CASE HIGHLIGHTS

DRUG OFFENSES

UNLAWFUL POSSESSION OF A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE
A young client was charged with possession of cocaine in her automobile following a traffic stop by Lombard Police Officers. Following trial, our client was completely acquitted of all charges because the Judge said he could not be certain whose contraband it was, hers or her passenger's. Case closed.

An NBA professional basketball player was arrested for possessing 22 pounds of cannabis following a traffic stop and search of his vehicle. After establishing no probable cause for the initial stop and subsequent search of his vehicle, the case was completely dismissed.

Two of our clients had their drug charges thrown out a preliminary hearing after a judge found no probable cause to search. Additionally, the Judge determined the lab procedures by the State crime Lab inadmissible. All of the $3000 bond money was returned to the client.

UNLAWFUL DELIVERY OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE
A client with a Class X Felony delivery charge and facing 6-30 years in prison had his case reduced to probation and work release. We effectively established mitigating circumstances on our client's case and the State's Attorney agreed to reduce the charges and eliminate the otherwise mandatory prison term.

FELONY THEFT
A client accused of taking $10,000 in casino chips from a riverboat casino had his case reduced to a simple misdemeanor after it was determined the casino videotapes were not preserved adequately according to the courts "Emergency Order to Preserve Evidence" that was requested and obtained by our attorneys in a rare post arrest Emergency Motion.

AGGRAVATED BATTERY AND MOB ACTION
A client was acquitted following trial when the Judge ruled the State failed to prove their case after the Officer was cross-examined. The client avoided a felony conviction, jail time and loss of his job.

Four clients were found not guilty of aggravated battery and mob action after our private investigative team (off duty police officers) found an independent witness to exonerate our clients. Following the dismissal of the case, all four client's arrest records were expunged from their criminal history.

MURDER
Recently, a client was found not guilty of murder following a year long Court battle. The Cook County Judge threw out the case without our client ever testifying, based on questionable evidence. At trial, we effectively cross-examined two eye witnesses and essentially proved that they could not have accurately seen our client at 4:00 a.m. from their vantage point.

ATTEMPTED MURDER
A client charged with Attempted Murder who faced a prison term of 20-60 years in IDOC was released after only serving 120 days in a downstate boot camp. Our team of private investigators obtained statements from eyewitnesses (not in the police reports) that proved the alleged victim was high on cocaine and attacked our client. This enabled us to successfully plea bargain the case to Battery on a self-defense theory.

DUI

OFF DUTY ILLINOIS STATE TROOPER FOUND NOT GUILTY
An off-duty Illinois State Trooper was found not guilty of DUI following a bench trial. The State aggressively sought a conviction utilizing the testimony of several police officers and private citizens who all said our client was intoxicated. Through effective cross-examination and defense testimony, the Judge found our client not guilty of all charges including the traffic violations.

JURY FINDS FORMER ALDERMAN & STATE REPRESENTATIVE NOT GUILTY
A well-known Chicago Alderman & State Representative were acquitted by a jury following a two day jury trial. The client had allegedly fallen asleep behind the wheel at a traffic light and vomited when police asked him out of his vehicle. The jury was presented evidence of food poisoning and acquitted our client after only 40 minutes of deliberations.

BREATH REFUSAL CASE WON
A first offender was found not guilty following a bench trial even though the Officer testified that the defendant didn't pass any of the Field Sobriety Tests. Uniquely, the Officer also testified that our client had red, blood-shot eyes, strong odor of alcohol and slurred speech. The trial Judge ruled that although the defendant might have been under the influence of alcohol, the totality of circumstances did not amount to a conviction.

.21 DUI CASE DISMISSED
A client with a breath result of .21 was cleared of all charges after a short bench trial when the court ruled the defendant, who was sitting in his car, was not in actual physical control of the vehicle. Additionally, the client's suspension was also thrown out on other technical grounds uncovered during my initial investigation.

.16 DUI CASE REDUCED
A client on probation for another offense was protected from a violation when an attorney successfully proved that the Breath Test was not in compliance with IDPH rules and regulations. The Judge held the breath test inadmissible at trial and the state was forced to reduce the charges to Reckless Driving and Court Supervision. Additionally, the Judge threw out his one-year suspension period.

DUI CASE REDUCED ON DISPATCH TAPE EVIDENCE-EIGHT TICKETS THROWN OUT
As part of defense measures, the Illinois State Police Dispatch Tapes were subpoenaed to court for inspection. Following a detailed examination, it was determined that the State Trooper failed to follow proper arrest and test procedure guidelines. This 19 year old client had her license saved and the eight accompanying traffic tickets were dismissed.

DUI CASE WON FOLLOWING A MOTION TO DISMISS
A second offender was spared license revocation when we established no probable cause for the initial stop. An anonymous tipster called police and the police stopped the vehicle without independent observation of violations. The Judge threw out the charges based on research in case law.