Author Archives: ChicagolandLawFirm

Qualified Immunity Restored in Excessive Force Appeal

A pair of Indianapolis cops are seeing their qualified immunity restored after judges in the Chicago-based US Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit ruled they had no guidelines to follow in dealing with a suspect who died on their watch. Terrell Day claimed to be short of breath after running away from mall security… Read More »

By ChicagolandLawFirm | Published March 2, 2020 | Posted in Uncategorized |

Lack of Convictions Spurs Search for Pot Test

Low numbers of arrests for driving high are perplexing the Illinois State Police, who are considering changes to the way they test for marijuana use behind the wheel. The search is on for a saliva test that can let cops know when a driver has consumed the drug. The kit would augment training that troopers… Read More »

By ChicagolandLawFirm | Published February 28, 2020 | Posted in Criminal Defense, Marijuana Law, Traffic Violations |

Suit Against VA Cops Proceeds in Federal Court

A man suing the Veterans Administration for malicious prosecution will be allowed to press his case, according to a ruling in federal court that denied the government’s motion for a summary judgement that would have dismissed the case. Victor Rayas sued the agency after a 2017 bench trial acquitted him on a directed finding that… Read More »

By ChicagolandLawFirm | Published February 27, 2020 | Posted in Uncategorized |

Judge Rules No Fruit Poisoned in Supressing GPS Search

A ruling in federal court will let the evidence in a jewelry store robbery collected when cops in Hinsdale gained illegal access to GPS data stand as it was gathered after they’d obtained warrants. Tobias Diggs and Joshua McClellan filed a motion to supress the subsequent searches of an SUV, a cell phone and social… Read More »

By ChicagolandLawFirm | Published February 26, 2020 | Posted in Criminal Defense |

Panel Cites Error in Lifting Time Bar on Estate’s Injury Claim

Legal action against a nursing home in the Cook County village of Niles may proceed after appeals court judges in the First District said a panel of their peers had erred in interpretating a precedent-setting case. The executor for Barbara Mickiewicz appealed a lower court’s dismissal for untimely filing of a personal injury claim against… Read More »

By ChicagolandLawFirm | Published February 25, 2020 | Posted in Probate and Estate Law |

Should Gun Owners be Fingerprinted?

The head of the Illinois State Police thinks so and is calling on legislators to take action. ISP Director Brendan Kelly wants the state Senate to pass SB 1966, which would require holders to provide a set of fingerprints upon renewal of their Firearms Owner Idenity Cards. First introduced in 1968, the cards enable the state… Read More »

By ChicagolandLawFirm | Published February 24, 2020 | Posted in Criminal Defense |

Lack of Asportation Moves Appeals Court on Kidnap Charge

The state’s failure to show evidence that a convicted robber intended to confine a clerk and her child when he knocked over a Chicago currency exchange in 2013 will see the man re-sentenced. This after an appeals court overturned a kidnapping conviction against Joel West rendered by a judge in Cook County Circuit Court. For… Read More »

By ChicagolandLawFirm | Published February 21, 2020 | Posted in Criminal Defense |

Chicago Alderman Immune From Parking Space Prosecution

A handicapped man’s suit against the City of Chicago fell in federal court after a judge there ruled that his alderman is protected by legislative immunity from charges that he blocked a request for a designated parking space out of malice. Boris Gudowich filed a civil right suit against the City of Chicago after his… Read More »

By ChicagolandLawFirm | Published February 20, 2020 | Posted in Uncategorized |

Split Appeals Panel Flushes Toilet Paper Payout

A restaurant worker who claimed an industrial-strength roll of toilet tissue necessitated her surgery when it fell won’t be enjoying the roll of long green awarded her by a jury. This after a divided appeals panel ruled that operators of the East St. Louis truck stop where she was injured could not have foreseen the… Read More »

By ChicagolandLawFirm | Published February 19, 2020 | Posted in Uncategorized |

Gas Station Pat Down Sinks Gun Rap on Appeal

A convicted felon is seeing the six-year jail sentence he received for carrying a loaded gun overturned after judges in the 1st District Appellate Court reversed a ruling that cops were within their rights to stop and frisk during their volunatary encounter at a Chicago gas station. Terry Flunder sought to have the derringer suppressed… Read More »

By ChicagolandLawFirm | Published February 5, 2020 | Posted in Criminal Defense |