Illinois Law
Illinois Felony & Misdemeanor Defense
- Felony & Misdemeanor Defense
Defenses and Punishment
Self-defense sometimes is used as a defense. The general rule for self-defense is that a person may use any amount of forceexcept deadly forcethat he or she reasonably believes is necessary to prevent immediate unlawful harm to a person. Using deadly force is permissible only when it reasonably appears to be necessary to avoid immediate death or serious injury to a person, or to prevent the commission of a felony in the actor's dwelling. If a person claims that he or she acted in self-defense, the prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that self-defense was not the reason for the crime.
By itself, intoxication is not a defense to a crime. In rare cases, intoxication works like a defense if there is proof that the person accused of the crime was unable to form the necessary intent to commit a crime. Someone who is intoxicated may not be found guilty of a crime that requires he or she acted intentionally, but the intoxicated person may be guilty of another crime that does not require intentional actions.
Felonies carry the strictest punishments, such as lengthy imprisonment, heavy fines, or even death.
Illinois also has laws that allow the authorities to seize property connected with the commission of a crime. For example, any money or other profits connected with computer fraud may be seized by the government. Similarly, a person charged with violating laws connected with controlled substances must forfeit the substances as well as the raw materials used to make the drugs, vehicles and real property used to further the crime, and any money or other proceeds from the sale of the controlled substances.
Misdemeanors
Misdemeanors carry a maximum punishment of a fine and less than one year of incarceration. Crimes for which a person may be punished by more than one year in jail or in prison are categorized in Illinois as felonies.
Crimes Causing Harm to Property
Theft, burglary, and robbery are felonies in Illinois unless the value of the property taken is under $300. Similarly, whether a crime against property is charged as a misdemeanor or a felony depends on the value of the property taken or damaged. The statute prohibiting criminal damage to property, for example, proscribes knowingly or recklessly damaging another's property, setting a fire on another's property, injuring another's domestic animal, and setting a stink bomb or other offensive-smelling compound on another's property. If the damage to the property is no more than $300, these crimes are misdemeanors; if the damage equals more than $300, the crimes are felonies. Similarly, criminal defacement of property is knowingly damaging another's property with paint, an etching tool, a writing instrument, or a similar device; the severity of punishment depends on the level of offense, which is a misdemeanor or felony depending on whether the property damage exceeds $300. In contrast, trespass to another person's property generally is a misdemeanor, while arson is always a felony.
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