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# Haiduk Law: Haiduk Law provides criminal defense in Geneva and surrounding counties. From misdemeanors and DUI to felonies, traffic, and appeals, Matthew Haiduk delivers skilled defense in Illinois state and federal courts.

## Sitemaps
[XML Sitemap](https://www.haiduklaw.com/sitemap_index.xml): Includes all crawlable and indexable pages.

## Posts
- [What is Court Supervision?](https://www.haiduklaw.com/what-is-court-supervision): Court supervision is a legal disposition in Illinois where the court delays a judgment in a case, allowing the defendant to complete certain requirements. If successfully completed, the charges are dismissed. This option is often granted for minor offenses, first-time offenders, or specific situations where the court deems it appropriate. You are not eligible for court supervision on domestic battery charges, or on DUI if you had previously had supervision on a DUI. You cannot be sentenced to jail on a sentence of court supervision.
- [Understanding the Purpose of Gag Orders in Legal Proceedings](https://www.haiduklaw.com/understanding-the-purpose-of-gag-orders-in-legal-proceedings): In the intricate web of legal proceedings, one tool often employed by judges to maintain order and ensure a fair trial is the issuance of gag orders- as is the case with the ongoing criminal trial of former President Donald Trump. "Gag orders" restrict individuals involved in a case from discussing certain aspects of the proceedings publicly. While the concept of limiting speech may seem counterintuitive to the principles of free expression, gag orders serve a vital purpose in safeguarding the integrity of the judicial process.
- [Understanding Scott’s Law in Illinois: Protecting Emergency Responders and Motorists](https://www.haiduklaw.com/understanding-scotts-law-in-illinois-protecting-emergency-responders-and-motorists): Scott's Law, also known as the Move Over Law, is a critical piece of legislation in Illinois designed to ensure the safety of emergency responders and motorists alike. Enacted to protect those who work tirelessly to keep our roads safe, Scott's Law requires drivers to take specific actions when encountering emergency vehicles on the roadside. Understanding the intricacies of this law is not only essential for compliance but also for fostering a culture of safety on our roads.
- [Assault vs Battery in Illinois.](https://www.haiduklaw.com/assault-vs-battery-in-illinois): Nothing confuses more people in Illinois than the difference between "assault" and "battery" Why do people in Illinois often mix up the law of battery with the law of assault? It's simple (the law, actually... not the confusion).
- [There are Only Two Types of Statements in Allocution.](https://www.haiduklaw.com/there-are-only-two-types-of-statements-in-allocution): You're being sentenced. You gave it your best shot at trial, but you're cooked. There are only two things left as your only hope from being caged like an animal: your lawyer's argument and your statement in allocution.
- [On the Street Value of Ketchup and Cocaine.](https://www.haiduklaw.com/on-the-street-value-of-ketchup-and-cocaine): Today I want to talk to you about Ketchup. And Cocaine.
- [Is “LivePD” really live?](https://www.haiduklaw.com/is-livepd-really-live-2): I managed to get my hands on a copy of the LivePD production contract. I didn't like LivePD before. I still don't.
- [Videos the world doesn’t need, but videos the world deserves right now.](https://www.haiduklaw.com/videos-the-world-doesnt-need-but-videos-the-world-deserves-right-now): You don't want to see defense lawyers watching Live Police TV clips ranting about men in sandals doing field sobriety tests but, well, maybe you deserve to. I've got you covered right here.
- [I Believe in Causation, Not Coincidence.](https://www.haiduklaw.com/i-believe-in-causation-not-coincidence): In August 2015 I teamed up with two awesome lawyers (Ray Flavin and James Kelly) and filed a class-action lawsuit against the McHenry County Clerk of the Circuit court. Our beef was with the way court costs were tacked onto fines in criminal courts. Most of the "costs" the clerks added after the judge set the fines were, in fact, not costs- they were fines. Because of this when you were told what the fines were by the judge, you stepped away with absolutely no idea what the actual total would be.
- [Here’s Why R. Kelly Is Going To Prison (And I Don’t Know Anything About His Case)](https://www.haiduklaw.com/heres-why-r-kelly-is-going-to-prison-and-i-dont-know-anything-about-his-case): Here's what I know about R. Kelly's arrest:
- [What If Criminal Justice Reform](https://www.haiduklaw.com/what-if-criminal-justice-reform): What if we actually enact criminal justice reform?
- [The Real Reason the Chicago Gun Ban Isn’t Working (and other secrets THEY don’t want you to know about the “Gun Free City”).](https://www.haiduklaw.com/the-real-reason-the-chicago-gun-ban-isnt-working-and-other-secrets-they-dont-want-you-to-know-about-the-gun-free-city): Guns aren't banned in Chicago.
- [Q & A With an Experienced Criminal Law Attorney.](https://www.haiduklaw.com/q-a-with-an-experienced-criminal-law-attorney): A: No.
- [Guilt Brokering.](https://www.haiduklaw.com/guilt-brokering): The courtroom definition of guilt is whatever a judge or jury says it is- as long as it's proven "beyond a reasonable doubt."
- [Taking a knee.](https://www.haiduklaw.com/taking-a-knee): According to twitter today El Presidente is trying to pressure NFL owners to prevent their players from "taking a knee" during the anthem. NFL commissioner Roger Goddell has penned a letter to NFL owners telling them the players should stand.
- [A Quick Guide to Some of the Rights of “Those People” (AKA All of Us) for Newspaper Commentors and Twitterers Who Have Only Heard About The Second Amendment.](https://www.haiduklaw.com/a-quick-guide-to-some-of-the-rights-of-those-people-aka-all-of-us-for-newspaper-commentors-and-twitterers-who-have-only-heard-about-the-second-amendment): If you want to worship a goat or tree or potato chip, you can. But the government can't force you to worship a goat or tree or Dorito.
- [5 Expert Tips For Talking To The Police, and A Bonus 6th That Will Blow Your Mind!](https://www.haiduklaw.com/5-expert-tips-for-talking-to-the-police-and-a-bonus-6th-that-will-blow-your-mind): The police want to talk to you. Maybe they've called you. Maybe they've stopped by your house. Maybe they've even pulled you over and arrested you for DUI. What are you going to do?
- [Let’s Pretend The Truth Is Important (For Just A Minute, Anyway).](https://www.haiduklaw.com/lets-pretend-the-truth-is-important-for-just-a-minute-anyway): Kids who may be victims of abuse are put through something called a "victim sensitive interview." Since children, in theory, don't necessarily want to talk about being abused the entire interview process is a staged affair with few onlookers (that the child knows about, anyway) in a comfortable setting.  These interviews are (or should be) conducted by investigators with lots of training as conducting them wrong runs the potential double-hazard of either not getting enough information from the child, or getting suggested (ie. unreliable) information from the child.
- [Before We Kill Dylann Roof Let’s At Least Pretend To Give Him A Fair Process.](https://www.haiduklaw.com/before-we-kill-dylann-roof-lets-at-least-pretend-to-give-him-a-fair-process): I don't want Dylann Roof to die. I know that if anybody in the country right now deserves to die, it's probably Dylann Roof.
- [Saying Nice Things (about Dylann Roof).](https://www.haiduklaw.com/saying-nice-things-about-dylann-roof): It might not have been the first day I started at the Public Defender's office, but it certainly wasn't long after.  I knew nothing about the day-to-day operations of a criminal defense attorney (law schools don't teach such things). I was about to be turned loose into the confusing, complicated, chaotic world of juvenile delinquency court and my new boss was trying to boil my role down to terms my inexperienced self could easily grasp.
- [I’d Rather Be Good Than Lucky.](https://www.haiduklaw.com/id-rather-be-good-than-lucky): I once represented a kid who did dumb kid stuff. I still represent kids who do dumb kid stuff, but this kid was different. He did some really dumb kid stuff. Felony dumb.  Like too many of these dumb-kid felony stories, this one involved a kid from a decent home in a decent neighborhood.  He'd clearly watched Scarface after drinking one too many Red Bulls and thought that the only way out of the "mean" suburbs was his balls and his word.
- [“Criminal” May Be An Entertaining Podcast, But It’s Damn Sure Not Fair.](https://www.haiduklaw.com/criminal-may-be-an-entertaining-podcast-but-its-damn-sure-not-fair): My client's name isn't important so we'll call him C.H.  He was minding his own business in Pensacola, Florida when he was arrested. The police claim he'd mugged several people in town over the previous week.
- [Screw you, I’ll vote how I want to (AKA Charles Blow can stick his thoughts where the sun don’t shine).](https://www.haiduklaw.com/screw-you-ill-vote-how-i-want-to-aka-charles-blow-can-stick-his-thoughts-where-the-son-dont-shine): I'm not comfortable with the idea of Donald Trump as president. On the other hand, I'm not comfortable with the idea of Hillary Clinton as president, either.
- [The Twitter Law Seminar That Never Will Be.](https://www.haiduklaw.com/the-twitter-law-seminar-that-never-will-be): How many of you could use help with the internet? Today we're happy to have an "expert" that can help you market on the world wide web. He's an accomplished twitterer with over 11,000 impressive tweets, the back of his head was featured on Huffington Post, and he's even got his very own web page!  We are pleased to have Matt Haiduk today to tell us how you should market your pracrice on twitter!
- [Because I Love It.](https://www.haiduklaw.com/because-i-loveit): "How do you sleep at night putting in toilets for pedophiles?"
- [Making a Murderer:  Did Steven Avery Actually Do It?](https://www.haiduklaw.com/making-a-murderer-did-steven-avery-actually-do-it): "What do you think about Making a Murderer?"  By the end of December I had to answer that question several times a week.  The answer was, of course, "I don't know."  I hadn't really planned to watch another criminal trial documentary.
- [Ponderings on Possession, Part Two.](https://www.haiduklaw.com/ponderings-on-possession-part-two): I've struggled with Windypundit's possession post.  If you're not keeping pace, last week he brought up an interesting scenario (or two) resulting in people innocently going about their business but somehow obtaining items it's illegal to possess. I took a stab at giving what I thought would be decent advice based on the scenarios presented (and also tried to explain the reasoning).
- [Ponderings on Possession.](https://www.haiduklaw.com/windypundits-ponderings-on-possession): Mark Draughn's "Windypundit" blog is one of my regular reads. He's somehow found the magic ability to post both frequent and frequently interesting new thoughts.  Today he posted an interesting hypothetical regarding possession of contraband:
- [I’m Down But Not Out.](https://www.haiduklaw.com/im-pretty-bad-at-this): I've written a lot of posts that haven't been published. That's a problem. It's a problem of being too reserved, too cautious, or concerned about what I've written to offer it up for public consumption.
- [Actually preventing DUI is the goal, right?](https://www.haiduklaw.com/actually-preventing-dui): I'll be intently following the political future of Randall Scannell in Green Bay. I know zero about his political beliefs or party affiliation. What I do know about the man, though, I like.
- [Citizenfour](https://www.haiduklaw.com/citizenfour): I'm not great at watching movies. Sometimes I fall asleep. Sometimes I just don't pay attention. Sometimes I watch and forget I've even seen a movie a week or two later.
- [The Regular Person Standard.](https://www.haiduklaw.com/the-regular-person-standard): I don't know much about a lot of things. Nobody will dispute that. I might know a little about a few things. At least, people ask me questions as though they think I do. Of course, I've got a philosophy degree so I know that I really know nothing. That's what the bearded, hippie, teaching assistants told me, anyway. I don't know enough to disagree with them, that's for sure.
- [Taking a Stand on the Gay Hoosier Pizza.](https://www.haiduklaw.com/taking-a-stand-on-the-gay-hoosier-pizza): I have a secret to tell you: I was born in Indiana. If you don't think that's a big secret, it means you're either unfamiliar with Indiana or you currently live in Indiana and you're lying to yourself.  Thankfully, I'm both familiar with Indiana and not living there. That makes me especially qualified to comment on this Memories Pizza debacle.
- [Setting Every Damn Case For Trial: The beginning of the end of my “reign of pain” as a public defender.](https://www.haiduklaw.com/setting-every-damn-case-for-trial-the-beginning-of-the-end-of-my-reign-of-pain-as-a-public-defender): When I worked for the public defender's office I was a complete pain in the ass.  Or, at least I like to think I was. Considering a judge once told me I was "the only roadblock to an otherwise smooth running courtroom," I probably was.
- [Cop Games, Due Process and the CPD “Black Site.”](https://www.haiduklaw.com/cop-games-due-process-and-the-cpd-black-site): One of my favorite things to do at this job is to show up at police stations.  If a client is inside an interrogation room, manages to wade through the coercive Reed Technique garbage and get a call out to me, I'll drop almost anything I'm doing and try to get there if I can.  It hardly every happens, though.
- [Here’s Your Zero Tolerance on DUI: The Zamboni Guy Is In Jail. Happy now?](https://www.haiduklaw.com/heres-zero-tolerance-dui-zamboni-guy-jail-happy-now): I'm going to let a little secret out here: I play hockey. It's not a very exciting secret, I know. It probably shouldn't even be a secret.  It is, though. You know why?  Because I play hockey poorly. Like, really bad.  I'm at the bottom of the talent ladder on a hockey team that's at the bottom tier of a bottom league at the rink.  We've got some good skaters, too.  We still don't win.  It's not their fault. Know what I'm saying?
- [The Legalization of Marijuana Doesn’t Solve Financial Problems. So What.](https://www.haiduklaw.com/the-legalization-of-marijuana-doesnt-solve-financial-problems-so-what): For years I've been saying that legalizing marijuana so we can "tax the stuff" and put the money to good use was a really bad idea.  That's not to say that marijuana should be prohibited. It shouldn't.  That is to say, however, its legalization shouldn't be championed by people claiming the extra tax revenue would solve the world's problems.
- [How to get the worst sentence possible (Hint: Think “War Machine”).](https://www.haiduklaw.com/get-worst-sentence-possible-hint-think-war-machine): "War Machine" seems to be doing everything he can to make sure he's not only convicted, but locked up for a long, long time. He's got to be driving his lawyer nuts.  This is a classic case of how just about everything you do can and will affect what happens in court.
- [“If you won’t show up on the small stuff…” – On playing Gallaga and bond hearings.](https://www.haiduklaw.com/wont-show-small-stuff): I'm working on an appeal.  The case was major- with the defendant sitting on a $950,000 bond (meaning, in Illinois, he has to post $95,000). There was a bond reduction hearing because just about nobody sitting on a $95,000 bond can pay that, and the statute says the amount should be only one to reasonably assure the defendant's appearance at court.
- [The latest on Brittany Maynard.](https://www.haiduklaw.com/latest-brittany-meynard): A few posts back I wrote about Brittany Maynard, her brain cancer, and her choice to die with dignity.  Of course, she won't be making that choice in Illinois- we like laws and regulations almost as much as we like imprisoned lawmakers.
- [Honoring Columbus Day: Can I get a mug shot?](https://www.haiduklaw.com/honoring-columbus-day-can-i-get-a-mug-shot): Light the tree, set off the fireworks and pass out the candy... it's Columbus Day in America!  Today is more than just the day we get to watch Bears/Lions on Monday Night Football.  In Canada, of course, they mistakenly call today Canadian Thanksgiving.  Although, we don't really care what they're doing up in America's Hat.  As I've already explained, Canada is backwards.  I guess this Thanksgiving/Columbus day mix-up is just Exhibit #2 to that effect.
- [When Dying is Outlawed Only Outlaws Will Die in Peace.](https://www.haiduklaw.com/dying-outlawed-outlaws-will-die-peace): Update: 10/30/14- Brittany has a new video out. You can find it here with less commentary than appears in this post. Although, there is still some commentary... because Illinois' regulation of death is still nonsense.
- […But The Problem Isn’t Plea Bargaining.](https://www.haiduklaw.com/problem-isnt-plea-bargaining): Earlier this week somebody forwarded me the Economist article on eliminating plea bargaining.  Like most mainstream suggestions on how to "fix" the system I ignored it because... well, because I don't care what the Economist has to say about criminal law.  I don't think that's unreasonable. It's popping up in all of my "regular reads" now, so it's not easy to ignore.  The premise is the ground-breaking idea that prosecutors hold all the cards, the system is unfair, and defendants can be easily intimidated into taking a plea no matter how spurious the government's evidence is. Despite the general consensus that the system is royally jacked, the internet is abuzz with common-sense, obvious, "the-devil-you-know-is-better-than-the-devil-you-don't" solutions.  Scott Greenfield thinks the system can't handle the justice it really needs:
The government would need 100 times the existing number of courtrooms, judges, clerks, court officers, prosecutors and jury pools. And public defenders would get stretched a wee bit thinner.  Even so, kids would sit in jail for years awaiting trial, turning that one year potential sentencing into three, until it was their turn in the well. I can't say I disagree.  I'm not sure I necessarily agree, though. As somebody who, when working as an assistant public defender, once overloaded the system to the point of bursting (by setting every case for trial and then filing an insane amount of speedy trial demands all at once... on a  Friday... late afternoon, of course), I have seen what happens when you force the system to operate outside its comfort zone. It wasn't all bad, either.  Oddly, judges faced with having more work than they are capable of handling will put pressure on both prosecutors and defendants, which is certainly abnormal. Mark Draughn points out something I had not necessarily thought of, though. Perhaps eliminating plea bargaining would increase crime:
The other big problem with eliminating plea bargaining is that lots of crimes would go unpunished. While it seems unlikely that every single one of the 95% who currently take plea bargains are guilty, it is probably even less likely that every single one of them is innocent. Many of them would go on to commit more crimes against the public. Eventually, they would be prosecuted and imprisoned, but in the meantime they could wreak havoc on the innocent. It seems likely that the result would be a lot more crime. That's an interesting take.  There's a lot to bite off in there, and I'm not sure if the net effect of eliminating plea bargaining would be more crime- mostly because I think the current system of charging crimes is completely random and I don't know that eliminating plea bargaining would eliminate the randomness. But, I don't know. Nobody ever knows the unintended consequences of wholesale change before it happens. That's not to say I support eliminating plea bargaining.  It is to say that I think eliminating plea bargaining is one of those "solutions" aimed at treating a symptom, and not the root problem.  The root problem is, of course, the gross discrepancies in incentives for each side. A defendant who loses is facing prison or, at a minimum, being branded a criminal and whatever collateral damage that wrecks on his life. A prosecutor who loses is facing maybe getting mentioned by Nancy Grace- but probably not even that.  I wrote about this after the George Zimmerman trial:
Where’s the public outrage against the prosecutor?  Other than some public embarrassment, that office faced zero real incentive to not take that losing case to trial.  Sure, the talking heads can scorn and ridicule now.  You know where a lot of those talking head commentators came from?  They came from prosecutors offices where they worked on major media cases, and later went on to TV.  Ultimately the public doesn't hold their elected politician-prosecutor accountable for the quality of his work.  You know what happens when a prosecutor drags a case around for two years by making an unreasonable offer, argues at sentencing for an even higher (the maximum) prison sentence and receives not a day over the minimum at sentencing (which happens to be significantly less than the original offer)?  You know how somebody who's judgment is so far afield they wasted tremendous public resources gets treated? They are given awards and called a "hero" that's how. I'm with Draughn and Greenfield. Eliminating plea deals is a bad idea. I'm not sure exactly how the system would look if it happened. I just know it does nothing to put any burden on the government to be concerned with the quality of its work.  That's what really needs to be addressed.
- [The Kane County Sheriff’s “Candidate Forum” That Should Have Happened.](https://www.haiduklaw.com/kane-county-sheriffs-candidate-forum-happened): Look like I missed a great opportunity to learn a little about the next Kane County Sheriff last night. According to the Kane County Chronicle, there was a "forum" that covered all sorts of interesting stuff.  Compelling topics like who was hired by who's dad to be a deputy in the Sheriff's Office in the 1970's, and how many degrees everybody has:
- [Come on, Daily Herald. You can do better.](https://www.haiduklaw.com/come-daily-herald-can-better): When I think of local papers who don't care about actually "reporting" local court news but would rather cut-and-paste from State's Attorney press releases, I don't normally think of the Daily Herald.  They're doing everything they can to change that, though.  When catching up on my local crime news today, I first came across this article about a man in Geneva who, the paper says, admit to some fairly serious sex crimes and underage porn charges:
- [I didn’t always distrust the police.](https://www.haiduklaw.com/didnt-always-distrust-police): People ask me if I went into criminal defense because I don't trust the police.  Oddly, that couldn't be further from the truth.  I went into criminal defense for a lot of reasons- mostly because I've always been concerned about my rights and how to protect them.  Also, because the "cool kids" always wanted to "put the bad guys away" and if the cool kids are doing one thing, I'm doing the opposite.
- [The Revolution Will Not Be Twittervised, Apparently.](https://www.haiduklaw.com/the-revolution-will-not-be-twittervised-apparently): I like twitter. It's fun. Not just fun because you can "interact" with Nancy Grace, but also fun because you can "interact" with Sheriff Joe Arpaio.  I like to think he gets as much out of our exchanges as I do. I could be wrong, though.
- [Three dumb things people say to the police… all the time.](https://www.haiduklaw.com/three-dumb-things-people-say-to-the-police-all-the-time): 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 "not" guilty, right?
- [I told you so.](https://www.haiduklaw.com/i-told-you-so): Earlier this year I took issue with one of those news reports that seemed sourced mostly from a police press release. Or, at least, a police spokesperson who wasn't about to let the reporter ask any real questions.  By this point, I'm sure you know how much I love police press releases.  Because I know this is the internet and I know you're part of the short-attention-span Mtv (or whatever channel is cool now) generation, I also know you're not going to bother reading the other post. So, here were the highlights:
- [You Can’t Turn Over Police Reports You Haven’t Written.](https://www.haiduklaw.com/cant-turn-police-reports-havent-written): Between pondering how the courthouse bathrooms were trashed within 10 minutes of the place opening, and hoping that the cooler temps mean we'll see less than 80 people shot in the city this weekend, I managed to come across a great post on Simple Justice.  The post was Mr. Greefield's ruminations on the pervasive practice of prosecutors disclosing evidence on the eve of trial.  By "eve of trial" I mean years after they were ordered to disclose it.

## Pages
- [Domestic Violence Defense Attorney](https://www.haiduklaw.com/practice-areas/domestic-violence-defense-attorney): Domestic battery allegations in Illinois move fast — you can be removed from your home, cut off from your children, and ordered into court before the case is even fully reviewed. Prosecutors in Kane and DeKalb County often pursue these cases even when the other person no longer wants to proceed.
- [DUI Defense Attorney](https://www.haiduklaw.com/practice-areas/dui-defense-attorney): A DUI arrest in Kane or DeKalb County can put your license, your job, and your freedom at risk within hours. Illinois prosecutes DUI cases aggressively, especially when chemical testing, prior offenses, or aggravating factors are involved. What you do in the first few days can shape everything that follows.
- [Privacy Policy](https://www.haiduklaw.com/privacy-policy): Haiduk Law (“Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring the security of your personal information. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, store, disclose, and protect information obtained from visitors (“user,” “you,” or “your”) of our website, located at www.haiduklaw.com (the “Website”).
- [Terms of Service](https://www.haiduklaw.com/terms-of-service): Welcome to the official website of Haiduk Law (“Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). These Terms of Service (“Terms”) constitute a legally binding agreement between you (“user,” “you,” or “your”) and Haiduk Law, governing your access to and use of our website, located at www.haiduklaw.com (the “Website”). By accessing, browsing, or using the Website, you acknowledge and agree that you have read, understood, and accepted these Terms, along with our Privacy Policy.
- [News](https://www.haiduklaw.com/news)
- [Contact Us](https://www.haiduklaw.com/contact-us): Your consultation is free, and it’s your chance to get clear answers and peace of mind before taking the next step. 847.802.8384 | 825 W. State Street #117D | Geneva, Illinois 60134 Let's Get Started Name Email What can we help with? Appeals Felonies Criminal Defense Misdemeanors Traffic Court Other address (honeypot) Message Send Your Message
- [About Our Firm](https://www.haiduklaw.com/about-our-firm): Haiduk Law, based in Geneva, Illinois, was founded on a simple belief: being charged with a crime does not make you a bad person. Too often, prosecutors and even some defense attorneys treat clients like case numbers.
- [Traffic Court Attorney](https://www.haiduklaw.com/practice-areas/traffic-court-attorney): Success depends on having an experienced traffic court attorney who knows when to fight a case in court—and when a client may not even need one.
- [Misdemeanor Defense Attorney](https://www.haiduklaw.com/practice-areas/misdemeanor-defense-attorney): Each stage is important, and success depends on having an experienced misdemeanor defense attorney to guide you. With the right strategy and advocacy, you can protect your record, reduce penalties, and move forward with confidence.
- [Criminal Defense Attorney](https://www.haiduklaw.com/practice-areas/criminal-defense-attorney): Criminal charges—whether misdemeanor or felony—can disrupt every part of your life. Convictions can mean jail time, heavy fines, license suspensions, and a record that follows you for years. From DUI cases to violent crimes, the consequences are serious, and protecting your rights requires a skilled criminal defense attorney.
- [Felony Defense Attorney](https://www.haiduklaw.com/practice-areas/felony-defense-attorney): Felony charges bring the most serious consequences in Illinois—long prison terms, heavy fines, and a record that follows you for life. A conviction can affect work, housing, family, and rights like voting or firearm ownership. From violent crimes to drug offenses, the stakes are high, and the outcome can change your future. Having an experienced felony defense attorney is critical.
- [Criminal Appeals Attorney](https://www.haiduklaw.com/practice-areas/criminal-appeals-attorney): Appeals are complex, requiring research, strong arguments, and skilled advocacy. Few attorneys take them on, and fewer have real experience. As a criminal appeals attorney licensed in Illinois and federal courts, Matthew Haiduk has the knowledge to guide clients through this process and pursue justice.
- [Court Info](https://www.haiduklaw.com/court-info): You can easily find that information through the office of the circuit clerk for each respective county. Haiduk Law, P.C. takes cases at courthouses in Kane, McHenry DeKalb, Kendall and DuPage Counties. If you would like to look up your case, you can take the following links:
- [Success Stories](https://www.haiduklaw.com/success-stories): In People v. J.H., prosecutors claimed to have his client pinned on a church burglary. DNA was found at the scene. A witness said J.H. had the stolen property. Facing up to 30 years in prison, the case looked impossible. Haiduk did what he always does—filed motions to limit the state’s evidence, prepared tirelessly for trial, and let the jury decide. When it was over, the headlines spoke for themselves:
- [Practice Areas](https://www.haiduklaw.com/practice-areas)
- [Testimonials](https://www.haiduklaw.com/testimonials): "Matt was awesome! He helped me get my case dismissed and didn’t blink an eye! I highly recommend his firm for your legal needs."
- [Top Criminal Defense Attorney – Geneva, IL – Haiduk Law](https://www.haiduklaw.com/): Matthew Haiduk is a criminal defense attorney licensed in Illinois and Wisconsin, admitted in both state and federal trial and appellate courts. He began his career as a public defender in the Chicago area and has since built a reputation for strong advocacy and proven results.