Tuesday, September 25, 2012

3 States to Vote on Legalizing Marijuana in November


Three states are set to allow voters to decide whether to legalize the use of marijuana in their states for recreational use this fall.  The three states are Colorado, Oregon and Washington.  A recent poll by MSNBC indicates that nationally, 51% of the public believe that marijuana should be legalized for recreational use.  On reason that states are moving in the direction of legalizing marijuana is financial. These states stand to gain additional tax revenue if marijuana was legalized and would save substantial sums of money by not having to spend money arresting, prosecuting and incarcerating people charged with violating these drug laws which make the mere possession of marijuana illegal.  If these measures pass, then it will be interesting to see how the Federal Government responds. There will be a conflict between state law and federal law and it will be interesting to see how that conflict plays out in the political and legal arena.

We will keep our readers updated on the progress and outcome of these ballot measures.

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

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Kane County Puts Brakes on Courtroom Expansion Plans


The Kane County Board has stopped plans to address issues at the courthouses in Kane County which would have expanded the Judicial Center in St. Charles, converted two third floor courtrooms into one, and installed a new elevator in the courthouse in Geneva.  The expanded courtroom on the third floor would have benefited the civil division by providing for a larger courtroom which is required in civil cases in which there are multiple plaintiffs and defendants with many sets of lawyers.  The elevator in Geneva is also in need of replacement and this has been delayed as has the plan to expand the Judicial Center in St. Charles. One of the Board members noted that the cost for the new elevator in Geneva has already been dropped by $43,000 and are hoping to get further reductions for the judicial center and courtroom expansion projects in St. Charles.

The Kane County Board is scheduled to take up these matters again in October.

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

Twist in Illinois Law Puts Breaks on Chicago Camera Plans


Earlier this year, the Chicago City Council and the Illinois Legislature gave the go ahead to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to pepper the City of Chicago with speed cameras that would cover school safety zones and start generating tickets to people caught speeding.  The plan was to start sending out $100 tickets by early next year. However, a quirk in Illinois law has put the brakes on Mayor Emanuel's ambitious plans. Turns out that an opinion from the Illinois Attorney General from 38 years ago requires that children be "visibly present" in order for tickets for speeding in a school safety zone can be issued. This means that the picture of the vehicle speeding must also include a picture of a child present. This has presented a technical challenge which has placed the entire plan to implement the program in jeopardy. There's also an obvious legal challenge. If a speeding ticket in a school zone is issued by one of these cameras and does not include proof that a child was present, a criminal defense attorney could raise this 38 year old legal opinion from the Illinois Attorney General as a way of getting the ticket dismissed in court.  The technical challenge is to be able to come up with a way for a camera to recreate what a police officer can see and testify to. There currently is no such camera in existence which could accomplish this.  If such a camera or system could be developed, it must be developed in such a way that it is cost effective and worth it to the company providing the service to the City.  And here's another problem which I have though of. Even if another camera is set up to photograph pedestrians or humans, how could you tell from the camera that the individual is a child and not an adult?  The technical and legal problems have placed the entire plan in jeopardy. My prediction is that Mayor Emanuel will convince the Illinois General Assembly to change the law so as to remove the legal challenges and alleviating the need for any technical challenges. There's too much money at stake.

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

Cameras Coming to Cook County Courtrooms Soon

The Chief Judge for Cook County has come out in strong support of putting cameras inside of courtrooms in Cook County. In fact he is so much in favor of placing cameras in court that he is considering reassigning judges who are opposed to having cameras placed in their courtrooms.  Chief Judge Timothy Evans has stated that he expects the cameras to be installed by the end of the year and is expecting that cameras will be placed in the criminal and civil courtrooms as well as in the suburban districts.  The camera program began in January of this year when the Illinois Supreme Court began a pilot program allowing cameras in courtrooms. The program began outside of Cook County and has slowly been expanded in other counties and has been moving closer and closer to Cook County.  Judge Evans seems to be moving towards enacting a more expansive program than the Illinois Supreme Court envisioned.  For instance the Supreme Court gave trial judges discretion in deciding if cameras will be allowed in their courtrooms. Evans indicated that he may use his authority as Chief Judges to reassign judges who resist.  He wants to explore finding a way to televise bond hearings even though the Supreme Court provided for a 14 day period of notice by the media before televising a court hearing. He also is considering placing cameras in each one of the suburban courthouses and transferring high profile cases to that courtroom so they could be televised. 

It looks like big changes will be coming to the Cook County courthouses shortly. Stay tuned.

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

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