ABOUT ME
Matt Keenan
Se habla español.
A criminal and school law attorney with over 24 years of experience, I have successfully represented clients all over the Chicago area. My practice includes DUI, felony, criminal, misdemeanor, homicide, internet crime, retail theft, traffic offenses, cyberstalking, drug crimes, weapons violations, domestic battery and juvenile crime. I also represent families involving school cases. My clients come from all over the Chicago area including Skokie, Wilmette, Niles, Northbrook, Glenview, Evanston, Winnetka, Highland park, Northfield, Park Ridge, Des Plaines and Mount Prospect. I am a member of the ACLU, Illinois State Bar Association.
We wrote the chapters on DEFENSES and ARRESTS AND INVESTIGATORY STOPS.
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Illinois Jurisprudence: Criminal Law and Procedure. Vol. 1. (LexisNexis 2014).We wrote the chapters on SEARCH and SEIZURE, MOTIONS AND DISCOVERY, and EVIDENTIARY MATTERS GENERALLY.
Illinois Jurisprudence: Criminal Law and Procedure. Vol. 1. (LexisNexis 2014).
Author Archives: mdkeenan
FAILURE TO REPORT AN ACCIDENT IN ILLINOIS
You left the bar feeling pretty toasty. Unfortunately, on the way home, you got into an accident. You now have a dilemma. If you report the accident, the police may charge you with DUI. But if you don’t report the … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged failure to report an accident, leaving the scene of an accident
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DRIVING ON A REVOKED/SUSPENDED LICENSE CAN LEAD TO STIFFER DUI PENALTIES
A recent Illinois appellate case underscores the proposition that if your license is revoked or suspended, it’s revoked or suspended until the Secretary of State says it’s not. If you lose your license because of DUI, you cannot drive until … Continue reading
Posted in aggravated dui, driving on a suspended license
Tagged aggravated dui, license suspension, loss of driving privileges, revocation, secretary of state, secretary of state suspension, suspension
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ILLINOIS LAW REQUIRES POLICE TO ASK BEFORE GIVING A PORTABLE BREATHALYZER TEST
Recent Illinois case law has clarified that an officer must ask you to take the portable breathlayzer test (PBT) and give you enough time to refuse before giving the test, or your case could be dismissed. If you are stopped … Continue reading
Posted in breathalyzer/field sobriety test, DUI testing
Tagged breathalyzer testing, portable breathalyzer, probable cause, testing
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EXTRADITION TO ILLINOIS: THE UNFINISHED CRIMINAL CASE
With ever-expanding access to information, police in one state can easily learn about any criminal charges you have open in another state. And that can lead to extradition. Extradition means you could be arrested in your current state and brought … Continue reading
Posted in traffic offenses
Tagged extradition, traffic stop, unfinished sentence, violation of sentence
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CHANGES TO ILLINOIS LAW ON MARIJUANA AND DUI
Changes to Illinois law tackle the problem of determining how much marijuana is too much for purposes of DUI. The new law took effect July 29, 2016. The new law provides a limit for driving under the influence of marijuana … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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MARIJUANA CAN STILL GET YOU IN TROUBLE
There is no doubt that laws regarding marijuana are liberalizing. A new law effective July 29, 2016 takes marijuana out of the trace law–the law that convicts you for DUI if you cause a serious accident whether or not you … Continue reading
Posted in DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE, DUI testing
Tagged cannabis, driving under the influence of marijuana, Marijuana, trace law
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WERE YOU DRIVING A MOTOR VEHICLE UNDER ILLINOIS DUI LAW?
To be convicted of DUI, the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you were operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. But what exactly is a motor vehicle? Naturally, a car, a truck … Continue reading
Posted in DUI evidence
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DOG SNIFFS AND THE UNDULY PROLONGED TRAFFIC STOP
In 2005, the United States Supreme Court changed the law regarding police stops. Before Illinois v Caballes, police needed specific and articulable facts to change the nature of a stop. After 2005, an officer could change the nature of the … Continue reading
Posted in DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE, DUI evidence
Tagged arrest, canine sniff, dog sniff, drug evidence, drug stop, narcotic stop, search and seizure, seizure, stop
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“I DIDN’T KNOW I’D HIT ANYONE”: LEAVING THE SCENE OF AN ACCIDENT IN ILLINOIS
Illinois law requires that any driver involved in a motor vehicle accident must stay at the scene, file a police report and/or call for assistance. The law further requires that you reasonably assist any injured person including carrying that person … Continue reading
Posted in traffic offenses
Tagged failure to assist, failure to report an accident, leaving the scene
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2016 UPDATE ON COURTHOUSE CELL PHONE RULES
After the recent removal of cell phone lockers at the George N. Leighton Criminal Courthouse resulted in confusion, it seems like a good time to review the rules. Cook County first implemented its courthouse cell phone ban in 2013. The … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged cell phone, court rules, court security
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