Warning: Chicago About To Ramp-Up Booting Efforts

The City of Chicago is coming after motorists who have two or more unpaid parking tickets that are older than one year. In an effort to deal with a budget shortfall, the Chicago City Council lowered the threshold for the boot from five unpaid tickets to two. 65,318 notices have been mailed out by the city. About 415 vehicles have already been booted. This move by the City comes at a time of mounting layoffs and economic difficulties affecting the public.

After decades of mismanaging Chicago's budget, the City is now beginning it's assault on the motorists and taxpayers to clean up their mess. Apparently, the revenue from the red light cameras is not enough. We wonder what they will come up with next.

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

Judge Removes Public Defenders From Death Penalty Case

In a move that this author has never before heard of, a Cook County Judge removed the Public Defender from a case involving a Defendant facing the Death Penalty for murdering a Chicago police officer. The Defendant, Lamar Cooper, refused to disclose his assets to prove he was indigent. The Cook County Circuit Court Judge, Nicholas Ford, was seeking information regarding whether Cooper was truly indigent. Cooper asserted his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination and refused to fill out an Affidavit of Assets and Liabilities as usually required of indigent defendants as a condition of having a Public Defender appointed to represent them. It is virtually unheard of to have a defendant fill out an Affidavit of Assets and Liabilities in a Death Penalty case. However, after Cooper was arrested, investigators found $260,000 in cash in 2 safe-deposit boxes, a time-share condominium and an expensive SUV. Judge Ford apparently suspects that Cooper is hiding substantial assets. Prosecutors believe that Cooper is a drug dealer. The case is certain to go before the Illinois Supreme Court since it involves numerous tricky and novel issues of law. In the past few years, the Illinois Supreme Court has issued new rules and reforms designed to deal with the state's highly publicized troubles with it's Death Penalty system.

Judge Ford has been the subject a previous posting on our blog. On December 20, 2008 we posted a blog about how Judge Ford was able to nab a criminal that was tampering with his wife's car.

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 Limits Warrantless Search of Vehicles

Today, the United States Supreme Court issued a major decision impacting the warrantless search of a vehicle. In the case, Rodney Joseph Gant, had been pulled over in Arizona and arrested for driving with no license. He was handcuffed and placed in the back seat of the squad car. The arresting officers then searched his car and found illegal drugs and charged him with possession of drugs. The trial court allowed the seized drugs into evidence and Grant was convicted of the drug offense. The Arizona Court of Appeals overturned the conviction and in a 5 to 4 decision, the United States Supreme Court agreed. The Supreme Court ruled that when a suspect is locked up and secured in the squad car and poses no threat to anyone, the police need a warrant to conduct a search of the vehicle. It seems as if this decision places limits on the police's ability to search a vehicle, especially when the reason for the offense is nothing more serious than a traffic offense. The majority opinion indicated that the police would be justified in searching the vehicle if the passenger compartment is within reach of the subject and the officers had reason to believe that evidence of the crime for which the defendant was being arrested would be found within the vehicle. Unless those factors were present, the Court said that a warrant would be necessary to conduct a search of the vehicle.

This opinion seems to place restrictions on a "Search Incident to a Lawful Arrest." It seems that this decision will mainly affect individuals arrested for traffic offenses.

The case is Arizona v. Gant, 07-542.

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.

Expungement Problems Persist

On December 10, 2008 we posted a blog about how the Illinois State Police have been refusing to enforce expungement orders issued by Judges. In January of this year, the Illinois State Police entered into a settlement with Cook County Chief Judge Paul Biebel and agreed to abandon this practice and to file any objections with the court and allow the judge to decide whether to grant the petition. You would think that this would put an end to this issue but it hasn't. About 1,800 orders issued between 2006 and 2008 have not been enforced. 900 orders issued between 1991 and 2006 have not been enforced and 5% of the orders issued in 2008 have not been enforced. There has been no agreement as to how to deal with those outstanding orders and class action lawsuits are now being threatened.

We direct you to read this excellent article from The Chicago Reporter which discusses this issue in great detail.

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.

Update on Illinois Medical Marijuana Legislation

On November 8, 2008, we posted our first blog about the efforts to legalize medical marijuana in Illinois. On February 6, 2009 we posted an updated blog discussing how the effort to enact this measure took a step back when it was defeated in a committee vote in the legislature. We are pleased to report that the effort to enact medical marijuana in Illinois is alive and kicking. On March 25, 2009, the Senate Public Health Committee passed the bill on a 6 to 2 vote. On March 4, 2009, the House Human Services Committee passed a companion bill. These votes mean that the legislation is poised for a vote before the Senate and the House. However, it appears as if there are not yet enough committed votes to send the measure to the Governor for approval.

We urge our readers to join in the effort to make Illinois the 14th state to legalize medical marijuana. One more strong and final push is urgently needed. Contact your legislators and urge them to do the right thing and side with the consumers and give needy patients a real alternative to costly prescription drugs to help alleviate their pain and suffering. If we make our voices heard we can help make changes to our drug laws that will actually do some good and help people who are in urgent need of some help.

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.

Cook County Changes to Electronic Monitoring Program

For many months we have been reporting on efforts by Cook County Sheriff Thomas Dart, to change the way the Electronic Monitoring Program is run in Cook County. The Electronic Monitoring Program was implemented many years ago to deal with the problem of overcrowding in the Cook County Jail. Inmates that are considered non-violent, and usually held for minor criminal violations, are fitted with an electronic bracelet around their ankle that transmits an electronic signal which notifies jail personnel when they leave their home. This bracelet allows inmates to spend time at home rather than jail.

Sheriff Dart has taken steps which has drastically cut down the number of inmates on Electronic Monitoring. He has been working on efforts to place the decision of who should be placed on Electronic Monitoring to judges rather than jail personnel.

A "Special Update" has been placed on the Sheriff's website. The "Special Update" reads as follows:

Since 15 December 2008, placements onto Electronic Monitoring are being made in Central Bond Court. Recently arrested persons who wish to be placed on Electronic Monitoring should immediately notify their attorneys and/or court personnel of this fact.

In addition, persons incarcerated in the Department of Corrections may ask their attorneys to bring the same request in the appropriate court.

The practical effect of this change is that in order for an inmate to be eligible for Electronic Monitoring, a judge must first find that the inmate is eligible for Electronic Monitoring. So when a judge sets a bond, the judge will also determine whether that inmate can be released on Electronic Monitoring. An inmate will not be placed on Electronic Monitoring unless a judge has found that the inmate is eligible for this program.

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.

Undercover Cops Posing As Pedestrians To Start Issuing Tickets

The Chicago Police Department has been cracking down on motorists who don't yield to pedestrians crossing the street. Officers will start pulling over and ticketing motorists who do yield to undercover plainclothes officers posing as pedestrians at intersections that are not controlled by traffic control devices. This effort started several weeks ago when police started issuing warning to motorists. Now the police will start issuing traffic tickets which carry fines up to $500 per ticket. Currently, drivers are required to yield to pedestrians that are in the crosswalk. There is legislation currently pending in Springfield which would require drivers to stop when a pedestrian is in the crosswalk. Eleven other states, and the District of Columbia, have similar laws. Under the proposed legislation, a ticket for failure to stop for a pedestrian in the crosswalk would carry a minimum fine of $150. Approximately 6,000 accidents involving vehicles and pedestrians occur in Illinois every year. Approximately half of those accidents have occurred in Chicago. The number of such accidents has been declining nationally but staying at the same level in Illinois.

The Chicago police have made it known that they plan on having several high profile undercover operations throughout the City until at least September of this year. An undercover officer, posing as a pedestrian, will enter an uncontrolled intersection and if an approaching driver fails to yield, they will be stopped and ticketed by uniformed officers. Some of the intersections mentioned are Peterson and Nagle, 119th Street and Stewart Avenue, 103rd Street and South Prairie Avenue, and 86th Street and Commercial Avenue. Our readers are advised to be especially careful at those locations.

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.