The 2018 state-by-state U.S. crime statistics have been released, and, unfortunately, Illinois ranks in the top 20 states for violent crime. Specifically, a report in USA Today ranks Illinois number 19 in terms of the number of violent crimes reported in our state...
Violent Crimes
What is the chain of custody?
When it comes to criminal cases, the evidence is incredibly important. For your defense, you want to disprove any evidence that is against you or try to show it violates the law in some way. One common defense strategy is to prove there is an issue with the chain of...
What are the elements of first-degree murder?
In the American criminal justice system, each crime has its own set of elements, i.e., the things that the prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt in order to convict the defendant. At the very least, each crime must contain the defendant’s voluntary...
Assault and battery are different violent crimes
Criminal laws on violence may be confusing. In Illinois, assault and battery are different violent crimes with distinct consequences. Homicide, kidnapping, sex offense and bodily harm are the major crimes that are committed against people in Illinois. Assault and...
Would-be Illinois law seeks adjustments to solitary confinement
We submit at the Illinois Metro East criminal defense firm of Sullivan Law that the following tale with resonate with many of our blog readers. They might reasonably regard it as a ready catalyst for a fundamental change to the state’s current practice regarding...
Spotlight on domestic violence and Orders of Protection
We spotlighted the criminal charge of domestic violence in our immediately preceding Sullivan Law blog post. We noted in our March 11 entry that a charge/conviction in Illinois “can relate to an impressively broad range of conduct.”The expansive universe...
What does the realm of criminal domestic violence encompass?
A lot.Without mincing words, the bottom-line reality concerning domestic violence in Illinois is that allegations of wrongdoing and subsequent criminal charging/conviction can relate to an impressively broad range of conduct. Police in all areas of the state routinely...
The complex, sometimes subjective realm of domestic violence
Some alleged criminal activity features facts that reasonably seem to be straightforward and sometimes even certain. We will leave readers to their own imaginations in contemplating such scenarios.Yet we will also note this at the proven criminal defense Sullivan Law...