Sep 29, 2014
Police car search legal in Illinois is what the case law tells us. One does not have to search too far to find a case saying this. In podcast Episode 015 of the Criminal Nuggets Podcast I discuss a case where 7 year drug conviction was reversed, even though the officer said he smelled marijuana.
Sep 25, 2014
A knock and talk is a police tactic. The goal is to conduct a warrantless search of a home by walking up to the residence, engaging in conversation with the resident, ending in consent for the police to enter and search. For an example of how not to conduct a knock and talk, listen to Podcast Episode 014 of...
Sep 22, 2014
A change of venue due to pretrial publicity case is discussed in Podcast Episode 013 of the Criminal Nuggets Podcast. People v. Sheley, is the case that is discussed. It demonstrates, that a change of venue is hard to win in court.
http://illinoiscaselaw.com/pretrial-publicity-prejudice-not-a-problem/
[The...
Sep 18, 2014
The plea bargaining on a drug case with a defendant with a prior drug conviction can feel like a boxing match with one of the fighter’s arms tied behind his back. In my little analogy, guess which side has their arms tied down?
The prosecution had a pretty powerful tool they could use to hammer the defense and...
Sep 15, 2014
Involuntary manslaughter as a lesser included offense to murder, may seem like bucket one of the Buzo The Clown challenge. However, the case of People v. Smith, teaches us that actually getting this lesser included jury instruction may not be so easy after all.
The Case
People v. Smith was a murder trial....
