Crime – Page 2

Three dumb things people say to the police… all the time.

July 21, 2014 by admin

So, you’re sitting in my office and you’re mad that you got a ticket or were arrested for DUI or are charged with murder. You’re going to fight this thing all the way. You’re mad. They never read your your rights. They never showed you the radar. If they didn’t do that, you must be … Read More

Don’t Taze Me Cary, Illinois Bros.

June 16, 2014 by admin

Electrifying news from the Cary, Illinois police department! For the cost of only about ten thousand taxpayer dollars, seven of the officers are going to be armed with tazers. According to the Northwest Herald: By JOSEPH BUSTOS – jbustos@shawmedia.com CARY – Police officers in the village will soon be carrying Taser. The village’s police department plans … Read More

Why Do Cops Let People Drive Drunk?

June 9, 2014 by admin

You know how drunk drivers are a danger? They cause accidents? You know how they kill people? You know how we can’t tolerate having impaired drivers on the road? You know how we are so gung-ho on punishing DUI that we won’t even tolerate a drunk driver pulling off the road to “sleep it off”? … Read More

Two Bad Misconceptions About the Law

May 21, 2014 by admin

This is a fun job. It really is. So fun, in fact that everybody wants to do it.

Maybe that’s a stretch. It seems that everybody wants to comment on it, though. I’ve pointed this out before, but there aren’t a lot of other jobs where people without any real experience are so open to tell you what the laws should do, what your job should be (and why they could “never do your job”). Nobody tells the accountant at the Thanksgiving table that they have to defend/attack/comment on something they heard Nancy Grace or Jon Stewart talking about on TV. Nobody asks the plumber at the party how he could dare install plumbing for “those people.”

.@NancyGraceHLN can’t wait for the show on “Family women” who kill. #sexist

— Matthew J. Haiduk (@haiduklaw) April 19, 2014

Not that I’m complaining. It goes with the turf. It’s part of the job.

The War Against Humaneness.

May 15, 2014 by admin

Dixon, Illinois is an pretty historic place. It’s where Illinois’ most famous resident, Abraham Lincoln, decided to join the Blackhawk War. It was also the boyhood home to another man, Ronald Reagan, who went on to become president.

To criminal defense attorneys and the loved ones of their clients, it’s also home to other people: prisoners at the Dixon Correctional Center.

Two weeks ago I found myself driving by the Lincoln and Reagan historical markers towards the dilapidated, run-down, and generally monotone prison. The place is pretty depressing, but I had the privilege of meeting a client there.

And, I didn’t put “privilege” in quotes for a reason. I’m not being sarcastic (for once). Every person with an opinion- one way or another- on mandatory minimums, how our justice system works, and what should happen in prison should have the opportunity to visit prisoners. It’s not as though I would expect it would change your mind either way. It adds legitimacy to your opinions, though.

I’ve been there many times before. As always, the procedure to go through security was different than the last time I was there. When I finally got through, I took a seat at my assigned table and waited for my client. And waited. And waited. I waited in that large visiting room for an hour. I’m still not sure what took so long, but that’s life in the prison.

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