Supreme Court Considers Mental Competence and Appeals

Last week the United States Supreme Court considered a case which will decide whether a federal judge has the authority to indefinitely stay a criminal defendant's appeal pending a determination that the inmate is mentally competent to assist their attorney in the appeal.  A defendant appealing a death sentence in federal court has a legal right to an attorney but there has never been a determination that the defendant has to be mentally fit to pursue that appeal.  This case involves Sean Carter, who was convicted in Ohio of the murder of his grandmother after he had been released from prison in 1997 and was sentenced to death.  The other case involves Ernest Gonzalez, who was convicted of first degree murder during a burglary in Arizona in 1999 and sentenced to death. The federal judge handling Carter's appeal stayed the appeal until he was mentally competent but the Court of Appeals changed the ruling to allow the part of the appeal that did not require his cooperation to proceed.  In Gonzalez's case the trial judge ruled that his appeal would not be delayed while the Court of Appeals stayed the appeal until he was ruled mentally competent.  The United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments on these cases, which involve a common question of whether a defendant must be mentally competent while an appeal is pursued on their behalf.  Court observers who were at the oral arguments seem to think that the majority of the Court is leaning towards ruling against the proposition that an inmate has to be mentally competent. The Court is expected to issue its ruling later this year.

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.

Steady Decrease In City Crime Rate Continues

The overall crime rate in the City of Chicago dropped for the 25th consecutive month.  Compared to January of 2010 the overall crime rate decreased by 10.6%.  In 2010, the city had the fewest number of murders since 1965.  However, the number of murders in January of 2011 were more than in January of 2010.  In January of 2010 there were 22 murders and in January of 2011 there were 28 murders.  Every other category of violent crime decreased by double digits.  Ciminal Sexual Assaults decreased 13 percent, Aggravated Assaults dropped 11.3%, Aggravated Batteries dropped 10.1%, and Robberies dropped 10.4%.  Every category of property crimes, except car thefts, also had a substantial drop.  Car thefts were actually up by 21.8%.  General theft dropped 20.7%, Burglary dropped 6% and Arsons dropped 4.7%.  

Chicago Police Superintendent, Jody Weis indicated that police will continue to focus and guns and gangs saying that the majority violent crimes are caused by illegal guns.

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 Crime Rate Down But Murder Rate Up

The Chicago Police report that the crime rate has dropped  5.8 percent in the city but murders are up nearly 4 percent compared to 2009.  Between January and May of 2010 there were 164 murders in Chicago.  There were 158 murders for the same time period in 2009.  Other violent crimes, like criminal sexual assault and robberies have decreased.  Even property crimes, which include burglary, theft, motor vehicle theft and arson, have dropped 4.2 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.

Moral Of The Story - Should Have Kept Quiet At Sentencing

In 2004, Pedro Cabrera appeared in front of Judge Leo Holt, ready to plead guilty to a robbery and accepting a 6 year prison deal worked out between his attorney and the prosecutor.  Judge Holt expressed amazement at how good of a deal his attorneys had worked out being that Cabrera had previously been convicted of 4 felonies.  Judge Hold said that "it boggles my mind."  When Cabrera had an opportunity to address the court, he told Judge Holt that he was really innocent.  Judge hold immediately stopped the proceedings and informed Cabrera that he would not go along with the deal.  Judge Holt stated that, "you don't have a right to cause me to disgrace myself and the criminal justice system by accepting a plea of guilty from you when you are, in fact, not guilty."  Cabrera begged the judge to accept the plea agreement because he felt that he could not beat the case at trial.  Judge Holt rejected his pleas and the matter proceeded to trial.  At a bench trial, he was found guilty of Armed Robbery and Burglary and sentenced to a total of 27 years.  According to the Illinois Department of Corrections website, he will not be eligible for parole until 4/14/13.  If he had not proclaimed his innocence, and Judge Holt had accepted the plea agreement, Cabrera would have been released a long time ago.

Today the Illinois Court of Appeals upheld Judge Holt's rulling and found that it was within his discretion to not go along with the plea agreement.

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.

Violent Crime Rate Drops Nationally

Despite fears that the declining economy would cause an increase in the violent crime rate, statistics released by the FBI seem to suggest otherwise.  The statistics seem to suggest that the violent crime rate may be dropping for the third year in a row.  The statistics measure the crime rate for the first 6 months of the year, so they are not complete yet.  The number of murders fell 10 percent, robbery fell by 6.5 percent and rapes declined by 3.3 percent.  Overall, the violent crime rate fell by 1.8 percent from 2008 to 2007.  New York and Los Angeles saw a drop in their murder rate while Detroit saw an increase.  Incidentally, property crimes are also decreasing.  Vehicle thefts decreased by 18.7 percent and burglary fell by 2.5 percent.  Overall, the property property crime rate dropped by 6.1 percent.  The violent crime rate dropped in all four regions of the United States with the exception of the South which saw a tiny increase of 0.7 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.

Preliminary Crime Statistics for 2008 Released

The FBI today released it's Preliminary Annual Uniform Crime Report. The report is showing a 2.5 percent decrease in the number of violent crimes and a 1.7 percent decrease in the number of property crimes from 2008 to 2007. All four of the violent crime offenses, murder, rape, aggravated assault, and robbery all decreased nationally. Violent crimes in all city sizes decreased. Murders dropped in the larger cities but in cities with populations less than 100,000, the murder rate increased 5.5%. When it comes to property crimes, there were overall decreases in these crimes as well. The only crime that saw an increase was Burglary which increased by 1.3%. Property crimes decreased in all but one Region of the United States. Property crimes increased by 1.6 percent in the Northeast. Arsons decreased by 3.9% nationally.

Overall, the preliminary results show that crime is generally down. To view all the crime reports from 1995 to 1998, click here.

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.

Final 2008 Crime Statistics Show Troubling Trends

Readers of this blog know that we have been keeping a periodic eye on the violent crime trends in the City of Chicago throughout 2008. The Chicago Police just released their final figures for violent crime in 2008 and the numbers point to a troubling increase in many violent crime categories. There were a total of 510 murders last year. Of those murders, the police believe that 229 of them were gang related. There's at least one estimate that at least 100,000 gang members live in the city. Of the 510 murder victims, 310 had criminal records and 40 percent were killed with guns. There was also an increase in the number of Robbery, Theft and Burglary cases in 2008. The number of murders increased by 14.6 percent, robbery increased by 7.8 percent and burglary was up by 4.8 percent. The total increase in crime was 2.5 percent, the violent crime rate increased by 2.1 percent, and property crimes increased by 2.6 percent. In light of all these increases, there was some good news. Criminal Sexual Assaults, Aggravated Battery and Aggravated Assault decreased in 2008. Arsons were down 9.1 percent.

It will be interesting to see what these numbers look like like in 2009. There is no doubt that we are in the midst of some tough economic times. Generally, crime rates increase during times like these. The Chicago Police have targeted combating gang crime and have set up special units to try to lower the rate of violent crimes.

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.

More Escapes From Police Custody

At least 2 more individuals escaped from police custody last week. Both were eventually captured. Eric Curtis was picked up by the Elmhurst police on a warrant from the Chicago Heights parole office. While being transported in the police vehicle, Curtis kicked out the back window of the police vehicle and tried to run off. He was cornered by Homewood police and tasered in the right leg and placed into custody. Curtis was charged with burglary, criminal damage to a vehicle and resisting police.

Cortez Fleming was driving a 2001 Buick LaSabre without a working headlight. The police tried to pull him over but he fled. The police checked the license plates and discovered that the car had been reported stolen in Dolton. He led the police on a chase that ended in Sauk Village. He bailed out of the car fleeing in one direction and his driverless car headed in another direction. After a short foot pursuit the police caught Fleming. He was charged with Possession of a Stolen Motor Vehicle, Aggravated Fleeing and Eluding and Resisting Arrest.

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