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Peoria Court Affirms Home Invasion Sentence
A Peoria County appeals court recently affirmed the conviction of a man accused to participating in a home invasion. Defendant Jordan Tennon was convicted of home invasion and sentenced to 27 years in prison.
Tennon appealed his sentence alleging that the trial court abused its discretion in sentencing him to 27 years when the minimum sentence for home invasion was 21 years
Authorities accused Tennon and others of invading the home of a drug dealer in hopes of finding money and drugs. About $2,000 and some marijuana paraphernalia was stolen during the home invasion. Authorities say that some of the home occupants were also assaulted and that one of the occupants was pistol-whipped.
Tennon was allegedly found in possession of $1,000 and a handgun holster as he ran outside of the house and attempted to flee through the home's backyard. Tennon allegedly admitted to participating in the heist and directed officers to the location of the gun.
In claiming that his sentence was excessive, Tennon pointed out that he was 19 years old at the time of the robbery and had no prior criminal history.
The Legality of Terry Stops Involving Informants in Illinois
Illinois residents are protected against illegal searches and seizures under the state and federal constitutions. Challenging the legality of a police search is an effective way to combat many criminal charges because prosecutors cannot use evidence which has been illegally obtained.
Chicago police officers have the right to stop and question a person if they have a "reasonable suspicion" that criminal activity is afoot. These stops are often called "Terry Stops" because they were legalized in a landmark Supreme Court case called Terry v. Ohio.
In that case, the Supreme Court held that "an officer may, within the parameters of the fourth amendment, conduct a brief, investigatory stop of a citizen when the officer has a reasonable, articulable suspicion of criminal activity, and such suspicion amounts to more than a mere 'hunch.' "
The legality of a Terry stop depends on the totality of the circumstances. Courts look at many factors in determining whether an officer had a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity.
Rupert Murdoch reaches divorce settlement
Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch recently reached a divorce deal with his wife Wendi Deng Murdoch.
The Associated Press reports that the couple shook hands and hugged outside of the courthouse.
"We are pleased to announce that we have reached an amicable settlement of all matters relating to our divorce," the couple said in a prepared statement. "We move forward with mutual respect and a shared interest in the health and happiness of our two daughters."
Rupert Murdoch is an 82-year-old business tycoon who is originally from Australia. He's currently the CEO of News Corp and 21st Century Fox. His net worth is around 13 billion dollars.
Chinese-born Wendi Deng is Rupert Murdoch's third wife. She married Murdoch in 1999, about three weeks after he divorced his second wife. The couple has two children together.
The split will not likely have a large impact on Murdoch's business dealings. The Associated Press reports that Rupert Murdoch controls his companies through a family trust that benefits his children from his previous marriages.
Illinois Court Rejects Lake County Mother's Child Support Garnishment Case
The Supreme Court of Illinois recently rejected a Lake County mother's attempts at garnishing her ex-husband's paycheck for child support.
The case involves a woman named Jennifer Schultz. She filed a complaint in Lake County circuit court against Performance Lighting, Inc., her husband's employer. The woman wanted to recover the $100 statutory penalty from the company for failing to withhold child support from her ex-husband's paychecks.
Child support wage garnishment is a process that demands strict adherence to statutory requirements. One of the requirements under Illinois's Income Withholding for Support Act is that a child support order needs to contain the name and social security number of the person whose wages are to be garnished.
In this case, the employer ignored the mother's request for wage garnishments because she failed to include her ex-husband's social security number in her notice of withholding. Moreover a "Uniform Order for Support" issued by a district court also did not include the social security number or name of the husband.
Far South Side Crash Results in DUI Charges for Chicago Man
A Chicago man has been charged after allegedly causing a crash that injured nine individuals, including four police officers.
Authorities say that the crash happened on the Far South Side last week when the man was traveling in a Nissan Altima on the 10200 block of South Indianpolis Avenue. CBS Chicago reports that the man hit an unmarked police car conducting a traffic cop shortly after midnight on Monday and caused a chain reaction.
Chicago Police News Affairs Officer Jose Estrada says that the 69-year-old man's car rear-ended the squad car. The police car was pushed into a Chevy Tahoe and another cop car assisting with the stop was also hit.
The driver faces a host of charges including felony aggravated DUI causing an accident involving bodily harm. The man was also charged with two misdemeanor DUI counts, and negligent driving.
Drunk driving charges can be fought in several ways including demonstrating that a blood-alcohol test was conducted using faulty test equipment or that the person conducting the test was not qualified.
Authorities Charge Joseph Mollica with accepting bribes
Federal authorities recently charged a former Cook County Forest Reserve District engineer with accepting "kickbacks" in the course of two district contracts.
Networking is an important part of many major business deals. Often individuals who are responsible for making a business deal or contract happen receive incentives from a grateful contractor or business partner.
While these incentives are common and accepted in the private sector, these types of arrangements can result in serious charges against public employees.
Federal authorities charged Joseph Mollica, a former engineer for the Cook County Forest Preserve, with federal bribery. Authorities say that Mollica had the ability to influence and award contracts for public work done under $25,000 and use this power to accept cash payments from contractors.
"Together, the indictment and complaint allege that on Oct. 14, 2011, Mollica accepted a $6,000 kickback from a $24,900 contract to refinish and refurbish the Forest Preserve District's headquarters building, where he worked, located at 536 N. Harlem Ave., in River Forest," Federal authorities said in a press release. "On Dec. 16, 2011, he allegedly accepted a $4,000 kickback from a $16,500 contract to power wash and stain the building and boardwalk and do caulking at the Sand Ridge Nature Center in Calumet City."
Illinois Divorce Law Primer: When Marital Property is "Transmuted"
Property settlements tend to be one of the most complex areas of Illinois divorces. The division of marital assets is often highly emotional and has long-lasting consequences for the partners involved.
The division of marital property is typically controlled by the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act.
The Act generally carves out property acquired before marriage from the marital estate. This means that things which you owned before the marriage cannot be taken by your spouse during a divorce.
That is, unless these items have been "transmuted."
When Illinois Property is Transmuted into a Marital Estate
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word "transmuted" means "to completely change the form, appearance, or nature of something."
Under Illinois law, property that who acquired prior to a marriage can be transmuted, or changed, into marital property under certain circumstances.
Generally nonmarital property is transmuted when it is comingled or otherwise mixed into a marital estate for the purposes of reimbursement or there other evidence that of an intention that the nonmarital property was intended to be gifted to the marital estate.
Cassandra Feuerstein sues Skokie after DUI arrest
The village of Skokie is being sued by a Chicago woman who claims she was brutalized by police officers after her DUI arrest last winter.
The Chicago Tribune reports that 47-year-old Cassandra Feuerstein had to undergo facial reconstructive surgery after she was shoved headfirst into a jail cell bench by a police officer who arrested her for DUI.
The woman's attorney says that the entire incident was caught on the jail's video surveillance system.
"The video speaks for itself," attorney Torreya Hamilton said. "She does nothing to justify what this male police officer does."
The village of Skokie characterizes this as an isolated incident and says that all officers who were present during the time of the incident were interviewed.
"The Village of Skokie is committed to reaching a full resolution in this matter," village officials said.
The woman pleaded guilty to DUI and is suing the Skokie of an unspecified amount in damages.
Determining what is marital property in Illinois
A Cook County divorce is similar to the dissolution of a business relationship. Aside from the issues of child and spousal support, the division of property can be one of the most complex and time-consuming aspects of the divorce process.
Generally items that are purchased prior to marriage, but in contemplation of marriage are considered marital property.
When determining whether something acquired before marriage is marital property, courts look at the "totality of the circumstances" and consider factors such as:
- The proximity of time between the acquisition of the property and the marriage.
- Whether the equity in the property was acquired with joint money (marital funds).
- Evidence that the couple tended to use the property jointly (such as a marital home)
- Whether both of the spouse's names appear on the offer sheet or title of the property.
The way that courts weigh and consider these factors can be heavily influenced by the persuasiveness of your attorney, so it is important to consult with an experienced Cook County divorce attorney as early in the divorce and asset division process as possible.
Appealing an Illinois Child Support Modification
It is possible to appeal a family court's modification of a child support order in Illinois. Typically an appeals court will not reverse a family court's factual findings used to make a child support modification unless they are against the "manifest weight" of the evidence.
In addition to not typically disturbing a trial court's factual findings, a Cook County appeals court will usually not change a child support modification unless it constitutes an abuse of discretion.
Courts have wide range of latitude in deciding child support cases, so it is rare that an appeals court will find that a family court abused its discretion.
There have been cases however where Illinois court have terminated a noncustodial parent's obligation to pay child support on appeal. These cases typically involve "extreme and unusual" allegation concerning the custodial parent's behavior.
These allegations have to go further than alleging that a parent merely violated the terms of visitation. Parents have typically had to show that the custodial parent has actively interfered with the relationship that the noncustodial parent has with his or her children.
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