Posted by John Callahan | Nov 15, 2016 |
Have you been investigated by Homeland Security or the Federal Bureau of Investigation for having inappropriate forms of pornography on your computer. As a criminal defense lawyer and a member of the Federal Trial Bar I have represented many clients charged with Child Pornography in both Illinoi...
Posted by John Callahan | Nov 08, 2016 |
I've represented many clients who have faced criminal charges for possession of an illegal narcotic substance. It is not unusual for a person who is charged with possession of an illegal drug to also face a charge of possession of drug paraphernalia. Sometimes my clients are so focused on their ...
Posted by John Callahan | Oct 19, 2016 |
I've dealt with thousands of criminal cases involving driving on Illinois roads, including some cases where the client's license was suspended or revoked. Unfortunately, I've also dealt with many clients who had a suspended or revoked license when the still get caught driving on Illinois roads. T...
Posted by John Callahan | Oct 08, 2016 |
Over the years I've handled many cases where an individual is accused of committing an illegal sex-related act. In some of these sex cases, if you are found or plead guilty to the crime, you may be required as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration Act. If you are registered as a se...
Posted by John Callahan | Sep 30, 2016 |
As a DUI lawyer who practices in Chicago I am writing to let you know that this Memorial Day weekend there will be several extra patrols of police out on the streets of Chicago. From roadblocks to extra police patrols, the police will be looking to arrest people for DUIs over this Memorial The...
Posted by John Callahan | Sep 30, 2016 |
If you have been arrested for a driving under the influence of alcohol charge in the past two weeks, you should know the action steps to take immediately following your arrest. As a driving under the influence of alcohol lawyer for the past 19 years, I have represented thousands of clients cha...
Posted by John Callahan | Sep 30, 2016 |
In the current DUI case, the State Trooper was dispatched to a call about a crash that had occurred on the ramp from Algonquin to Illinois Route 53 Northbound. Upon arrival, according to the Trooper, he spoke to a number of witnesses about the crash and the Trooper had information that the Rollin...
Posted by John Callahan | Sep 30, 2016 |
I've handled my fair share of drug cases over the years, and several of my previous clients have been placed on TASC probation for a drug offense. TASC probation is meant to help the accused kick their drug addiction so they can become a more productive member of society, and whenever a client i...
Posted by John Callahan | Sep 12, 2016 |
Through the many years I've been representing clients, I have seen numerous people charged with criminal sexual abuse. It is one of the more frequently-charged sex crimes, so I will discuss what criminal sexual abuse is, the potential sentences, and some possible defenses that may be raised.
Cr...
Posted by John Callahan | Aug 31, 2016 |
As I mentioned in my last post, Illinois recently passed a new law that changed the punishment for possession of less than 10 grams of marijuana. That law, Public Act 99-697, also changed how Illinois will look at DUIs relating to marijuana use.
Before Public Act 99-697, Illinois had a zero tol...
Posted by John Callahan | Aug 28, 2016 |
Over the years I have dealt with hundreds of clients who faced jail time due to a charge of possession of a controlled substance for small amounts of marijuana. But in July, the Illinois Legislature passed and Governor Rauner signed PUBLIC ACT 99–697, a law that substantially alters Illinois' ap...
Posted by John Callahan | Aug 20, 2016 |
Recently I wrote a blog post about Simple Predatory Criminal Sexual Assault of a Child. One thing I did not talk about was the possibility of being sentenced to life imprisonment if you were previously convicted of certain sex crimes.
Under the Illinois Criminal Code of 2012, if you have previo...
Posted by John Callahan | Aug 12, 2016 |
I've handled all sorts of sex cases over the years, including cases that involve a child as the alleged victim.
There are several things that must be shown for a judge or jury to find an individual guilty of Predatory Criminal Sexual Assault of a Child. For the most basic form of Predatory Crimi...
Posted by John Callahan | Aug 01, 2016 |
For years I have handled cases where someone who is in the Illinois Sex Offender Registry is accused of not registering when they are supposed to. One group of individuals who frequently run into issues registering are people who are homeless; because they don't have a home to register as where ...
Posted by John Callahan | Jul 26, 2016 |
A suspended or revoked license can be extremely hard to deal with, and many people are tempted to just drive anyway; after all, the state only takes your license, not your car. However, there are potentially serious consequences if you are caught driving on a suspended or revoked license. You c...
Posted by John Callahan | Jul 22, 2016 |
In the matter of ecstasy and possession of drugs, over my years representing clients accused of possessing various sorts of drugs, I have had several clients accused of possession of ecstasy who want to know what kind of punishment they may face.
MDMA, better known as Ecstasy, is a Schedule I dr...
Posted by John Callahan | Jul 21, 2016 |
What is a Vehicle for DUI Purposes in Illinois?
According to the Illinois Vehicle Code, in order to be guilty of a DUI, the prosecution will need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you were driving or were in actual physical control of a vehicle. In a recent post, I discussed what it me...
Posted by John Callahan | Jul 17, 2016 |
Having handled so many DUI cases over the years, I have seen several clients who were charged with a DUI but claimed that they were not driving the vehicle and argued that this meant that they can't be guilty of a DUI. According to the Illinois Vehicle Code, in order to be guilty of a DUI, the p...
Posted by John Callahan | Jul 15, 2016 |
I have been asked this question by numerous clients over the years. The short answer is that just being drunk is not a crime unless you are under the legal age. There is no statute in Illinois which makes it illegal to be drunk in public. In addition, there is actually a statute in Illinois th...
Posted by John Callahan | Jul 14, 2016 |
It is summertime, which means that school is not in session and we are in the heart of festival season, and with festival season inevitably comes some instances of underage drinking. During my many years of handling DUI cases, I have seen my fair share of clients under the age of 21 who are facin...
Posted by John Callahan | Jul 10, 2016 |
In DUI law, one of the biggest questions people have about what to do when pulled over for suspected drunk driving is, should I blow or not? The quick answer is unsatisfying: it depends. There are situations where the best response is to blow, and situations where it would be better not to.
Il...
Posted by John Callahan | Jul 08, 2016 |
In DUI law, most Americans remember the fourth amendment from high school civics class: it protects our right to privacy from the government. Police officers need probable cause or a warrant to search our person our property. The fourth amendment is complicated, and occasionally the Supreme Court...
Posted by John Callahan | Jul 04, 2016 |
Being the Fourth of July weekend, there is no doubt that many of you will participate in festivities this weekend. But while you should be careful on the roads every day, you need to be especially careful this weekend. There usually is an increase in DUI-related accidents on holidays and during...
Posted by John Callahan | Jul 03, 2016 |
With Independence Day right around the corner, this is the time of bottle rockets, roman candles, and firecrackers. But are fireworks legal to own and use in Illinois?
Unfortunately, most fireworks are illegal in Illinois if you do not have a permit. The Fireworks Regulation Act defines firewo...
Posted by John Callahan | Jun 27, 2016 |
In recent years, heroin use across the United States has skyrocketed, and because of this, more and more clients come to me facing possession of heroin charges. Often the first question out of a client who is charged with possession of heroin is what the penalties are for possession of heroin.
F...