Wednesday, May 31, 2017

High court backs cops who barge into homes

A recent U.S. Supreme Court case made it harder to sue police for barging into a home and provoking a shooting.  The case rejects the provocation rule wherein police can be sued for violating a victim's constitutional rights against unreasonable searches if they provoked a confrontation that resulted in violence.  The ruling holds that police cannot be held liable for injuries they caused as part of a search unless the search itself is unreasonable.

Friday, May 19, 2017

Eliminate statute of limitations on sex cases

A proposed law has been sent to Governor Rauner, which he is expected to sign,  would eliminate the statute of limitations for all of the serious sex offenses, including criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse, when committed against someone under 18 years of age.
Effectively, the move would eliminate the statute of limitations for cases in which the current legal time limit hasn't yet expired.

Sunday, May 14, 2017

Lawyer Suspended For Swearing At Trial.

A Chicago area lawyer was suspended for 90 days from practicing in the Northern District of Illinois after she was accused of using profanity in front of a jury.  In an order issued by the federal court's executive committee, the attorney's conduct by rolling her eyes and using the "F" word prejudiced the administration of justice. In addition she was also barred from participating as lead attorney in any trial for a full year and ordered to take ethics and professionalism classes.

Thursday, May 11, 2017

Changes to Illinois Continuing Legal Education

On April 3, 2017, the Illinois Supreme Court announced changes to a rule impacting the requirements for continuing legal education (CLE) in Illinois. The rule change will go into effect on July 1, 2017, and begins with attorneys with the two-year reporting period ending June 30, 2019.
Pursuant to Amended Supreme Court Rule 794(d), Illinois lawyers will be required to complete one hour of diversity and inclusion CLE and one hour of mental health and substance abuse CLE as part of the Professional Responsibility CLE requirement. 

Monday, May 1, 2017

Drug Impaired Driving

A recent study indicates drug impaired driving is now a bigger problem in the U.S. than drunken driving  Forty three percent of slain drivers with known results tested positive for drugs, compared to 38 percent for alcohol in 2015 data.