Posted on August 14, 2014 in DUI

Despite a decades-long "war" on drugs in the U.S., drugs continue to be an issue that plague our streets and our highways. According to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD), more than 15 percent of nighttime, weekend drivers tested positive for illegal, prescription, or OTV medications. More than 10 percent tested positive for illegal drugs. Of fatally injured drivers in 2009, nearly 20 percent tested positive for at least one type of drug at the time of death. The number of people who died as a result of a drugged driver is even more sobering: nearly 4,000 drivers who were killed in 2009 were on drugs.

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 Posted on August 06, 2014 in Criminal Law

Across the country, in every state, jail cells are filled and stiff penalties are given every single day for offenses related to drugs and alcohol. Drug and alcohol offenders are notorious for being repeat offenders, and this can lead to complicated legal problems that carry large fines and possible extended (and in some cases permanent) incarceration. Studies have shown that up to 80 percent of inmates in state prisons and 70 percent of federal inmates have a history of substance abuse problems.

With a wave of prescription drug use and abuse sweeping the nation, the drug epidemic has never been more complex. Often the association of criminal behavior and substance abuse is explained by the dichotomy between drug defined offenses and drug-related offenses. Drug defined offenses are considered to be directly related to drug laws and the nature of the drug industry. Drug related offenses are infractions committed while under the influence of substances.

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 Posted on July 31, 2014 in DUI

Illinois has some of the toughest drinking and driving laws in the country, including a zero-tolerance policy for underage drinkers and felony charges for repeat offenders. Despite this, the problem of driving under the influence in Illinois continues to be a serious one.

According to the 2014 CyberDrive Illinois DUI Factbook, in 2012 there were more than 37,000 DUI arrests recorded by the Secretary of State’s Office. More than 300 people were fatally injured in an alcohol-related crash, accounting for 35 percent of all accident fatalities statewide in the same time period.

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 Posted on July 17, 2014 in Drug Crimes

Reported in a recent study funded by the Public Health Law Research, today’s driver who is arrested for driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) is much different than those arrested for the same criminal offense in 1993. Twenty years ago, a driver convicted of DUID was most likely younger and under the influence of cocaine or methamphetamines. But today’s DUID driver is more likely to be 50 years or older and most often tests positive for either marijuana or prescription drugs.

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 Posted on July 09, 2014 in Criminal Law

Summertime allows people to head outside and enjoy the weather, as well as all the free activities offered in Chicago and the surrounding areas. Drunk driving may seem like a problem more endemic to crime-ridden urban centers, but according to the Chicago Tribune, this summer season all police eyes are on the suburbs. Naperville’s arrest record for DUIs was the second highest number of drunk driving arrests outside of the City of Chicago in the state of Illinois, reports the Tribune. Police do not expect this to change any time soon, and will adjust their patrolling accordingly in such suburban areas, especially over holiday weekends like the one that just passed.

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 Posted on July 03, 2014 in Criminal Law

There are currently 22 states, along with Washington D.C., that are medical marijuana states. Another three states have pending legislation to change the law. This means that possession of marijuana, also referred to as cannabis, is allowed for medical use.

In Illinois, the law was signed by the governor in August, 2013. As of this writing, the state was still working to determine the requirements for a person to qualify. Some of the proposed rules include a fingerprint-based criminal history background check and an annual $100 application fee. The fee would be lowered to $50 for veterans and patients on Social Security Insurance and Social Security Disability Insurance.

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 Posted on June 27, 2014 in Criminal Law

Drinking and driving is widely understood to be a dangerous and possibly life-ending activity. And throughout the past decades several national and statewide practices have been enacted with the aim of curbing drunk driving and fatalities caused by it. For motorcyclists, however, the message can often get lost in the context of the subculture of motorcycles, at least according to Motorcycle.com. Motorcycle.com notes how the subculture that surrounds riding often involves drinking, and the incentive to stop drinking and riding has "done anything but gone away."

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 Posted on June 21, 2014 in Criminal Law

An Illinois judge recently ruled on the constitutionality of the state’s law against hazing. According to the Illinois Hazing Act, it is illegal for an official group that is associated with any educational institute (i.e. school sports teams, fraternities, sororities, etc.) to require a student to engage in activity that is not authorized by the school, and results in injury to the student, in order for the student to be admitted into the group.

The criminal classification for hazing is a Class A misdemeanor and a conviction could mean up to one year in jail and fine of $2500. If the act of hazing results in severe bodily injury or death, then the criminal classification is a Class 4 felony, with convictions carrying prison terms of one to three years and a fine of up to $25,000. An extended Class 4 felony conviction carries a prison sentence of three to six years.

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 Posted on June 13, 2014 in DUI

In the past decade, states have continued to increase coordinated efforts to stop or slow the rate of drunk driving accidents. According to the Illinois State Police, there are several levels of DUI charges and convictions in Illinois, though the state does have a zero-tolerance for underage drinking. This means that if a person is under the age of 21 and caught driving under the influence, he will be charged no matter what his blood alcohol level content was at the time of arrest (even if it was under the legal limit).

If an underage person is charged under the zero tolerance law in Illinois, his license will be revoked for three months if it is the first violation, or six months if he refused the blood alcohol test. If it is his second violation, his license will be revoked for up to one year, or two years if he refused the test. Neither stays on his permanent record. Yet an underage person in Illinois can also be charged under regular DUI laws. If an underage driver is arrested for DUI and his blood alcohol content is .08 or greater, he can receive a DUI conviction that stays on his permanent driving record.

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 Posted on June 07, 2014 in Criminal Law

The federal government recently announced a new clemency program that is targeted for drug offenders who are non-violent and are serving lengthy prison sentences due to the harsh sentencing practices from the 1980’s, when crack cocaine use had reached epidemic proportions. Many of those serving time would have much shorter prison terms under today’s sentencing guidelines. The program is also aimed at easing overcrowding in prisons and lowering corrections costs.

At a press conference announcing the new program, U.S. Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole said, "We are launching this clemency initiative … to quickly and effectively identify appropriate candidates … who have a clean prison record, do not present a threat to public safety, and were sentenced under out-of-date laws that have since been changed … this initiative is not limited to crack offenders."

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