Recent Blog Posts
Medical Marijuana and the Gun Control Debate Take an Interesting Turn in Illinois
The firearms debate in Illinois has taken an interesting turn. The federal government's stance that a person should not both legally hold a firearm, while also having a prescription for medical marijuana, has recently appeared in Illinois' most recent draft of medical marijuana regulation. The criminal law attorneys here at the Law Offices of Cosmo Tedone and Barbara Morton, P.C. are carefully watching the implications of this interpretation, and its possible effect of criminalizing those medical marijuana users who are also legal gun owners under state law.
The Medical Marijuana-Firearm Debate
Additional Rights to Come for Same-Sex Couples in Illinois
Under Connecticut state law, same-sex couples are already afforded the same rights as their heterosexual counterparts. Now, the United States Justice Department's new guidance on how federal employees should treat and consider same-sex couples presents new rights for same-sex couples in Connecticut, as well as throughout the rest of the U.S.
The U.S. Justice Department's Announcement
In 2013, the landmark decision reached by the U.S. Supreme Court in U.S. v. Windsor struck down section three of the Defense Of Marriage Act (“DOMA”), which defined marriage as only between a man and a woman. The Justice Department has now released guidance on how the outcome in Windsor should be interpreted and carried out at the federal level.
Implementation of Illinois' Concealed Carry Law Raises Concerns
In 2013, Illinois passed the Family and Personal Protection Act, a concealed carry firearm law. The law requires Illinois residents to submit an application to the Illinois State Police Department for permission to legally carry concealed firearms in the state. Such permits are ultimately awarded by the state sheriff's department, and require that applicants be at least 21 years of age or older. Applicants must also have completed a 16-hour training course in order to be considered for a permit. Implementation of this law has already been criticized as being extremely lax, and thus not fulfilling the legislative intent evident in its passing.
Representatives Argue for Lower Drug Penalties in Illinois
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Illinois Credit Card Fraud Charges
Credit and debit card fraud schemes are a hot topic in the news lately with breaches at major department stores. Illinois officials are on the alert for fraudulent activity as well after two Bolingbrook men were recently arrested for credit card fraud involving spoofed computer addresses and purchased of electronics. Being accused of credit card fraud in Illinois is a serious matter requiring input from an Illinois criminal defense attorney. If you have been charged with fraud, your first step should be to contact a lawyer.
Criminal offenses regarding credit card and debit card fraud in Illinois include false statements to obtain a card, possession of another person's debit or credit card, possessing another individual's lost card, sale of another person's debit or credit card, using counterfeited cards, usage of an altered card, or any behavior involving account numbers or cards with the intent to defraud.
Illinois Stopped School Buses and Traffic Violations
There are serious consequences if you are accused of illegally passing a stopped school bus. With the majority of children hurt or killed in transportation to school sustaining injuries outside of the bus itself, Illinois authorities and courts are always on the watch for traffic violations near school buses.
For a first offense, you will receive a minimum mandatory fine of $150 and have your driver's license suspended for three months. If you have multiple offenses within five years, the mandatory minimum fine increases to $500 alongside a one-year suspension of your driving privileges.
Sadly, children can be hurt or killed anytime they are loading or unloading the school bus. When a school bus is stationary with a stop arm panel extended and flashing lights, motorists in Illinois are required to stop and wait until children have finished loading onto the bus or disembarked safely from the bus.
Off-Duty Cop Charged With Hit and Run Sentenced to One Year Supervision
An off-duty police officer who had been drinking when he slammed into a cyclist on the West Side last year was sentenced “to a year's court supervision and 30 days community service” in early March, according to the Chicago Tribune. Michael Bergeson, 33, was found guilty of failure to give information and render aid after the accident that left Nina Pilacoutas bleeding on the road. According to a statement Pilacoutas made, Bergeson “hit me with a truck and left the scene while I was bleeding heavily from my head… [he] is a coward and does not deserve to wield a badge,” reports the Chicago Tribune.
Bergeson was not sentenced to serve any time behind bars for the accident—a fact both Pilacoutas and her mother, Therese Fitzpatrick, say would not be the case if he was not an officer. The Tribune reports that Bergeson originally stopped and called the police from his cell phone when Pilacoutas was hit and thrown “briefly onto the hood of the pickup,” but prosecutors alleged that the cop drove off when he heard sirens from an approaching ambulance. “But his front license plate had been knocked off in the crash and was found by police, allowing them to identify him,” reports the Tribune.
Illinois Cracking Down on Revenge Porn
Revenge porn involves the online posting of intimate and/or pornographic photos and videos of another, without that person's consent. Though this would seem like an obviously illegal act, many states have failed to keep up with the times, and have yet to codify laws that criminalize such abhorrent acts. Luckily, here in Illinois, some changes seems to be coming when it comes to the criminalization of revenge porn. A new bill was introduced by Illinois State Sen. Michael Hastings in order to make the posting of revenge porn a felony under state law.
Property Division in Illinois—The Basics
One of the most difficult challenges during divorce is the separation of assets, or the division of property. Not only can this be an especially emotional aspect of the proceedings—because it forces the couple to go through their lives together piece by piece and literally split it apart—but expensive as well.
Illinois is an equitable distribution state, meaning that marital property is split evenly between the spouses, regardless of whose name is on ownership papers (ie: the deed to the house). According to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, there are several factors taken into consideration for equitable distribution. These include, but are not limited to:
- The contribution of each party to the acquisition or preservation to the value of the marital or non-marital property (“including the contribution of a spouse as a homemaker or to the family unit”);
Allocating Your Child's Post-Secondary Expenses Following Divorce
Sometimes, divorce decrees do not include an explicit obligation for a parent to pay for a child's post-secondary education. Though divorce decrees can govern child support and alimony payments, some issues may be left undecided in a divorce for the parties to determine in the future. In Illinois a heavily litigated topic is the determination of who is required to pay for unallocated post secondary education expenses, and how much of the expense should be borne by parents.
Divorce Decrees and Post Secondary Expenses
If an obligation to pay expenses is explicitly contained in a divorce judgment, even when the amount to paid is left out, the non-petitioning party will typically be required to pay college expenses incurred pre-petition. When a divorce decree does not provide for a child's post-secondary expenses, this issue is often reserved by general language that states that the parents “shall contribute” in such a way that will be decided in the future. Such allocations are typically not decided at the time of divorce, because it is unclear what sort of education the child will pursue, where this education will take place, and how much it will cost. The best practice is to file a petition for expenses before the child's first year in school. However, these petitions can be filed anytime while the child is in school, and even after the child has graduated and incurred all of the expenses necessary for their post secondary education.
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