trial.  At the time of the trial, the prosecutor's office would not turn over all the evidence to defendants.  The current prosecutor turns over all evidence today.  The state agreed that the evidence should have been turned over but argued that even if it had been turned over, it would not have made a difference.  

The Supreme Court's decision in this case will have major implications for Smith who has been sentenced to death for three other murders.  Prosecutors used his conviction for these murders in arguing for the death penalty on the other case.  Its possible that if Smith wins the appeal, then his death sentence for the three other murders may also be overturned.

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 Hears Arguments on GPS Tracking Case

This week the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments on a case which asks whether the police need to obtain a warrant to place a GPS tracking device on a suspect's vehicle.  We first reported on this case on August 6, 2010.  In 2005, Washington police placed a GPS tracking device on a vehicle owned by Antoine Jones, a Washington nightclub owner.  The used the GPS tracking device for a month and tied him to a drug stash house.  He was eventually arrested and convicted of conspiracy to distribute cocaine.  The GPS tracking device was just one facet of the investigation.  The government alleged that Jones ran a drug trafficking operation out of his nightclub.  The case involved surveillance of Jones and a wiretap of Jones' cell phone.  Jones was sentenced to life in prison.  His conviction was overturned by the Federal Court of Appeals who found that the placing of the GPS tracking device on his vehicle without a warrant violated his 4th Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.  The government appealed the ruling arguing that the police have the right to place GPS tracking devices on suspect's vehicles without a warrant.  

During oral arguments this week, most of the justices seemed skeptical of the government's position.  The questioned the government's attorney and seemed leery of the government's position.

The case is United States v. Jones, 10-1259.

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.