I Have a Warrant For My Arrest…Now What?

Frequently our office is contacted by people who learn that they have a warrant for their arrest.  There are a number of ways that people can get warrants for their arrest, sometimes because of reasons they are aware of, sometimes not.

The first way to get a warrant for your arrest is to have been involved in suspected criminal activity and have a  warrant for your arrest brought against you by local law enforcement.  This can happen if you are accused of being part of a crime that police are only informed of later.  Or if there is a large criminal organization and you are accused of being a part of it.  Sometimes it happens if you’re accused of a fraud or crime where the effects are only learned upon a longer investigation.  Either way, you may not even know that a warrant is in the works against you until the police are at your door or you are pulled over on the side of the road.

Another way to get a warrant for your arrest is to miss court.  A judge can issue a warrant for your arrest if you fail to appear after you’ve been asked to come.  Warrants normally only issue on misdemeanor or felony cases.  If you miss a traffic case or local ordinance violation a judgment is normally taken against you.

The last way a warrant can go out against you is if you do not complete certain requirements of a sentence after you were supposed to.   A sentence that requires either payment or community service and you fail to do either can result in the judge issuing a warrant to bring you to court and explain why you haven’t done what you were ordered to do.

If you have a warrant for your arrest, what can you do?  You can either turn yourself into to your local law enforcement agency, or the one that issued the warrant if it’s not yours, or you can go to court and appear before the judge and ask the warrant to be “quashed” or removed.  Either way, contacting a lawyer first is always the best idea.

If you found out that you have a warrant for your arrest, call Botto, Gilbert, Schotttland and Lancaster, P.C. at (815) 338-3838 and ask to speak with Robert Deters.  We can help.  If you have a warrant in Kane County, Boone County, McHenry County or Cook County, we’ll be there to give you a hand.

No Refusal Weekend in Du Page County, Labor Day 2011

We have brought up the issue of No Refusal Weekends, where cooperation between local law enforcement, the State’s Attorney’s office and a local judge result in a DUI roadblock where you cannot refuse to give blood, breath or urine.

The way these roadblocks work is simple. If you are stopped and they believe you may be under the influence of alcohol, the police will make you pull over to a special area. You will be asked to perform field sobriety tests. You will also be asked to blow into a breathalyzer. If you refuse, you will be asked to give blood. If you refuse THAT, the police will get a search warrant for your blood, which you cannot refuse. You will then be escorted into an ambulance where you will be forced to give a vial of your blood.

These types of roadblocks will be up all weekend in DuPage County, their locations will not be given prior to them being put into place. If you are pulled over and run into DUI trouble in DuPage County, give us a call at (815) 338-3838.

Your Search Term Questions Answered!

One neat thing about this blog is that we can see what you, the reader, is putting into your search engine that leads you here. Sometimes we see some pretty interesting questions asked that way and today, we’re going to do our best to answer them. Many of them have been answered by prior posts, so when appropriate, we’ll put the link into our answer. Here are some of our more frequently asked questions.

1. What are the new criminal laws in (put your state here)

It seems that looking up new criminal laws is an important question on people’s minds. We have had people come to this blog looking for new criminal laws in Illinois. However, we’ve also had people arrive here looking for laws in Mississippi, Arizona, Louisiana, Arkansas, those made by Congress, and those being proposed in the Illinois State Legislature. And that’s just in the last 30 days! Apparently this is not a frequently updated area of the web (or it’s hard to find). Most state legislatures will post new laws on their websites. However, we did a quick summary of them you can read and

2. What are the new retail theft laws?

This falls under the new Illinois criminal laws and you can go to the first link above to get your answer. The easy answer is that it is a misdemeanor if you steal less than $300 and a felony if you steal more than $300 worth of merchandise from a retail establishment. The law used to be that if you stole more than $150 it was felony, but recently the legislature raised the amount that must be stolen to get you to a felony charge.

3. Could K-9 go inside your car without a warrant?

If you you will get a longer answer to this question. Generally, a K-9 officer (drug sniffing dog) cannot go INSIDE your car without a warrant. However, they can go around it, and now, according to Illinois law, an officer can ask you to close your doors and windows and crank up your heat, thereby forcing air out of your car to help the dog sniff it. If the officer thinks you are using or possessing drugs then the K-9 could go inside your car.

4. What happens when I get a speeding ticket in my personal car when I have a CDL?

We and noted that even in your personal vehicle, a CDL holder can risk losing their CDL privileges for a period of time if convicted of a serious traffic violation. So, treat every moving violation seriously and consider calling us if you get a ticket, even in your own car.

5. What is day for day credit in Illinois?

This may never have been addressed by our blog, so here’s a quick answer. Most jail and prison sentences in Illinois carry with it a “day for day” credit, which means you would serve only 50% of any sentence imposed. In other words, a six-month jail sentence is finished in three months. However, plenty of crimes carry with it 85% sentences, some carry with it no day for day credit (first degree murder, for instance) and others have mandatory minimum jail sentences. So, consult a lawyer because it is NOT a guarantee that your jail sentence will just be half of what you were sentenced.

As always, we will try to answer your questions to the best of our ability. However, most legal questions are too complicated to answer unless you make an appointment to come see us or call us. So go ahead and call us at Botto, Gilbert, Schottland and Andrle, P.C. at (815) 338-3838 if you need your questions answered. We represent criminal defendants in Cook County, McHenry County, Kane County, Boone County and Winnebago County.

Serious Traffic Violations and Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) Holders

If you drive a commercial vehicle for a living, you know how important it is to maintain your driving record in good condition. In Illinois, there are certain moving offenses that can disqualify (or DQ) your CDL for 60 days if you plead guilty to them, even if you receive supervision.

CDL holders are not given a break when they go to court. A regular Class D license holder (someone who only drives a personal automobile, or a vehicle under 16,000 pounds) can plead guilty to a moving violation and get supervision and it is considered a “deferred prosecution.” This has a number of advantages. As explained in our if you get supervision imposed in court, you have a few of advantages. The moving violation is not part of your public driving record, meaning your insurance company won’t know. If you finish your obligations successfully (no new movers in the period of supervision, pay your fine, do traffic safety school if ordered) then it is not considered a conviction, which help prevent possible license suspensions.

CDL holders get no such advantage. If you drive a commercial vehicle you will get a “supervision conviction” that will DQ your license and still affect you.

What are serious traffic violations? Most moving violations are. They are too numerous to list, but they include any speeding ticket over 10 mph of the limit, improper lane usage, passing incorrectly, following too closely and a host of other violations. If you are moving and commit a traffic violation, chances are pleading guilty to it and getting supervision will prevent you from driving on your CDL for 60 days. This includes your personal vehicle, so if you get a moving violation in your OWN CAR, not in your work vehicle, it will still DQ you. You do NOT want this to happen.

So, if you drive for a living, call Botto, Gilbert, Schottland and Andrle, PC at (815) 338-3838 and make sure you talk to one of our criminal defense and traffic attorneys to make sure you are protecting yourself.

“The Pitfalls of Paying for Your Operating a Vehicle Without a Safety Certificate Directly With the Circuit Clerk”

The scenario: you get a ticket in McHenry County because of an expired safety certificate. You go to court and the judge tells you that —being the nice guy he is—he will give you a continuance to get an attorney OR that you can go pay for the ticket at the window, thereby avoiding court costs, which can easily go for three to four times the amount of a fine if the judge were to give you one in open court. In a way, the judge is being considerate. By encouraging you to pay directly at the circuit clerk’s window, you will save a lot of money compared to if the judge imposes a fine on you for this charge. Saving money generally makes people happy.

However, what the judge doesn’t explain to you is that this offense is a class C misdemeanor and by paying for it at the window you are receiving a conviction. This may never affect you in your life. It may never be a problem. But technically, when you apply for a job, if they ask about misdemeanor convictions, you now have one. Also, if you find yourself in a bind in the future with another misdemeanor offense and you receive supervision, and would like to expunge that record, this “nice gesture” will prevent you from doing so. Also, misdemeanor convictions could affect your qualifications for apartment rentals and loans.

So, what are your options? Well, you could ask the judge for supervision. Be prepared to pay three to four times more, but it keeps your record a bit cleaner. You can also hire an attorney. More often than not, people receive additional tickets, not just the ticket for not have a valid safety certificate. These other minor moving violations don’t normally go away. Inevitably what ends up happening is that the defendant has to pay normal fines and court costs on the other moving violations and then the additional straight fee on the expired safety certificate charge.

An attorney can probably help you reduce your fines and the offenses against you, and can often avoid having a misdemeanor end up on your record. While you may end up paying more money overall (including attorney’s fee) if the only ticket you got was the expired safety certificate ticket, if you received a two of three tickets, getting an attorney can actually save you money. In any case, it is a always a good idea to speak with an attorney so that you understand your options and the consequences of your options. The attorneys in our office are readily available for free consultation on this and other issues.

Contact Botto, Gilbert, Schottland & Andrle, PC at (815) 338-3838 if you have a safety certificate issue or any other safety violations. Remember, if you have a CDL, your license is your job and our job is to protect it.

More New Criminal Laws for 2011

Our last post looked at a handful of new criminal laws in Illinois, including theft and some new DUI rules. However, there are plenty more new laws to consider.

Using a Driver Under 18 As Your Designated Driver

Now, it is a crime to use your son or daughter under 18 as your driver on the way home from the family barbeque or the golf outing after you’ve had a few too many to drink. Even though you will not be driving if arrested for this, you will still be charged with a moving violation and a class A misdemeanor. The prior law stated only that a driver needed to accompany the permitted driver. The new change has added the term that your must be in direct supervision of the driver and has defined what direct supervision means—essentially, you can’t be under the influence of anything.

Passing on the Left Too Close to a Bicyclist or Jogger

When passing another vehicle on the left, if you come unnecessarily close to a jogger or bicyclist in the oncoming lane you can be charged with a Class A misdemeanor. This law was enacted after a few tragic accidents involving drivers and bicyclists. Clearly the question of what is unnecessarily close is up for interpretation. If you cause an accident, you can be charged with a felony.

Aggravated DUI Involving Great Bodily Harm Now an 85% Sentence

Most jail sentences in Illinois have what is known as “day for day credit” which means, in essence, you would serve 50% of your time. A sentence of two years would mean one year behind bars. There are other miscellaneous factors that can increase or decrease this time, but for simplicity sake, most sentences are done with 50% or half the time sentenced.

Now, aggravated DUI involving great bodily harm will require you to do 85% of your sentence, or a little over 4/5 of your time.

Falsely Stating You Are the Parent of A Minor Getting a Tattoo Now a Crime

If you know a person under 18 who is just DYING to get a tattoo and their parents are forbidding it, it’s now a crime to help them out by lying that you are their parent at the tattoo parlor. This particular crime will be a Class C misdemeanor.

There are always new laws being proposed and new laws being added to the books. If you ever have a question about your own case or know someone who needs the assistance of an attorney, give Botto, Gilbert, Schottland & Andrle a call.

Botto, Gilbert, Schottland and Andrle, P.C. are attorneys specializing in criminal defense, workman’s comp, personal injury and family law in McHenry, Kane, Boone and Cook Counties. Call us at (815) 338-3838 at any time.

Botto Gilbert Schottland & Andrle is a limited general practice law firm with practices in Workers’ Compensation, Personal Injury, Family Law, Criminal Law, Traffic Law and Juvenile Law. Our attorneys are licensed in the state of Illinois and take cases in various Illinois counties, including but not limited to Boone County, Kane County, McHenry County, Cook County, and Winnebago County, with a particular focus on those cases occurring in the cities of Woodstock, Crystal Lake, McHenry, Harvard, Hebron, Marengo, Island Lake, Prairie Grove, Fox River Grove, Richmond, Johnsburg, Belvidere, Spring Grove, Ringwood, Union, Greenwook, Wonder Lake, Lakewood, Algonquin, Lake in the Hills, Cary, McCullom Lake and Lakemoor.

New Criminal Laws in 2011

Every year the Illinois state legislature comes up with new crimes, new procedures and new sentences that affect our criminal and traffic practice. Some of these laws take effect throughout the year, but a great majority of them all become effective January 01, 2011. Here are a few highlight (and lowlights!)

This year, some sense has finally been added to the Theft (720 ILCS 5/16-1) statute. Whereas it used to be a felony if you stole, from a person or residence, more than $300 worth of property, it is now not a felony until $500 worth of property is taken.

Similarly, the retail theft statute has been modified so that felony retail theft begins at $300 worth of property taken, not the old $150.

What does this mean for you? If you are charged with retail theft AFTER Jan. 1, 2011, you will be assessed under the new statute. If you are accused of stealing up to $299 worth from a store, you will be charged with a Class A misdemeanor. $300 or more and you’ll be charged with a Class 4 felony (with harsher penalties if you steal much more than that). And remember, they do not give you the sale price. This law has needed updating for some time, since one item could have easily put someone over the threshold for a felony charge.

In other criminal law updates, speeding tickets have become more serious. If you speed between 30 and 39 miles over the limit it is now a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to 6 months in jail and a $1500 fine. You will more than likely be arrested if you are stopped for this speeding violation. If you speed in excess of 40 miles over the limit you are facing a Class A misdemeanor, which is the same penalty as before, but the law has been amended so that you may not receive supervision for the offense, which will then cause ramifications with your license.

In addition, there are always changes being made to the DUI laws of Illinois. This year, a new law indicates that a driver who is involved in an accident involving death or great bodily harm will be summarily revoked if they refuse breath or blood testing. In essence, even if you are completely sober, if you are involved in a horrible accident involving the injury or death of another person, if you refuse to use a breathalyzer or give blood, your license will be automatically revoked. You may contest this revocation but the grounds for contesting it will be limited.

Also, there are new rules expanding the use of Restricted Driving Permits, allowing people to get them to transport children to daycare or elderly people to medical appointments. This expands the reasons people were able to travel on RDP’s for from previous allowances for employment, attendance of Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and for personal medical visits. Now, you can take your kids to daycare and help others in your family visit the doctor.

Botto, Gilbert, Schottland and Andrle, P.C. are attorneys specializing in criminal defense, workman’s comp, personal injury and family law in McHenry, Kane, Boone and Cook Counties. Call us at (815) 338-3838 at any time.

Botto Gilbert Schottland & Andrle is a limited general practice law firm with practices in Workers’ Compensation, Personal Injury, Family Law, Criminal Law, Traffic Law and Juvenile Law. Our attorneys are licensed in the state of Illinois and take cases in various Illinois counties, including but not limited to Boone County, Kane County, McHenry County, Cook County, and Winnebago County, with a particular focus on those cases occurring in the cities of Woodstock, Crystal Lake, McHenry, Harvard, Hebron, Marengo, Island Lake, Prairie Grove, Fox River Grove, Richmond, Johnsburg, Belvidere, Spring Grove, Ringwood, Union, Greenwook, Wonder Lake, Lakewood, Algonquin, Lake in the Hills, Cary, McCullom Lake and Lakemoor.

One Fight, Many Different Charges

There are a lot of different governing bodies that control your life. When you get in trouble, there are a lot of different ways you can end up facing charges. If we take, for example, a fight, one can see that there are a lot of different ways you can be charged.

So, let’s say you get in a fight… maybe outside a bar after words have been exchanged inside, and the police from your town arrive. There are number of different outcomes that can result.

First, if you are lucky, you can be charged with an ordinance violation from your local village. Generally, this will only happen if the fight was minor and no one was seriously hurt. You might be charged with disorderly conduct or disturbing the peace, or even battery. An ordinance violation carries with it only a fine as a maximum penalty and you will have a court date just like normal but will be prosecuted by the village attorney, not the State’s Attorney for the county you live in. As a general rule, ordinance violations are not misdemeanors and can often be resolved as easily as, say, a speeding ticket. However, an attorney may help your case be dismissed, especially in a situation where each person was charged.

Second, you could be charged with a misdemeanor for battery. You would have a court date and be prosecuted by the State’s Attorney for the county the fight took place in. This would carry with it the maximum penalty of 1 year in jail and a $2500 fine. You would most definitely want to have an attorney present if you were charged with battery. Since battery is either causing bodily harm OR just making physical contact in an insulting or provoking nature, a lot of interactions can end up as battery. Throwing a drink in someone’s face? Battery. Spitting on someone? Battery. So, a shoving match between two people is definitely a crime.

Third, depending on the injuries involved, whether or not weapons were used, or where the fight took place, you could end being charged with a felony. A felony always carries with it the possibility of time in prison and the possibility of a maximum fine up to $25,000. You might also, if convicted, be asked to provide restitution to the victim, for instance, paying for medical bills. Needless to say, if you are charged with a felony battery, you need a good attorney.

Additionally, for the second and third examples, if the fight is with someone related to you, who lives with you, who shares a child with you (this list is not exhaustive), the charge can be a domestic battery rather than a regular battery.

Our office has plenty of practice in defending people charged with every level of criminal battery. If you’re charged with a battery in Boone County, McHenry County, Kane County or Cook County, give us a call at (815) 338-3838 here at Botto, Gilbert, Schottland & Andrle, P.C. We can help.

Do I Have To Go To Court?

This is easily one of the most frequently asked questions of criminal defense lawyers. And the direct answer is it depends. It all comes down to where you got your ticket and what kind of charge you have…and sometimes, whether you have an attorney.

We know that coming to court is a pain. Taking time off of work, arranging child care or even bringing your kids to court, missing school, all of this is difficult. However, the law generally requires you to be in court. At times, there are simple moving violations or ordinance violations where there is no possibility of jail (petty offenses), like speeding or seat belt violations, that you can resolve by paying before your court date. The range of tickets where this is possible is very limited. However, if you fail to pay in advance for these tickets, missing court can mean a conviction in your absence.

If you have been charged with a misdemeanor or felony, then missing court will mean the issuance of an arrest warrant to make you come to court. In general, if you have a misdemeanor or a felony, you must appear in court. If you must miss court , having an attorney can often aid in receiving a continuance in case of an emergency or waiving your appearance in advance if you can anticipate conflicts.

Excuses that will generally not work in court as to why you missed it: work, overslept, no ride, no babysitter, were not aware of the court date. As unfair as it might sound, YOU and YOU ALONE are responsible for knowing when to be in court and it is on you to make arrangements to be there. Judges have little patience for people who say they didn’t have a ride…you normally have weeks at a time to arrange one. Likewise, work, as real as it is that many people will choose keeping a job over going to court, that is a choice no judge wants to hear.

Generally speaking, an attorney can also often help to accommodate your needs and conflicts by rearranging a pre-set court date. If you have a misdemeanor or felony we can sometimes waive your appearance if there appears to be a long delay in getting certain evidence or if preliminary matters may need to take place where your presence is not necessary. Further, if there are many things that you need to accomplish before the case can be resolved, we can help get longer than average court dates so that you do not have to come to court as often

The safest thing to say about going to court is this: when in doubt, go.

Botto Gilbert Schottland & Andrle is a limited general practice law firm with practices in Workers’ Compensation, Personal Injury, Family Law, Criminal Law, Traffic Law and Juvenile Law. Our attorneys are licensed in the state of Illinois and take cases in various Illinois counties, including but not limited to Boone County, Kane County, McHenry County, Cook County, and Winnebago County, with a particular focus on those cases occurring in the cities of Woodstock, Crystal Lake, McHenry, Harvard, Hebron, Marengo, Island Lake, Prairie Grove, Fox River Grove, Richmond, Johnsburg, Belvidere, Spring Grove, Ringwood, Union, Greenwook, Wonder Lake, Lakewood, Algonquin, Lake in the Hills, Cary, McCullom Lake and Lakemoor.

Explaining Supervision in Illinois

You’ve entered a plea of guilty and have been sentenced to court supervision on a traffic offense…now what? First, you must understand that a supervision is a “deferred” conviction. The court may have explained to you that if you comply with all the terms of your supervision, your case will be dismissed. Sounds good, right? Well, this is not quite accurate, and it is frustrating to traffic defense attorneys to explain to our clients that things don’t simply go away from your driving record. All that a supervision means is that if you comply with all the terms of your record, a conviction will not enter against you. The supervision, however, still shows up on your driving record. Certain people, such as attorneys, who request your driving record can see those prior supervisions. For most people, however, supervisions don’t really affect your daily life. For example, supervisions, in general, should not raise your insurance premiums and will have no consequences on your driving privileges.

Now that you understand what a supervision means, it is important for you to maintain that supervision by following through on the terms of your sentence. More than likely, your sentence includes a fine and court costs, which can be extremely high (often times two or three times higher than the fine entered.) It can also include additional requirements such as traffic safety school and public or home community service work, and whatever else the judge wants to impose, within the limits of the Illinois Vehicle Code. Generally, a supervision is for a set period of time, 90 days, 180 days or one year. Implicit (and often explicitly reviewed in court) is the requirement that you receive no new violations during the course of your supervision. If you fail to comply with a term on your supervision sentence, or receive a new offense, the prosecutors can take steps to revoke the original supervision and, after a hearing, request a different, and often harsher, sentence. This may mean a conviction can enter on your driving record which can have adverse consequences on your driving record. Also, while a supervision cannot contain a jail sentence on a misdemeanor traffic violation, a conviction entered because of your failure to comply can include jail.

All counties work differently in their requirements for payments and return court dates. It is important that you understand how the county you received a ticket seeks your compliance. For example, in McHenry County, if you do not pay in full on the date your sentence is entered, the clerks automatically set up a payment plan for you and require that you follow that payment plan, paying monthly until you are paid in full. If you fail to make a payment plan, or fail to follow the payment plan a letter will be sent to your address requesting immediate payment of the entire amount. A failure to pay in full by the date provided in that letter, will result in a follow-up letter requesting your appearance in court. If you fail to appear, after proper procedural requirements, the prosecutor can eventually request a warrant. Our neighbors in Boone County and Lake County operate differently. Boone County often has a six month (or less) date where you must pay in full or appear to request additional time to continue to pay. There is no payment plan, no requirement that you pay monthly. This pay or appear date is essentially independent of the duration of your supervision, and if you fail to appear, a warrant will automatically be issued against you. In Lake County, the requirement is that you pay in full prior to your release date. Generally, there is no interim date, pay or appear date, or payment plan.

If you have additional requirements to perform during your court supervision, make certain that the court has the documentation required to prove your completion. Often times if you have to comply with public service or traffic safety school you will be told that the provider or supervisor will send in proof of compliance to the court. In the end, however, it is your responsibility to make certain that they have what is required on file, especially if your presence is waived on the release date, because it is your driving record that can be affected when proof is not on file. Boone County has a thorough and wonderful public access system. You can check what documents they have received in the history section. McHenry County has a pretty advanced public access system, but it will not tell you if your documents are on file, but you can easily call the court house to find out. Lake County has no public access system, you must call the court house for any information.

Botto, Gilbert, Schottland and Andrle, PC is a general practice law firm specializing in criminal defense, traffic, personal injury, workman’s compensation and family law. We practice in McHenry, Boone, Kane, Cook, and Lake Counties.