Owning a firearm in the Prairie State requires navigating a series of legal steps to help ensure compliance with state regulations. One of the primary legal documents needed to own or possess a firearm in the state is the Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) card....
Those accused of crimes in the United States benefit from a presumption of innocence. Members of the public and those involved in the criminal justice system should not assume someone is guilty until the courts reach a verdict in their case. Criminal defendants are...
If there is one civil right related to criminal charges that most people know, it is probably the right to remain silent. It is part of the Miranda warning, which many people can recite due to watching movies and TV shows with criminal justice storylines. Despite...
The Fourth Amendment protects individuals from unreasonable property searches and seizures. Illinois police officers need a legal justification to go through someone's home or vehicle. Sometimes, officers have probable cause to suspect a crime based on certain...
White-collar criminal charges involve accusations of fraud, embezzlement or other financial crimes. Companies sometimes refer cases to prosecutors. Other times, regulatory authorities indict specific people after an investigation. Those accused of white-collar...
One of the most stressful occurrences during an Illinois traffic stop involves a police officer asking a motorist to exit the vehicle. At that point, the driver probably knows they will need to perform field sobriety tests. People worry about the embarrassment that...
It’s clear that search warrants do not give police officers the ability to do whatever they want. There are many restrictions that both homeowners and officers need to be aware of, including different ways in which the scope of a search warrant can be limited. It’s...
Embezzlement is a very specific form of theft that involves someone abusing a position of trust to misappropriate resources, generally from their employer. People often imagine someone who is employed by an accounting firm or who occupies an executive suite when they...
Like many other states, Illinois has a drug court program. This is a legal system specifically set up for those who are accused of drug offenses. If you are facing these charges, or if you end up facing them in the future, it’s important to know how this works and why...
If the police have a warrant to search your home, they are legally allowed to enter the house. These warrants can have restrictions, such as saying what part of the house they can search, but the warrants also do give permission to override your consent. Often, the...