Criminal defense

March 30, 2016

Identity Theft, Counterfeiting, and Bomb Threats

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

A combination of two ultimate fraud charges, identity theft and counterfeiting, resulted in a major potential felony bomb threat at the Midway Airport. All of these elements came to light when a Chicago woman attempted to smuggle counterfeit and stolen credit/debit cards out of the state, and ended up as what the authorities thought was a bomb threat. See DNAinfo Chicago.

The Identity Theft Incident, Now a Major Crime

Prior to 1998, identity theft was not considered a major crime. Identity theft and identity fraud is pretty much the same thing. This is a crime where one person obtains and uses the personal information of a victim to advance his or her own personal gain. The personal information used, such as birth date, social security number, etc., allows the perpetrator to pose as the victim for the purpose of obtaining a loan, buying merchandise or obtaining credit in the victim’s name. This fraud has far reaching consequences for the victim, because once the identity has been used, to run up credit debt, or for criminal activity, they will have major problems in trying to restore their good name.

March 18, 2016

The First Amendment Right to Free Speech and Social Media

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

Do we have a First Amendment Right to say anything we want to on social media; to make threats of violence against others, without fear of retribution? Social Media brawls, squabbles, and feuds on Facebook and Twitter, to name a few, are no joke. What often starts out as an innocent “back and forth” between sparring parties can grow ugly when there is a spillover from Facebook to reality; and sometimes that spillover can become deadly.

Facebook and Twitter accounts are now being monitored for possible criminal activities. Both federal, as well as state and local law enforcements have begun to use social media as one of their vehicles in the prevention and the solving of crimes. There have been court rulings that postings on social media sites have no expectation of privacy or confidentiality, therefore, anything you post in social media is accessible without the need for a warrant.

Even so, it has not been settled whether the First Amendment Right applies to threats of crimes of violence or murder on social media. Many social media users hide behind the anonymity of the profiles they create to behave in ways that would be totally unacceptable in the real world.

March 16, 2016

The First Amendment and the Right to Assemble

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

revolutionary

There is a safeguard under our First Amendment for political protests. However, that safeguard does not extend to protests that lead to assault and battery (or worse) of other protesters, passersby, police officers, or news reporters.

Most recently, during a political rally in Chicago, for one of the Republican candidates, Donald Trump, a protest erupted. Thousands of protesters and the candidate’s supporters faced off in what started as a mere disagreement in campaign policies and slogans and ended in a “free for all.” In the aftermath of the protests, four people were arrested. One of the protesters faces one count of felony aggravated battery against a police officer and five misdemeanor counts of resisting arrest. If his main purpose for attending the rally was to go to jail, then he succeeded.

March 9, 2016

Social Media, Violent Crimes, and Fifteen Minutes of Fame

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

We live in the age of the internet, social media, and video games. People are becoming less social in real time and are becoming more and more addicted to their YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram accounts. During social media chats and brawls, individuals often lose all connection with reality and act out their fantasies. Sometimes those fantasies can take on a dark and sinister turns. The internet has become a place where individuals and roving mobs have videotaped themselves committing crimes and then uploading their “confessions” to the crime for the entire world to see.

Violent Crimes Uploaded on Social Media

In 2013, a Florida man by the name of Derek Medina, murdered his wife and upload pictures of her body on Facebook for all his friends to see. During his trial he asserted that he shot his wife in self-defense in that she was threatening him with a knife. Evidence showed to the contrary. Medina shot his wife eight times while she was cowering on the floor. There also appeared to be evidence that he had planned to kill her if she left him. These ongoing battles between Medina and his wife were shared with their friends on Facebook.

March 4, 2016

High Profile Cases and the Media

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

High profile cases usually get a lot of attention in the media. Sometimes, media attention can advance the cause of justice, and sometimes it can inhibit it. When a case is tried in the court of public opinion, facts are sometimes ignored and emotions become the measuring rod for “guilt or innocence.”

There have been a few high profile cases that have garnered such media attention, both past and present. But in this century there is one particular case that has received the most attention.

One infamous high profile case comes to mind, The State vs. O.J. Simpson. Twenty-five years ago, Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman were brutally murdered at Nicole Simpson’s home in Brentwood, California. Attention focused on one particular suspect, Nicole’s famous ex-husband, O.J. Simpson. Simpson was arrested and charged with the murders, and the case gained immediate media attention due to Simpson’s celebrity status.

March 2, 2016

Chicago Gangs: a View From the Past

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

Gang violence is nothing new in this country, from New York City, to Chicago, to Las Vegas and beyond, criminal gangs and gang violence has left its mark on American society.

The era of the Italian Mafia is one of the most notorious periods in American history. The Mafia, whose criminal activities back in the twenties, thirties, and forties were so glamorized in Hollywood movies crime families like the Capone “Outfit” and the Genovese crime family became a part of Americana. Who has not seen movies such as the 1931 movie “Little Caesar” with Edward G. Robinson, and the 1931 movie “Public Enemy” with James Cagney?

The organized crime street violence of the 30s reached a climax with the now infamous St. Valentine’s Day Massacre orchestrated by Al Capone, which led to the slaughter of seven members of a rival gang. One of the men shot during the raid, found still alive, refused to name those that committed the crime. He died moments later without “snitching” on the person or persons that killed him. See History.com

February 26, 2016

Blighted Neighborhoods in Chicago and High Crime

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

In an effort to eradicate crime in the urban city of Chicago, the city officials are demolishing abandoned buildings that are magnets for drug users and drug dealers. The buildings targeted for demolition are known hangouts for gangs and drug dealers. Residents of the neighborhood have been asking Alderman Carrie Austin for years to get the city to take down these buildings. Happily, now, the city is listening to the neighborhood residents.

The Demolition of Buildings in Blighted Neighborhoods

The Chicago Police Department and the Department of Building and Safety have started demolishing the building structures located in the West Pullman neighborhood. Mayor Rahm Emanuel says that these demolitions are necessary to fight gang violence and crime in the area. Chicago has torn down at least 14 structures and boarded up about 400 buildings so far. The structures being targeted for demotion are those that are located in high crime areas, those that have absentee owners and those that have no possibility of being repaired. See abc7news for more on this story.

February 12, 2016

Serial Stowaway Apprehended Again

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

We have heard of serial killers, those mentally crazed individuals that satisfy their urge to take the life of another, for no reason at all. We have serial burglars that break and enter homes, warehouses, and any place where they will find the property and valuables of another. We have serial sex offenders who stalk and attack (usually women and children) to satisfy their urges to assault someone. But now there is a very unusual serial criminal perpetrator who commits her crime to satisfy her urge to “travel.”

We Have a Serial “Stowaway”

The serial stowaway who has been making a name for herself over the past several years is Marilyn Hartman whose love of travel; love of attention; or something else, makes her sneak aboard flights again and again. Ms. Hartman has made approximately thirteen known failed attempts to board flights without a ticket, and has succeeded at least twice; once on a flight from Minnesota to Jackson, Florida; and on another flight from San Jose to Los Angeles, California. She also has made three failed attempts within a six day time frame to board a flight to Hawaii. See dailymail.co.uk.

January 27, 2016

Crime in the City

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

What is the nature of crime and can it be controlled? From the beginning of time, starting with the story of Cain and Abel, society has been perplexed with crime and its impact on how we interact with each other on a daily basis. Perhaps it is an inevitability of the human experience. Wherever you have man interacting with each other, you will have the makings of criminal elements. For that reason, laws have been created in order to control this part of human nature to some degree, and to the extent possible.

Types of Crimes That Plague the Human Experience

There are many types of crimes and criminal acts ranging from homicide, burglary, arson, assault and battery, to name a few. Cities with a large population growth will have a percentage of all of these types of crimes taking place on any given day, on its streets, and in its communities. At risk for higher levels of crimes, for the most part, are our low income communities where unemployment, squalor, and what appears to be and acceptance of certain types of crimes seems to be the norm.

January 22, 2016

What is the Difference Between Probation and Parole?

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

Probation

If you are sentenced to probation, you have been given a sentence with lesser jail time than usual because you may be a first time offender, and a probation time period is attached to the sentence which indicates that any violation of the probation will require you to serve out the full jail term. There may be no jail time to serve unless you violate the conditions of the probation (i.e., you have been sentenced to five years probation and you are released with the caveat that if you violate the terms of the probation, you will be remanded to custody to serve out a full five year jail term).

Parole