by Tatiana Czaplicki | Dec 29, 2010 | Criminal Laws
A little less then a year ago, the Chicago Tribune did an expose on people who like to drive fast. As in 40+mph over the speed limit. In legal terms, that offense is Aggravated Speeding. It used to be, that if you had a clean traffic history, that both the State and... read more
by Tatiana Czaplicki | Sep 7, 2010 | Criminal Laws, Traffic Law
Fines for traffic violations (which include speeding) are set to increase on September 15, 2010. As if the current fine and fee structure weren’t high enough, the powers that be claim that the fines haven’t increased since 1992. Not sure I find that... read more
by Tatiana Czaplicki | Jun 16, 2010 | Criminal Laws
The US Marshall’s have created the Fugitive Safe Surrender Program. This initiative encourages persons wanted for non-violent felony or misdemeanor crimes to voluntarily surrender to the law in faith-based or other neutral settings. Already successful in many... read more
by Tatiana Czaplicki | Jun 4, 2010 | Criminal Laws, Random Thoughts
Big enough news that it made the ABA Journal. An Assistant Public Defender (APD) here in good ole’ Cook County was disgruntled over a Judges granting of a continuance on a Post Conviction matter. His reaction? To choke the Assistant State’s Attorney (ASA)... read more
by Tatiana Czaplicki | Jun 1, 2010 | Criminal Laws
In a ruling that seems to laugh in the face of Miranda v. Arizona 384 U.S. 436 (1966), the United States Supreme Court has ruled that suspects must verbalize that they want to remain silent when faced with questioning by the police.... read more
by Tatiana Czaplicki | Apr 1, 2010 | Criminal Laws
As a Chicago criminal defense attorney who enjoys serving many different ethnic communities, including my own, this ruling comes as a wake up call. I served as an Assistant State’s Attorney in Cook County for 5 years, and during that time I can count on one hand... read more