Category Archives: Sentencing

Category Archives: Sentencing

Illinois Appellate Court Issues Major Decision for Intellectually Disabled Adult

Yesterday, the First District Illinois Appellate Court issued a major decision in People of the State of Illinois v. William Coty, 2018 IL App (1st) 162383, https://https://www.illinoiscourts.gov/Opinions/AppellateCourt/2018/1stDistrict/1162383.pdf,  that sentencing an intellectually disabled adult with an IQ score between 55 and 65 to 50 years in the penitentiary for predatory criminal sexual assault of a minor […]

New Illinois Plea Admonishments Outline Some Collateral Consequences of Pleading Guilty

Last week, Illinois’ Governor signed into law a change in how persons pleading guilty to criminal offenses are admonished. Public Act 82-553 amends 725 ILCS 5/113-4 to require that the court must admonish a defendant pleading guilty to many of the collateral consequences attendant to that plea. The new law states that “(i)f the defendant […]

New Illinois Sentencing Law Regarding Some Prison Sentences

As of January 1, Illinois judges will have to specifically justify sentencing an offender, who has never received probation or conditional discharge, to prison or periodic imprison for Class 3 or Class 4 felonies that statutorily allow for a sentence of probation or conditional discharge. Last week, Illinois’ governor signed Public Act 99-0861 into law […]

Spreading the Word on Juvenile Justice Developments

Yesterday, I was honored to discuss juvenile justice developments on WVON radio with host Cliff Kelley and University of Chicago Professor Randolph Stone. We discussed President Barack Obama’s Op Ed piece in the Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/barack-obama-why-we-must-rethink-solitary-confinement/2016/01/25/29a361f2-c384-11e5-8965-0607e0e265ce_story.html, where he announced the ban on solitary confinement of juveniles in federal custody. We also discussed the United States […]

New Illinois Law Provides Different Criteria for Sentencing Those Under 18 Years of Age

The new year brought changes in mandatory considerations in the imposition of sentences of individuals who commit offenses when they are under the age of 18. The new law, 730 ILCS 5/5-4.5-105 mandates judges to consider new additional factors in mitigation in determining the appropriate sentence. These factors take into account the differences between persons […]

Trends in Illinois Felony Sentencing Illustrate the Need for Good Representation

The recent statistics published by the Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council in its research briefing, “Illinois Felony Sentencing: A Retrospective,” https://www.icjia.state.il.us/public/pdf/Bulletins/Research_Brief_SPAC_Felony_Sentences_052011.pdf show how many individuals are becoming statistics in the criminal justice system. The report found that despite reductions in reported Illinois crime from the early 1990s through 2008, the number of persons on probation, […]

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