Former Harvey Detective Sentenced to 3 Years

A former Village of Harvey detective was sentenced to 3 years in state prison for returning a gun seized by the police to the family of a gang member. Hollis Dorrough was convicted last month of two counts of official misconduct, perjury and unlawful sale of a firearm. In October of 2005 a convicted drug dealer was charged with threatening two Harvey police officers with a gun. The gun was seized as evidence and Dorrough secretly handed the gun back to the drug dealers father. Dorrough claimed that he had been told by Harvey's mayor, Eric Kellogg, to give the gun back to the drug dealers father. Mayor Kellogg has denied Dorrough's claims and has not been charged with any crime or official misconduct. At his trial, prosecutors were able to show that even if Dorrough's claims were true, he knew that Mayor Kellogg had no authority to order that the gun be returned.

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.

Police Dispatch Official Admits To Misuse Of Police Database

The former director of a company that dispatches police and fire departments in five towns in Cook and Kane County, plead guilty to misusing the police database for personal reasons. Steven R. Cordes, the former director of QuadComm, was sentenced to six months in county jail and placed on 30 months of probation in Kane County Circuit Court. QuadComm dispatches emergency calls to police agencies and fire department. He was arrested in October of 2008 after he accessed the police database to check on the boyfriend of his live in girlfriend. Kane County officials believe he accessed the Law Enforcement Agencies Data System (LEADS) on multiple occasions from 2006 to 2008 checking on at least four individuals. It is against state law to misuse LEADS. QuadComm provides dispatch services for the towns of Sleepy Hollow, East Dundee, West Dundee and South Barrington. Cordes was the director of QuadComm from 2000 to last year after his misuse of LEADS became known to his bosses.

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 Increases Penalties For Gun Offenses

Today, the Chicago City Council approved a municipal ordinance that requires mandatory jail for those charged and convicted of gun offenses under the Chicago Municipal Code. The changes apply to those charged with violating the city gun ordinance and not the state gun laws. Therefore, these changes are expected to affect a small percentage of those charged with unlawful use of weapon UUW) in the City of Chicago. A first time UUW offense carries a minimum five day jail sentence, a second offense carries a minimum 15 days and a third offense carries a minimum of 30 days. In addition the fine for carrying a gun in the city will increase from $200 to $300.

The ordinance was approved without debate.

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 California Prison Case

Today, a panel of federal judges denied a request by the State of California to stay an order requiring that the state prisons reduce their population by 43,000 inmates in response to a lawsuit by 2 prisoners that the state's inability to provide proper and sufficient medical treatment to its prison inmates amounted to cruel and unusual punishment. In its opinion the court found that it has

"been more than patient with the state and its officials. Throughout the proceedings,

we have had considerable difficulty in determining their positions, in view of their

conflicting representations before this and other official bodies. We are persuaded

that it is not in the best interests of all concerned to act as swiftly as possible.

Further delays and obstruction will not well serve the people of the state and

will not be tolerated by this court."

California has already indicated that it intends to appeal the case to the United States Supreme Court. California is arguing that the federal government does not have the power to order that it reduce its prisoner population.

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 Taking Prisoner Case to Supreme Court

Today, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced that he will appeal to the United States Supreme Court a court order which will require that the State of California reduce it's prisoner population by 40,000 inmates. On August 4, 2009 we reported on the panel of federal judges ordering the State of California to reduce it's prisoner population by 27%, or about 40,000 inmates within 2 years. The decision was a result of a long running case alleging that the State of California was providing insufficient medical care and treatment to its inmates. The Court had sought other remedies in the lead up to this decision, but the State was unable to fix the problems. Finally, the panel of federal judges handed down the only decision they felt was appropriate because the State was simply unable to remedy the situation. Schwarzenegger agrees with the need to reduce the prison population but believes that the way to do it is through legislation and not by way of the courts. The issue has been complicated by the recent case of the paroled sex offender who kidnapped an 11 year old girl and held her for 18 years.

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 "No Refusal" Crackdown Is Back

Just when it looked like Kane County's "No Refusal" crackdown was on the ropes comes news that it will be back for Halloween. We first reported about this program, which is targeted towards catching drunk drivers, on July 1, 2009. Kane County authorities had announced that they would be conducting a crackdown for the fourth of July weekend. Just a few weeks ago, on August 12, 2009, we reported that Kane Countydis States Attorney John Barsanti was indicating that the program may be ended because of a lack of interest from local police agencies. Since that announcement, at least eight local police agencies have contacted Barsanti's office expressing interest in participating in the program. As a result, Barsanti has announced that a "No Refusal" operation will be conducted in a yet to be disclosed location in Kane County on Halloween. Since Memorial Day, 2008, three "No Refusal" operations have been carried out only resulting in 25 arrests. It's called "No Refusal" because judges are on the scene and police have the judges sign warrants if drivers refuse to submit to a breathalyzer test. The program has been criticized by many legal observers, including this author, for being an abuse of government power.

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.

Is Justice Stevens About To Retire?

Speculation is starting to simmer that Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens is about to retire. The speculation is caused by the fact that Justice Stevens has hired fewer law clerks than usual. Court observers believe that this may be the first sign that he is about to retire. The same thing happened earlier this year when Justice David Souter retired. Just before his announcement, court observers were stating that his lack of hiring law clerks was a sign that he was going to retire. Justice Stevens is 89 years old. He joined the court in 1975 when he was appointed by Republican President Gerald Ford. He is generally considered to be the most liberal justice on the court He has served 33 years and 8 months on the court, the seventh longest serving justice in history. He is the second oldest Supreme Court Justice behind Oliver Wendell Holmes. If he retires, it would give President Barack Obama his second appointment to the Supreme Court.

Court observers note that by this time of the year, Justice Stevens would normally have hired 4 law clerks. However, he has only hired 1. Former law clerks of Justice Stevens say that he ordinarily hires all his law clerks at one time. Justice Stevens has refused to say whether he intends to resign. We will keep an eye out for any developments.

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.