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Recreational Marijuana and Criminal Records
By: Kal Issa
With the passing of House Bill 1438, which allows for the legal possession of Cannabis, many individuals who have had criminal records based on the mere possession of certain amounts of marijuana will have the opportunity to have their criminal record wiped clean. That is because the bill will provide those individuals the ability to have their arrests, cases, and convictions expunged, making it as if it never happened at all.
House Bill 1438, known as The Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, amends the Criminal Identification Act, which addresses the sealing and or expunging of certain criminal offenses. Sealing allows a record to be hidden from public view, while still being accessible to certain entities. Expungement, on the other hand, allows for the complete obliteration of a criminal record, essentially wiping the past away.
The new law allows previous “minor Cannabis offenses” to be completely removed from an individual’s history so long as the arrest, charge or disposition was for a Cannabis related offense involving less than 30 grams. This includes not only mere possession of Cannabis but even Possession with Intent to Deliver, Delivery of Cannabis or Manufacturing Cannabis. However, the prior offense must not be for delivering (or intending to deliver) to a minor nor can the offense have been associated with a violent crime.
Orland Park Leads South Suburbs in 2017 DUI Arrests: Survey
As reported by Lorraine Swanson of The Patch on July 2, 2018, the Village of Orland Park had the most DUI arrests of any southwest suburb in Cook County.
Orland Park landed in the top 20 of Illinois municipalities and led the south suburbs in for DUI arrests in 2017. Orland Park officers logged 216 arrests of buzzed drivers, according to the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists' annual DUI arrest survey.
AAIM is an Illinois-only citizen activist group founded in 1982 by victims of drunk driving based in Schaumburg. The group promotes prevention, victim advocacy and legislation for tougher drunk driving laws and is a recognized expert in this area.
The south suburban police departments in the Patch network that responded to the 2017 AAIM survey ranked as followed:
- #12 Orland Park, 216 (184 arrests in 2016; ranked 16)
- #19 Oak Lawn, 162 (223 arrests in 2016; ranked #11)
Electronic Warrants and DUI
By: Kal Issa
In Illinois, under most circumstances, police are required to either obtain a warrant or a driver’s consent in order to obtain a blood sample in order to test for the presence and/or amount of alcohol or other illicit substances in the driver’ system.[1] When a motorist refuses to consent to such a blood draw and testing, police are required to obtain a search warrant, which generally may take some time depending on the day of the week, location of the investigation and time of day as they are required to appear before a judge and lay out the facts that leads them to believe a warrant should be obtained.
However, many counties have taken advantage of an Illinois law that allows law enforcement to request and obtain a search warrant through electronic means, thereby making the process more efficient. In lieu of personally appearing before a judge, an officer can make an electronic request for a search warrant from a judge through video and audio transmission.[2] This would allow the investigating officer to immediately obtain a blood sample from the suspected impaired driver for testing and analysis.
Two Children’s Products Recalled for Safety Issues
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recently announced that Sweden-based furniture maker IKEA has issued a recall for nearly 3 million baby bed canopies that the company has been selling for almost twenty years. According to the product recall alert, the canopies pose a strangulation risk to young children.
The CPSC says that there have been at least nine reports of children becoming wrapped around and entangled in the canopy. One report involved a seven-month-old infant who managed to pull the fabric of the canopy into her crib and wrapped it around her neck. A spokesperson for IKEA says that some reports of these incidents involved minor injuries to the children. However, the details of those injuries have not been released. The baby bed canopies are made to hang from a hook over a child’s crib or bed. The product measures 7 feet by 2 feet and is made out of a mesh-like material. The canopies were sold from August 1996 until March 2014 at a cost of between $10 and $30. There are several models involved in the recall:- Legendarisk
Dog Bites Can Cause Serious Injury
It can seem unfathomable to an animal lover that his or her beloved companion might be capable of inflicting life-changing harm. Many dogs, of course, will live out their lives without ever placing a person in any danger. Others, however, may attack without warning causing serious and potentially fatal injuries to an unsuspecting individual. Dog bites may also result in the animal’s owner being held liable for any and all injuries sustained as a result.
Dangerous Breeds
Research compiled from the United States and Canada by Merritt Clifton, editor of Animals 24-7, indicated that in the last 30 years, a large majority of dog bites and attacks are inflicted by a single category of breeds known as molosser dogs. This group of animals, which includes pit bulls, rottweilers, mastiffs, boxers, and sharpeis, was responsible for more than 85 percent of all attacks causing bodily harm. Particularly striking is the fact that such breeds constitute less than 10 percent of the total dog population.
Can I Seek Compensation for a Prescription Drug Error in Illinois?
Physicians prescribe medication to patients all the time for various reasons. Certain medicines can help alleviate pain and symptoms for injured and sick patients when correctly prescribed and used. They can also heal and cure injuries and illnesses if used properly. However, they also have the potential to cause permanent damage or even death if they are used incorrectly. If you or your loved one has suffered as a result of a prescription drug mistake, you may be entitled to compensation. An experienced personal injury attorney can help determine liability for your damages. Responsible parties may include a doctor, pharmacist, or anesthesiologist.
Common Forms of Medication Mistakes
Unlike over-the-counter (OTC) medicines, prescription medication must be prescribed by a doctor and are usually dispensed by a pharmacist at a hospital or a pharmacy. This is because these types of drugs could be potentially addictive or lethal if not taken properly. Names of some medications may at first glance look or sound similar, which means they can be easily confused with each other. In other cases, ingesting too much or too little of a drug can affect a patient’s health and well-being.
Birth Injuries and Birth Defects: Who Is Responsible?
One of the most exciting times in a couple’s life is when they are expecting a child. Picking out a name, decorating the nursery, picking out baby clothes – all the planning that must be done to prepare for the baby’s arrival. Whether it is a couple’s first baby or their fourth, there is often some apprehension and worry over whether or not the baby will be okay, but there is also usually confidence that the doctor and medical staff will do everything to ensure a safe delivery and a healthy baby.
Tragically, that is not always the case and there are many babies who are born with serious medical conditions or injuries – or even more tragically – do not survive those injuries. When this happens, how do the bereaved parents know if it was something that the doctor had no control over or if the injury or issue was in fact caused by something the doctor did or failed to do? Was it a birth defect or a birth injury?
Study: Medical Errors Now Third Leading Cause of Death in U.S.
In 1999, the medical community was rocked by a report prepared by Institute of Medicine which classified the problem of medical errors as an epidemic. That report concluded that approximately 95,000 people died each year from preventable medical mistakes. The annual cost to medical facilities was determined to be between $17 billion and $29 billion. Although the Institute of Medicine’s report inspired much debate over the years regarding what could be done to protect patients, a new report – prepared by researchers from John Hopkins University - found that the medical community may not have had too much success and preventable medical errors are now the third leading cause of death in this country.
Unlike the 1999 report, which only used data from one study, the new report used information collected from four major studies. Two of these studies were from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, during the years 2000 to 2008.
Illinois Passes Gabby’s Law Regarding Sepsis
Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner has signed a new law which will require hospitals to take a more proactive approach to recognizing and treating patients who develop sepsis. When a person comes down with an infection, the body can sometimes have a “toxic response” to that infection. Such a response is known as sepsis.
Senate Bill 2403, also known as Gabby’s Law, reads in part:
“Each hospital shall adopt evidence-based protocols for the early recognition and treatment of patients with sepsis, severe sepsis, or septic shock that are based on generally accepted standards of care. It requires the protocols contain certain components, including those specific to identifying and treating adults and children.”
The Need for Action
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 1.5 million people develop sepsis. It is responsible for the deaths of almost 260,000 people every year in this country. It has been ranked as the ninth-leading cause of deaths caused by disease, killing more people than AIDS, breast cancer, and prostate cancer combined.
Statute of Limitations vs. Statute of Repose in Illinois Malpractice Cases
An Illinois appeals court has ruled that families of plaintiffs who die with a pending medical malpractice lawsuit can add a wrongful death claim to the lawsuit. As one might expect, such an addition is possible if the death is alleged to be related to the action in question in the original malpractice suit.
The case was heard by the three-judge panel, and involved an Illinois woman who was being treated at the University of Chicago Medical Center and several of its affiliates, as well as two other medical centers, between the years 2007 through July 2009. In 2011, the woman filed a lawsuit against all parties, alleging that they failed to diagnose her condition as central nervous system lymphoma. The filing of the lawsuit was within the two-year statute of limitations, as well as the four-year statute of repose required by the state of Illinois.
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9631 W. 153rd St., Suite 32, Orland Park, IL 60462
708-966-2408
