Lori G. Levin Criminal Law Blog

Today, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, in
ACLU v. Alvarez, No. 11-1286, ruled the the Illinois eavesdropping
statute restricts a medium of expression commonly used for the
preservation of communication and ideas in a manner that triggers First
Amendment scrutiny.
    The Court issued a preliminary
injunction for the prosecution of 720 ILCS 5/14-2(a)(1) where persons
audiotape the performance of police... Read More

      The State of Illinois' Office of the Auditor General recently
released a management audit of the Illinois State Police's
administration of the Firearm Owners Identification Card (FOID) Act.
http://www.auditor.illinois.gov/Audit-Reports/Performance-Special-Multi/Performance-Audits/2012%20Re leases/12-ISP-FOID-Act-Mgmt-Full.pdf
The Audit found the effectiveness of the FOID card program is limited
in promoting and protecting the... Read More

It may be trendy to wear clothing capable of concealing a gun in New York City, but concealing and carrying a weapon is still illegal in Illinois. The New York times recently published an article that stated that clothing manufacturers are producing clothing that hides handguns. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/24/us/fashion-statement-is-clear-the-gun-isnt.html?smid=tw-nytimes&am p;seid=auto
That article correctly notes that in Illinois it is illegal to conceal and carry weapons on one's... Read More

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   Frequently, persons inquire whether an emergency civil order of
protection may be expunged from the records of the Circuit Court.
Currently, as such an order is a civil matter, there is no means to
expunge such a case that is dismissed. This is unfortunate because although the proceedings are civil actions, as quasi-criminal proceedings, they sometimes carry the stigma of a criminal action. Legislation that was introduced
in the Illinois state... Read More

    Recently, the United States Department of Justice National Institute
of Corrections published a report, "You're An Adult Now. Youth in Adult
Criminal Justice Systems," which can be found at
http://static.nicic.gov/Library/025555.pdf. When I was Executive
Director of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, I sat
on the board of ReDeploy Illinois, the state's policy team to help keep
juvenile offenders in the... Read More

   
Today, the Illinois Supreme Court decided that a preschool is not a
"school" for purposes of enhancing the offense of Delivery of a
Controlled Substance to a Class 1 felony.  Illinois statute 720 ILCS
570/407(b)(2) states that Delivery of a Controlled substance when
committed within 1,000 feet of the real property comprising a school is a
Class 1 felony. In People v. Anthony Young, 2011 IL 111886 (December
15, 2011), the Illinois... Read More

   In Illinois, certain persons and professionals are mandated
reporters  of child abuse or neglect to the Department of Children and
Family Services under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, 325
ILCS 5/1, et. al. Failure to report suspected abuse or neglect can
result in state license disciplinary proceedings or criminal
prosecution.
    The statute has a lengthy definition of abused child
and covers a... Read More

  Approximately two months ago, in People v. Deny Quinonez, No.
1-09-2333, the Illinois Appellate court (1st Dist.), affirmed Illinois
law that a defendant's post-arrest silence cannot be used to
cross-examine him at  trial. This case is significant because it stated
that although the federal Constitution does not purport to prohibit the
use of silence prior to being given Miranda warnings, the Illinois law
has long prohibited such... Read More

In my practice, I continually deal with mental health issues, whether in
the criminal and juvenile justice arenas or when they factor into in civil cases. Many of these issues manifest themselves when the
afflicted are juveniles or young adults. When children's mental health
issues are virtually ignored, they will not disappear.
   Although most persons who suffer from mental illness never interface with the criminal or juvenile justice systems, many
... Read More