Criminal Justice

The newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on Criminal Justice

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2017 Articles

Despite the trial court’s incorrect statement of the maximum potential sentencing admonishment, the trial court subsequently complied with Ill. Sup. Ct. R. 401(a) and the defendant made a voluntary, knowing, and intelligent waiver of counsel By Kelly Doyle Coakley December 2017 In People v. Wright, the Illinois Supreme Court reversed the appellate court and affirmed the circuit court’s conviction.
HOUSE BILLS—Criminal, Juvenile & Traffic By Steve Baker April 2017 Recent legislation affecting criminal law practitioners.
Illinois Supreme Court confirms Peterson conviction By Mark K. Wykoff December 2017 The Supreme Court considered whether under separation of powers principles, the common-law doctrine of forfeiture by wrongdoing governed the admission of the hearsay statements.
The Illinois Supreme Court finds that a friends with benefits relationship does qualify for domestic relationship enhancements By Brittany B. Kimble December 2017 Despite both parties in People v. Gray testifying they were only “friends” and that neither had any interest in a romantic relationship, the Illinois Supreme Court found that the domestic relationship enhancement did apply.
New laws from the House By Steve Baker December 2017 Recent legislation of interest to criminal law practitioners.
People v. Castleberry: The death of the void-sentence rule By Mark K. Wykoff & Julia K. Wykoff April 2017 People v. Castleberry has changed the landscape for purposes of raising and preserving issues in higher courts—all members of the criminal bar must be mindful of this new precedent and govern their advocacy accordingly.
Plain and simple: The Illinois Supreme Court provides clarity for the burglary statute September 2017 The recent ruling by the Illinois Supreme Court in People v. Bradford, has finally resolved the split of authority regarding the application of the burglary statute amongst the Illinois Appellate Districts.
SENATE BILLS—Criminal, Juvenile & Traffic By Steve Baker March 2017 Recent legislation of interest to criminal law practitioners.
1 comment (Most recent March 17, 2017)
Sentence reduction legislation leaves defendants in limbo: What’s a defendant to do? By Steve Baker September 2017 Practitioners must carefully determine if their client’s offense is affected by the changes in the legislation and if so, opt under the Statute on Statutes for their client to be sentenced to the reduced sentence.
Text messages + suicide = involuntary manslaughter? Maybe. By Linda J. Watson September 2017 This summer, the world has watched with perplexity the trial of Massachussetts’ Michelle Carter (now 20), who was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter on June 16, 2017 for encouraging a suicide. The verdict has brought forth many questions of just how far technology is pushing the edge of criminal culpability.
Void ab initio doctrine does not retroactively invalidate probable cause based on a statute later held unconstitutional on federal constitutional grounds or on state constitutional grounds subject to the limited lockstep doctrine By James A. Shapiro December 2017 In People v. Holmes, the Illinois Supreme Court held that even though the aggravated unlawful use of a weapon statute was declared unconstitutional and therefore void ab initio, it was not so initio as to vitiate probable cause to arrest a defendant, even though the statute was declared unconstitutional after the arrest.