Aiding, abetting, and being an accessory to a crime can result in a serious prison sentence depending on the type of crime the other person committed. If you helped another person commit a crime, you will likely face criminal charges yourself. However, if you were simply in the room when your friend assaulted someone and robbed them, and you had no part in it, you did nothing wrong.

In order to be an accomplice to a crime, you must have known that the person was planning on committing the crime and help him or her in some way to commit the crime. Helping to commit the crime does not mean that you had to have a physical hand in the act. Providing knowledge of how to commit the crime, financial assistance, or other aid will suffice when it comes to aiding and abetting.

If you are facing aiding, abetting, and accessory crimes, it is in your best interest to speak with an experienced Illinois criminal defense attorney at once. 

The worst decision on the worst day of someone’s life should not define who he or she is nor define the opportunities he or she has for the rest of the individual's life. People with a criminal record or who have been arrested may have a past that unfairly obstructs their future. The stigma associated after a conviction, or simply being arrested for a crime, can prevent them from getting jobs, access to certain housing, or even admission into some schools.

Illinois has a process by which an individual can petition to have his or her records expunged or sealed. Knowing the difference between the two and which one you qualify for can be an important step to getting your life back on track.

Expungement

The Daily Herald recently reported that the last of four suburban Chicago residents who devised a multi-million dollar embezzlement scheme involving a Chicago law firm has pleaded guilty to theft. Deborah Acuna, 63, of Oak Brook, received a 10-month jail sentence, 18 months of probation, and an order to pay restitution in the amount of $175,000. This illustrates the potentially severe sentence that an individual can receive if convicted of theft or embezzlement under Illinois law.

Four Sentenced for Embezzling Six Million Dollars from Chicago Law Firm

Acuna and her sister, Patricia Lapinski, founded DAS Designs, a business that provided furniture for the Vedder Price law firm, where Lapinski worked as office manager. The two sisters conspired with a North Aurora floor company manager and a Frankfort furniture repair company owner to create phony invoices for the law firm to pay DAS over six million dollars, including one million dollars in services and goods that DAS never provided. The four individuals then used the proceeds to finance homes, vacations, and other items of property.

Assault and battery are similar crimes in some respects under Illinois law but do contain different elements. Both assault and battery generally are misdemeanor crimes, but certain characteristics of these crimes can elevate them to aggravated status, which can result in more serious penalties if you are convicted. Fortunately, there are some defenses to assault and battery charges that may apply in your criminal case, but only an experienced Illinois criminal defense attorney can help you identify and present these defenses to the court.

Defining Assault

Under Illinois law, sobriety checkpoints are a legal method used by police to find inebriated drivers and keep the state’s roadways safer. Sobriety checkpoints are police traffic stops that are not related to any individual suspicion of DUI. At temporary, random locations, police briefly detain and interview drivers. Those acting suspiciously are subjected to sobriety tests and, if they are intoxicated, charged with DUI.

Search and Seizure

Due to the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable search and seizures by the government, police generally need a reasonable suspicion of illegal activity to stop drivers. A reasonable suspicion does not mean an absolute certainty, but rather a justifiable suspicion that unlawful activity is occurring or is imminent.