illinois how much discretion does state's attorney have

by Luz Schumm 5 min read

What are the powers of the Illinois Attorney-General?

(f) In a county with less than 2,000,000 inhabitants, and only upon receipt of a written request by the superintendent of the county Veterans Assistance Commission for the county in which the State's Attorney is located, the State's Attorney shall have the discretionary authority to render an opinion, without fee or reward, upon any question of law relating to a matter in which the …

Who decides which charge should be filed in Illinois?

Lewis, 73 Ill.App.3d 361, 386 N.E.2d 910 (3d Dist. 1979) The Constitution gives the State's Attorney discretion to decide whether to prosecute an individual. However, that discretion is subject to constitutional limits, and cannot be exercised on the basis of race, religion, or First Amendment rights.

How many lawyers does the Cook County State's Attorney's Office have?

Apr 04, 2022 · The ten state attorneys generals joined together in signing the letter to Democratic Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin and Republican Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, ... arguing that Congress determines how much discretion judges have to determine the punishment for child-sex criminals. She also pointed out that there are multiple aspects to consider when ...

Does §16/10 interfere with the state’s Attorney’s exclusive discretion?

Hereof, who is the district attorney for Illinois? Kim Foxx. Chicago, Illinois, U.S. Kimberly M. Foxx (née Anderson; born April 1972) is an American politician, currently serving as the State's Attorney for Cook County, Illinois.She manages the nation's second largest prosecutor's office and oversees an office of approximately 800 attorneys and 1,500 employees.

Does Illinois have prosecutorial discretion?

1979) The Constitution gives the State's Attorney discretion to decide whether to prosecute an individual. However, that discretion is subject to constitutional limits, and cannot be exercised on the basis of race, religion, or First Amendment rights.

What does Illinois state's attorney do?

The states' attorney has the exclusive and statutory responsibility for prosecuting violations of the criminal law of the State of Illinois, as well as many other regulatory laws of the state and county including traffic regulation, juvenile court matters and mental health hearing.

How long does state attorney have to file charges in Illinois?

Generally, statutes of limitation are 18 months for misdemeanors and three years for felonies. However, there are some exceptions [720 ILCS 5/3-5]. When the police are seeking felony charges, the prosecutor is usually contacted to review the charges.

Do prosecutors have broad discretion?

In some cases, the prosecutor may request more information from law enforcement or investigators before making a final decision. In most circumstances, prosecutors enjoy broad discretion and affect the trajectory and outcome of criminal cases more than other actors in the justice system do.

How much does a Cook County state's attorney make?

The average Cook County State's Attorney salary ranges from approximately $72,657 per year for an Attorney to $95,437 per year for an Assistant States Attorney. Cook County State's Attorney employees rate the overall compensation and benefits package 3.2/5 stars.

How much does a DA make?

How much does a District Attorney make? The average District Attorney in the US makes $77,118. The average bonus for a District Attorney is $7,054 which represents 9% of their salary, with 100% of people reporting that they receive a bonus each year.

How do you get a prosecutor to drop charges?

There are several ways for criminal defendants to convince a prosecutor to drop their charges. They can present exculpatory evidence, complete a pretrial diversion program, agree to testify against another defendant, take a plea deal, or show that their rights were violated by the police.Jul 14, 2021

What crimes have no statute of limitations in Illinois?

In cases of criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual assault, predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, aggravated criminal sexual abuse, or felony criminal sexual abuse where the victim is a minor, there is no statute of limitations.Jun 10, 2019

How many years after a crime can you be charged?

For most crimes, the state loses the power to charge you with a crime 5 years after the crime is committed. Like most other facets of the law there are exceptions, here are a few. If the crime committed was rape there is no statute of limitations.

What are the limits of prosecutorial discretion?

Prosecutors are granted broad discretion in many areas. These include, but are not limited to, the decision whether to investigate, grant immunity, or plea bargain, what recommendation to make under the Sentencing Guidelines, and the determination as to whether, what, when, and where charges should be brought.

What are the three areas of prosecutorial discretion?

Prosecutors exercise the most discretion in three areas of decision making: the decision to file charges, the decision to dismiss charges, and plea bargaining.

Is prosecutorial discretion absolute?

The answer is simple: "prosecutorial discretion." Under American law, government prosecuting attorneys have nearly absolute and unreviewable power to choose whether or not to bring criminal charges and what charges to bring.

What is the order of the court for the enforcement of an order or judgment?

In every proceeding for the enforcement of an order or judgment when the court finds that the failure to comply with the order or judgment was without compelling cause or justification, the court shall order the party against whom the proceeding is brought to pay the costs and reasonable attorney's fees of the prevailing party.

What is the IRMo Schneider case?

3d 628, 1295 (2nd Dist., 2003) (the same case as the Illinois Supreme Court case addressing personal goodwill) ruled that the trial court did not err in refusing to award contribution toward attorney 's fees where the parties “were equally unreasonable, litigious, and quarrelsome throughout the divorce proceedings, resulting in an unnecessarily expensive divorce.” The appellate court also stated, “Furthermore, although Jodi's earning potential pales in comparison to Earl's, she has failed to show an inability to pay her own attorney fees. See McCoy, 272 Ill. App. 3d at 132 (ability to pay does not mean ability to pay without pain or sacrifice).” Moreover, the appellate court commented that the wife was awarded a disproportionate and substantial share of the marital estate (worth approximately $326,000). Schneider is the newest of a line of cases which states that the court did not make a contribution award in a case with litigation where both parties are to blame resulting in an expensive and litigious divorce where there is no showing of "inability to pay." See, e.g., IRMO Aleshire, 273 Ill.App.3d 81(3d Dist.1995) [In cross-petitions for enforcement the court may apportion attorney's fees in a manner that reflects the parties' relative culpability.] IRMO Mandei, 222 Ill.App.3d 933 (4th Dist. 1991). Trial court did not abuse its discretion in ordering each party to pay own fees where the fees were generated largely from the result of the parties' unwillingness to compromise.

Does Macaluso v. Konchar require a post divorce bar?

Macaluso — Case Contrary to Konchar Holding – In Post-Divorce Proceedings No Bar until 30 Days after Entry of Judgment: For a while, the law seemed clear that a fee petition, even in post-judgment proceedings, must be filed before the final judgment is entered. However, the Macaluso v. Macaluso, 334 Ill.App.3d 1043 (3rd Dist. 2002), GDR 02-55, decision, disagreed with Konchar (as discussed above in the Illinois Supreme Court Blum decision) and held that a petition for contribution fees in post-judgment proceedings need not be filed before final judgment is entered, and the a petition may be filed at any time before the trial court loses jurisdiction. Macaluso reasoned that the timing requirements of the contribution statute do not apply to post-divorce matters because §503(j)'s references to "the final hearing on all other issues between the parties,” is specific to the bifurcated hearing required in pre-decree proceedings. I believe the Macaluso decision may be the better reasoned decision. Nevertheless, we have a clear conflict among the districts due to the fact that the original leveling legislation was not drafted with post-divorce proceedings in mind.

What is an early post leveling case?

“early” post-“Leveling” cases that related to attorney's fees because of a party’s “unreasonable” conduct. In IRMO Menken, 334 Ill.App.3d 531 (2nd Dist. 2002), at issue was the husband's failure to consent to the issuance of a QILDRO affecting his state retirement benefits (Rockford police benefits.) The trial court entered an order that the father would not be required to pay fees unless he refused to consent to the issuance of a QILDRO. Later, when the husband in fact refused to consent, the trial court entered an order for fees. The appellate court gratuitously commented (because the father did not appeal the issue) that, “we feel compelled to note that the trial court should not have conditioned the amount of attorney fees on whether respondent signed the consent form. The issues were unrelated...”

Is there a disgorgement case in Illinois?

There are not many disgorgement cases. The issues addressed by the Illinois Supreme Court involved Separation of Powers, the Supreme Court Rules and the Dowling case. The question was essentially whether the Supreme Court Rules and Dowling trumped the disgorgement provisions when there is an “advance payment” retainer. The point is that with an advance payment fees earned are not "available funds" under the statute. The Supreme Court somewhat sidestepped this point. Also, construing the statute to make earned fees available for disgorgement, will discourage attorneys from getting involved in low-income, low-asset cases.

Why is it important to have a prosecutorial discretion?

Probably one of the biggest advantages of allowing prosecutorial discretion is that it promotes judicial economy. There's only so much time available on a court's calendar, so a prosecutor's ability to decide when to charge a defendant as well as their ability to plea bargain with a defendant allows prosecutors to ease the burden not only on themselves but also on courts and judges.

What is the power of a prosecutor?

Prosecutorial discretion is when a prosecutor has the power to decide whether or not to charge a person for a crime, and which criminal charges to file. This is a rather broad power that also gives prosecutors the authority to enter into plea bargains with a defendant, which can result in the defendant pleading guilty to a lesser charge ...

How are state attorneys elected?

In general, State's Attorneys are elected by the people they represent. Their duties are spelled out in the laws of the local governments they represent, and they're held accountable by the voters for how well they do their jobs and how well their performance matches up with the local politics of the area. But a State's Attorney hardly ever does ...

What is an assistant state attorney?

Assistant State's Attorneys, also known as Deputy State's Attorneys,are the ones who actually appear in court, file the legal briefs and interview witnesses. The State's Attorney, on the other hand, is in charge of policy, staffing and running the office, and making decisions about certain high-profile cases. Advertisement.

What is a prosecutor?

A State's Attorney is the most common term for a prosecutor, someone who represents the people in criminal and civil legal matters. But while the most iconic image of a State's Attorney is ...

What is the job of a criminal prosecutor?

Criminal prosecutions are the chief duty of most State's Attorney offices. In many states, such as Michigan, criminal prosecutions follow a predetermined series of steps [source: Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan ]. First, police file a warrant or charging request with the State's Attorney following an investigation.

What is an arraignment in court?

An arraignment in court follows, at which the suspect is formally charged with a crime and enters a plea. Depending on the type and severity of a crime, there can be several pretrial hearings. At some point during these hearings, a plea bargain may be offered to induce the suspect to enter a guilty plea. Advertisement.

How many judicial districts does the US have?

One U.S. Attorney is assigned to each of 93 federal judicial districts around the country and is the top law enforcement official for the federal government in those districts. From there, the attorney will prosecute criminal cases, represent the federal government and collect debts owed to the federal government.

What happens before a trial?

Before a trial takes place, the process of discovery takes place, at which the State's Attorney and the defense attorney share information they intend to introduce as evidence at trial.