As social media platforms continue to grow, their prevalence in the courtroom does as well. According to the Pew Research Center’s “Social Media Use in 2021” upwards of 70% of adults in the United States have at least one active social media profile. Because of this plethora of information freely disseminated online, law enforcement officers […]

Today, one of our founding attorneys, Jonathan James, was able to secure a directed verdict after a jury trial in Stephenson County. Our client was charged with resisting or obstructing a peace officer. The arresting officer claimed that our client had obstructed a completely separate investigation after a traffic stop spilled over into our client’s […]

The volumes that make up criminal law statutes are exhaustive. Daily, depending on the jurisdiction, criminal law changes. It can be scary if you find yourself involved in a criminal case. You’ll be comforted to learn that many cases do not make it to trial. For example, in the fiscal year of 2018, while roughly […]

We hear it in movies and on TV all the time, but what is probable cause and why is it important?  Probable cause is the burden of proof that a police officer must meet prior to placing someone under arrest or performing a search.  The reason it is important is if a police officer arrests […]

In Illinois, everyone charged with a criminal offense has a right to have their case set for a trail, either in front of a judge, referred to as a bench trail, or a jury.  At a jury trial, it is twelve persons from the community that decide the question of guilt or innocence, whereas at […]

Every January 1st in Illinois brings with it, cold temperatures, heavy snow, and usually a ton of new laws on the books. However, because 2020 was like no other year, only a handful of laws will go into effect on 1/1/21. In contrast, in January of 2020, more than 200 laws and policies went into […]