With the rising number of mass shootings, some prosecutors have sought charges against the parties who provided the firearms to the mass shooter. For example, one Illinois man was recently convicted of illegally giving his son an assault-style rifle which the son later used in the 2018 Waffle House shooting in Tennessee.

            Under Illinois law, you can be charged with a felony for giving or selling a firearm to the wrong person under the wrong circumstances.  You commit the offense of unlawful sale or delivery of firearms when you knowingly sell or give any firearm to:

*  a person under age 18 where the firearm is of a size which may be concealed upon the person or where the person under 18 does not possess a valid Firearm Owner’s Identification Card 

* a person under age 21 who has been convicted of a misdemeanor other than a traffic offense or who has been adjudged delinquent

* any narcotic addict

* any convicted felon

* any person who has been a patient in a mental institution within the past five years. (The Waffle House shooter had undergone mental health treatment in 2016, two years prior to the attack.)

* any person with an intellectual disability

            If you are charged with unlawful delivery of a firearm, contact an experienced criminal law attorney immediately.  Do not try to talk your way out of the situation as you could instead hand the state the evidence they need to convict you.  An attorney can review your case for your best possible defense.  As with most criminal offenses, the state must prove all the elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt.  Did you knowingly give the person the firearm?  Does the person meet the law’s definition of a narcotic addict or patient in a mental institution or person with an intellectual disability?  Even if the evidence against you is overwhelming, an attorney who is respected in the courthouse may be able to negotiate a more favorable plea agreement than you can on your own.            .

      If you have questions about this or another related Illinois criminal or traffic matter, please contact Matt Keenan at 847-568-0160 or email matt@mattkeenanlaw.com.

(Besides Skokie, Matt Keenan also serves the communities of Arlington Heights, Chicago, Deerfield, Des Plaines, Evanston, Glenview, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Rolling Meadows, Wilmette and Winnetka.)

The post GIVING YOUR FIREARM TO THE WRONG PERSON: THE OFFENSE OF UNLAWFUL DELIVERY IN ILLINOIS appeared first on A SKOKIE CRIMINAL LAWYER EXPLAINS THE LAW 1-847-568-0160.

In People v Chairez, the court held that while the rest of the Illinois Unlawful Use of Weapons law remains constitutional, the section barring weapons within 1000 feet of a park did not pass muster. The court said the ends of protecting the public did not justify the means of banning the guns. Instead, the statue could punish potentially innocent conduct if a defendant unknowingly crossed into a prohibited zone near a park. Most troublesome was the lack of notice as to where the 1000-foot limit began or ended.

Following the above decision, the Appellate Court in People v. Green, struck down sections of the gun law barring possession of a firearm within 1000 feet of a school. In Green, a security guard with a valid FOID card was convicted of unlawful use of a weapon because he was standing with a loaded, accessible firearm across the street from a high school. The court said the state failed to show that limiting guns within 1,000 feet of a school mitigated violence. Again, a lack of notice as to where the 1,000 feet began and ended was problematic.

It is still illegal, however, to carry a gun inside a public park. In People v. Bell, the court said that a public park may be considered a sensitive place, warranting reasonable measures to protect the public especially since large numbers of people, including children, congregate there for recreation.

If you have been charged with a crime, contact an experienced criminal law attorney immediately. An attorney can review your case for its best possible defense. Perhaps the police lacked probable cause to stop you or perhaps the evidence against you was improperly seized. Even if the police acted legally and the evidence against you is overwhelming, an attorney who is respected in the court house may be able to negotiate a more favorable plea agreement than you could on your own.

If you have questions about this or another related Illinois criminal or traffic matter, please contact Matt Keenan at 847-568-0160 or email matt@mattkeenanlaw.com.

(Besides Skokie, Matt Keenan also serves the communities of Arlington Heights, Chicago, Deerfield, Des Plaines, Evanston, Glenview, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Rolling Meadows, Wilmette and Winnetka.)

The post ILLINOIS STATE SUPREME COURT STRIKES DOWN LAW BARRING GUNS WITHIN 1000 FEET OF A PUBLIC PARK OR SCHOOL appeared first on A SKOKIE CRIMINAL LAWYER EXPLAINS THE LAW 1-847-568-0160.

If you have been convicted under an Illinois gun or other law that was later declared unconstitutional, you may be able to ask the court to set your conviction aside. This is particularly important if your immigration status is at risk. Even if you are a citizen, your prior conviction may still be used to upgrade a future offense unless you act first.

In 2013, the Illinois Supreme Court struck down parts of the Illinois Aggravated Unlawful Use of a Weapon statute, stating that it was a flat ban on ready to use guns outside the home. (See People v Aguilar.) The affected parts said that a person commits aggravated unlawful use of a weapon when he or she knowingly carries an uncased, loaded and immediately accessible firearm on his or her person or in any vehicle except when on his or her land, home or place of business. Such an offense was a Class 4 felony.

Once a law is declared unconstitutional, it is considered unconstitutional from the beginning. But that doesn’t mean that your conviction disappears automatically. You must take action to clear your record. If you don’t, Illinois courts have held that the prior offense can be used to upgrade sentencing on a future offense.

In People v Smith, the defendant was convicted of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon based on his prior felony conviction under a gun statute that was later declared unconstitutional. The court held that because the defendant did not clear his felony status, his prior conviction could still be used as an element of the current offense.

If you were convicted under this or another unconstitutional statute, contact an experienced criminal law attorney immediately. An experienced attorney can help you work through the court system to have your conviction vacated.

If you have questions about this or another related Illinois criminal or traffic matter, please contact Matt Keenan at 847-568-0160 or email matt@mattkeenanlaw.com.

(Besides Skokie, Matt Keenan also serves the communities of Arlington Heights, Chicago, Deerfield, Des Plaines, Evanston, Glenview, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Rolling Meadows, Wilmette and Winnetka.)

The post IF A GUN LAW IS UNCONSTIUTIONAL, CAN MY CONVICTION UNDER THAT LAW BE SET ASIDE? appeared first on A SKOKIE CRIMINAL LAWYER EXPLAINS THE LAW 1-847-568-0160.

In Caetano v Massachusetts, the defendant obtained a stun gun in order to defend herself against an abusive boyfriend. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the state’s arguments that 1) stun guns were not common when the Second Amendment was enacted, 2) they are thoroughly modern and 3) they are not readily adaptable for military use. The court had previously ruled that the Second Amendment extends to the states and to weapons that had not existed when the Bill of Rights was written. Therefore, the Massachusetts’ ban on stun guns was unconstitutional.

If you are charged with unlawful possession of a weapon, contact an experienced criminal law attorney immediately. An experienced attorney can determine your best possible defense. If the police lacked probable cause to search you or your premises, an attorney may be able to petition the court to throw out the evidence against you. Even if the police acted properly and the evidence against you is overwhelming, an attorney who is respected in the courthouse may be able to obtain a more favorable plea agreement than you could on your own.

If you have questions about this or another related Illinois criminal or traffic matter, please contact Matt Keenan at 847-568-0160 or email matt@mattkeenanlaw.com.

(Besides Skokie, Matt Keenan also serves the communities of Arlington Heights, Chicago, Deerfield, Des Plaines, Evanston, Glenview, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Rolling Meadows, Wilmette and Winnetka.)

The post STUN GUNS FALL WITHIN SECOND AMENDMENT PROTECTIONS appeared first on A SKOKIE CRIMINAL LAWYER EXPLAINS THE LAW 1-847-568-0160.

Under the revised law, if you are carrying a firearm in an auto, police or emergency personnel may secure the weapon if they deem it necessary for the safety of any person present. (See 430 ILCS 66/10(h)(1).) If the officer or emergency personnel determine you are not a threat and that you are mentally and physically capable of possessing the gun, they may return it before releasing you from the scene. If you are turned over for treatment to another facility, your weapon must be turned over to a peace officer who will then issue a receipt.

The 2013 law allows a licensee to carry a concealed firearm in the immediate area surrounding his or her vehicle within a prohibited parking lot only for the limited purpose of storing or retrieving the weapon within the vehicle’s trunk. (See 430 ILCS 66/65(b).) Under the new law, you need not insure that the weapon is unloaded before it leaves your car.

The prior law required a physician, clinical psychologist or qualified examiner to notify the Department of State Police upon determining that someone is developmentally disabled. The new law applies to persons over age 14 and defines development disability as comparable to an indefinite intellectual disability that arose before age 18. The disability must cause significant functional limits in the individual’s ability to perform at least three of the following life functions: 1) self care, 2) receptive and expressive language, 3) mobility, 4) learning or 5) self direction. (See 405 ILCS 5/6-103.2.)

If you are charged with a weapons offense, contact an experienced criminal law attorney immediately. An attorney can review your case for your best possible defense. Even if the evidence against you is overwhelming, an attorney who is respected in the courthouse may be able to negotiate a more favorable plea agreement than you can on your own.

If you have questions about this or another related Illinois criminal or traffic matter, please contact Matt Keenan at 847-568-0160 or email matt@mattkeenanlaw.com.

Source Amendments to Concealed Carry Law.

(Besides Skokie, Matt Keenan also serves the communities of Arlington Heights, Chicago, Deerfield, Des Plaines, Evanston, Glenview, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Rolling Meadows, Wilmette and Winnetka.)

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