A SKOKIE CRIMINAL LAWYER EXPLAINS THE LAW 1-847-568-0160

An officer generally must have a warrant in order to search you or your property unless an exception to the warrant requirement exists. One exception is that you consented. But did you really? While this may seem like a straightforward yes or no question, the facts can be murky, and different judges may interpret the same facts very differently.

To prove consent, the state must show you did so freely and without coercion. Consent cannot be extracted by implied threat or covert force. If your consent was nonverbal, the court will look at whether you intended to consent or were merely acquiescing to authority.

For example, in People v. Banta, the officer asked the defendant if he could search his person. The officer testified that the defendant “did not tell me no.” Video of the incident did not have sound so that the court had to infer whether defendant gave consent through his body language. The court held that even if defendant had not verbally refused, his lack of protest was insufficient to establish voluntary consent, and that the state had failed to meet its burden of proof.

If you have been charged with a criminal offense, contact an experienced criminal law attorney immediately. Did you agree to the search? Was your consent voluntary? If not, an attorney may be able to petition the court to suppress any evidence resulting from an illegal search.

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.)

(UPDATE: The Lewis case below was upheld by the Illinois Supreme Court in People v. Lewis on June 24, 2022).

A friend of a friend asked you to help them get some narcotics. You don’t do drugs yourself, but you don’t have a problem with other people using them. At first, you said you couldn’t help, but the person kept badgering you until finally you gave in. Turns out the person was a police officer and you are now charged with dealing.

Is this entrapment?

Quite possibly. To plead entrapment in your defense, you must present at least slight evidence that (1) the State induced you to commit the crime, and (2) you were not otherwise predisposed to do so. Once the trial court accepts your slight evidence, the State must then prove beyond a reasonable doubt why the entrapment defense does not apply. Your predisposition can be shown by proof that you were ready and willing to commit the crime without persuasion and before your initial exposure to government agents.

For example, in People v. Lewis, the defendant was accused of various sex offenses stemming from an online relationship with a child. The defendant, however, presented evidence that he had no predisposition to a sexual interest in children and that an officer was the first person to bring up the possibility of sex with minors and persisted in pursuing that option even after defendant showed he was not interested.

If you have been charged with a criminal offense, contact an experienced criminal law attorney immediately. An attorney can review your case for its best possible defense. Were you pushed into the crime? Even if you weren’t, an attorney who is respected in the courthouse 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.)

In Illinois, you commit battery if you knowingly without legal justification by any means (1) cause bodily harm or (2) make physical contact of an insulting or provoking nature with an individual. (See 720 ILCS 5/12-3).

Under Illinois law, “knowingly” means you were consciously aware that your conduct was practically certain to cause a particular result. In People v. Jackson, 2017 IL App (1st) 142879, the defendant did not act knowingly because he did not understand what was happening to him and appeared to be suffering from a psychological issue. Being drugged or intoxicated, however, is not a defense, unless your intoxication was involuntary, and you were deprived of the substantial capacity to appreciate the criminality of your conduct.

If you had legal justification, you may wish to raise it as a defense. Illinois courts have upheld legal justification where a defendant was attempting to break up a fight, but not where the defendant was attempting a citizen’s arrest on a municipal ordinance violation.

The definition of “bodily harm” or “insulting physical contact” can be rarther vague. It seems pretty clear that stabbing or punching someone would cause bodily harm. Short of that, an offensive contact is something that might provoke a breach of the peace. Illinois courts have cited spitting or pushing. In People v. Williams, the court held that contact was still provoking or insulting even when the victim is unconscious.

If you have been charged with a criminal offense, contact an experienced criminal law attorney immediately. Can the state prove all the elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt? An attorney can probe for weaknesses in the state’s case and present your case in its most favorable light.

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.)