Category Archives: Sentence and Punishment

On behalf of Law Office of Steven Haney posted in Drug Crimes on Monday, July 15, 2013 A foundational principle of the criminal justice system is predictability. It is critically important that criminal law functions predictably on two levels. First, members of society must be able to predict and understand what actions will be considered criminally illegal when committed. Second, those who do commit criminal acts must be treated similarly under the law. If individuals are dissimilarly accused, convicted or sentenced, theContinue reading →

On behalf of Law Office of Steven Haney posted in Expunging a Criminal History on Thursday, June 14, 2012 The justice system in Illinois and throughout the nation is designed to punish those who have broken the law. Unfortunately, the system does not always work perfectly. Too many people end up falsely convicted of crimes – such as sex crimes – they never committed, dealing with a penalty they do not deserve. Since 1989, almost 900 overturned convictions have been registered with the NationalContinue reading →

By Steve Haney posted in Sentence and Punishment on Wednesday, April 17, 2013 A new law entitled the “Offender Initiative Program” has recently taken effect in the State of Illinois regarding sentence and punishment.  In essence, it is a program designed to allow certain first time felony defendants to avoid a felony conviction.  The goal of this program is to reduce recidivism by defendants who can lead productive lives without burdening them with the lifetime label of “convicted felon”. The Offender InitiativeContinue reading →

On behalf of Law Office of Steven Haney posted in Sentence and Punishment on Monday, January 7, 2013 When it comes to holding individuals accountable for illegal behavior, the criminal justice system tends to dig its heels in too far and for too long. In addition to requiring any accused individual to mount an extensive criminal defense, those who are convicted may be fined, incarcerated and/or required to submit to alternative sentences. Finally, many individuals are also placed on parole or probation duringContinue reading →

On behalf of Law Office of Steven Haney posted in Expunging a Criminal History on Thursday, June 14, 2012 The justice system in Illinois and throughout the nation is designed to punish those who have broken the law. Unfortunately, the system does not always work perfectly. Too many people end up falsely convicted of crimes – such as sex crimes – they never committed, dealing with a penalty they do not deserve. Since 1989, almost 900 overturned convictions have been registered with the NationalContinue reading →

On behalf of Law Office of Steven Haney posted in Felonies on Wednesday, December 28, 2011 Almost everyone in the US knows what “double jeopardy” is: namely, that once a jury acquits you of a crime, the State cannot bring you back to trial on the same charges. The concept of double jeopardy is a staple in countless Hollywood movies, and is mentioned in the media almost daily. However, it is important to note that the prohibition on double jeopardy only appliesContinue reading →

By Steve Haney posted in In the News on Sunday, July 17, 2011 The burden on the government to prove a criminal case beyond a reasonable doubt was previously highlighted by a case widely discussed in the news: the Casey Anthony trial.  The verdict was extremely unpopular for obvious reasons.  A young child died with her death covered-up by her mother.  Why would a mother cover-up the death of her own child, unless she was involved in the death? Very possibly because sheContinue reading →

On behalf of Law Office of Steven Haney posted in Drug Crimes on Wednesday, January 29, 2014 A report recently released by Human Rights Watch indicates that the Justice System regularly engages in coercion of federal drug defendants. Specifically, the report alleges that individuals arrested on charges of federal drug crimes are coerced into entering guilty pleas by various methods. Among the methods of coercion used by the Justice Department are threats of stacking charges against the defendants in order to increase potential incarcerationContinue reading →