Criminal Damage to Property Attorney Lake County, Illinois
Your Lake County, Illinois CRIMINAL DAMAGE TO PROPERTY case is charged as a misdemeanor or a felony, unless it is charged as a violation of a local ordinance. A misdemeanor charge can lead to a criminal conviction and to time in jail. A felony charge can lead to a criminal felony conviction and to time in prison. Criminal damage to property cases always contain various issues: What is the value of the damage caused? Whose property was allegedly damaged? Can the prosecution prove you were the person who caused the damage? Can the prosecution prove that you did the damage knowingly and that the damage was not caused by accident?
In all criminal cases, the prosecution is required to prove all elements of the offense alleged beyond a reasonable doubt. This means that if the prosecution fails to prove any one of the elements, you should be acquitted of the charge.
The HoffmanLaw Office has more than 18 years handling criminal cases in the Lake County, Illinois criminal courts. We work hard to powerfully represent our clients and develop creative solutions to the problems criminal accusations present. From the most basic perspective, you are presumed innocent of your criminal damage to property charge. This primary presumption will guide the HoffmanLaw Office throughout the entire defense of your criminal damage case. Not only are we here to represent you and to be your loyal advocate in Lake County criminal court, but we are here also to defend you and to make a strong positive impact on the overall outcome of your case.
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HoffmanLaw(847) 587-5000
HoffmanLawImplementing Effective Strategies to Successfully Resolve Your Lake County Criminal Damage to Property Case
Implementing Effective Strategies to Successfully Resolve Your Lake County Criminal Damage to Property Case
Lake County Illinois Criminal Damage to Property Lawyer
Lake County Illinois Criminal Damage to Property Lawyer
Your Lake County CRIMINAL DAMAGE TO PROPERTY case is charged either as a misdemeanor or felony offense. The value of the damage you allegedly caused will determine whether you are charged with a misdemeanor or felony crime. The circumstances in which you allegedly damaged another person’s property also will play a role in how your case is charged and in the potential penalties you face. The HoffmanLaw Office has many years of experience with Lake County, Illinois criminal damage to property cases. We have the knowledge, talent and overall ability to strongly defend your case.
Section 5/21-1(a) of the Illinois Criminal Code describes the basic offense of criminal damage to property. Under this statute, you can be charged with criminal damage to property if allegedly you knowingly damaged the property of another person. Enhanced penalties can apply in cases involving certain specific types of property claimed to have been damaged.
The Illinois criminal damage to property law clearly states that “the extent of the damage is an element of the offense to be resolved by the trier of fact.” See, 720 ILCS 5/21-1(b). This means that if you are charged with causing damage in excess of a certain amount, the prosecution must prove the value of the damage. More importantly, the HoffmanLaw Office can question and challenge the value of the damage alleged as just one method of raising reasonable doubt in your case.
Knowingly Damaging Another's Property
Knowingly Damaging Another's Property
Class A Misdemeanor
Damage to property does not exceed $500. Punishable by up to 364 days in jail and up to $2,500 fine.
Class 4 Felony
Damage to property exceeds $500 but does not exceed $10,000. Punishable by 1-3 years prison and up to $25,000 fine.
Class 3 Felony
Damage to property exceeds $10,000 but does not exceed $100,000. Punishable by 2-5 years prison and up to $25,000 fine.
Class 2 Felony
Damage to property exceeds $100,000. Punishable by 3-7 years prison and up to $25,000 fine.
HoffmanLaw Will Analyze the Issues in Your Case
HoffmanLaw Will Analyze the Issues in Your Case
If you are charged with criminal damage to property, it is very important to remember that you are presumed innocent of the offense. This presumption of innocence applies whether you are charged with a misdemeanor or felony. The HoffmanLaw Office always takes a close look at the facts and evidence in any criminal property damage case it defends. If we become your legal advocate in Lake County criminal court, we will hold the prosecution to its burden of proof and rigorously defend your case.
Sometimes in a criminal damage to property case, the prosecution will not be able to prove that you actually were the person who caused the damage alleged. Or, the prosecution may not be able to prove the damage is valued as highly as the written charging document claims. There are many ways to defend a criminal damage to property case and many different issues that can be raised in your defense. The HoffmanLaw Office has a long and successful history with Lake County criminal damage to property cases and of achieving outstanding results in Lake County criminal court. We never take any of the prosecution’s facts for granted and will perform a systematic analysis of the issues in your case.
If we become your legal advocate in Lake County criminal court, we will hold the prosecution to its burden of proof and rigorously defend your case.
~Attorney Matt Hoffman, the HoffmanLaw Office
HoffmanLaw(847) 587-5000
What is Criminal Damage?
What is Criminal Damage?
Knowingly Damaging
Any Property
Of Another
Why Choose HoffmanLaw to Defend Your Lake County Illinois Criminal Damage to Property Case?
Why Choose HoffmanLaw to Defend Your Lake County Illinois Criminal Damage to Property Case?
Analysis.
The HoffmanLaw Office always is focused on the presumption of innocence. Building on this presumption, the HoffmanLaw Office performs a systematic and searching ANALYSIS of the facts alleged in your case. This intensive analysis exposes weakness in the prosecution's evidence and develops powerful defense arguments and strategies.
Preparation.
The HoffmanLaw Office strives to know completely the facts and law of your case. In criminal court, good results do not often emerge by chance. They come through intense PREPARATION that lays the groundwork for success. When you select the HoffmanLaw Office as your legal advocate, you team yourself with a philosophy of extreme preparation.
Results.
The HoffmanLaw Office views every time it appears in court with you as an opportunity to achieve RESULTS. Whether it is negotiating during a pretrial conference, cross-examining a witness, or delivering a closing argument at trial, the HoffmanLaw Office strives to be your best advocate at all times.
Facing Lake County Illinois Criminal Damage to Property Charges?
HoffmanLaw offers almost two decades of Lake County Illinois criminal trial experience.HoffmanLaw
Defending Criminal Defacement and Damage to Government Property
Defending Criminal Defacement and Damage to Government Property
The HoffmanLaw Office also defends other types of criminal property damage charges. Related charges we defend in the Lake County, Illinois criminal court system include criminal damage to government supported property and criminal defacement of property.
If you are charged with CRIMINAL DAMAGE TO GOVERNMENT SUPPORTED PROPERTY, it will be alleged that you knowingly damaged government supported property without the consent of the State. See,720 ILCS 5/21-1.01. Criminal damage to government supported property is a felony offense, ranging from a class 4 felony all the way up to a class 1 felony. Like criminal damage to property, the charge of criminal damage to government supported property increases in severity based on the value of the damage alleged.
If you are facing a charge of CRIMINAL DEFACEMENT OF PROPERTY, it will be alleged that you knowingly damaged someone else’s property by defacing, deforming, or otherwise damaging it with paint or a similar substance, or with a writing instrument, etching tool, or similar device. See,720 ILCS 5/21-1.3. Criminal defacement of property ranges in severity from a class A misdemeanor to a class 3 felony offense, depending on the value and type of property allegedly damaged.
Seeking Criminal Court Outcomes that Protect Your Future
Seeking Criminal Court Outcomes that Protect Your Future
Criminal defacement of property basically alleges an act of vandalism. If you are charged with criminal vandalism you are defending a misdemeanor or felony offense. In either case, you are facing a possible criminal conviction that could lead to a criminal record. The HoffmanLaw Office understands the negative implications of a conviction for criminal defacement, criminal damage to property, and all other related charges. If chosen as your attorney in Lake County criminal court, we will work hard to seek the best possible outcome of your case and to seek a result that has the least damaging impact on your future goals.
If chosen as your attorney . . . we will work hard to seek the best possible outcome of your case and to seek a result that has the least damaging impact on your future and goals.
~Attorney Matt Hoffman, the HoffmanLaw Office
HoffmanLawDefending Serious Criminal Damage and Criminal Defacement Charges in Lake County Illinois Criminal Court
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Defending Juveniles Against Criminal Damage to Property Charges at Juvenile Court in Vernon Hills
Defending Juveniles Against Criminal Damage to Property Charges at Court in Vernon Hills
The HoffmanLaw Office also defends criminal damage to property and related charges at the Lake County, Illinois juvenile courthouse in Vernon Hills. 
Juvenile court prosecutions are governed by penalties, rules and procedures that often differ greatly from those that apply in adult court, including those discussed on this page.
Attorney Matt Hoffman of the HoffmanLaw Office has many years' experience with Lake County juvenile delinquency proceedings and "Petitions for Adjudication of Wardship." He is a former Lake County Assistant State's Attorney who used to prosecute juvenile cases in Lake County juvenile court. If your child is charged with criminal damage to property, criminal defacement of property, or with any other related property damage offense in Lake County juvenile court, the HoffmanLaw Office has the specific experience necessary to work toward an intelligent and effective resolution of the case.
Matt Hoffman is a former recipient of the Lake County, Illinois Juvenile Justice Award.
HoffmanLawLegal Issues Blog
Criminal Damage Cases are Defensible on Many Issues
The charge of criminal damage to property is punishable in varying degrees of severity under Illinois law. The least-serious version of this charge is a class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a $2,500 fine and up to 364 days in jail. More serious versions of this charge move all the way up to class 2 felony offenses, and may be even higher when damage to certain specially-protected types of property is alleged.
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What controls the level of the offense charged is not the value of the property damaged, but the value of the damage alleged. For instance, if $300 in damage is alleged, then the criminal damage to property charge will be issued as a class A misdemeanor offense. If $10,001 damage is alleged, then the criminal damage to property charge will be issued as a class 3 felony offense.
Illinois courts have held that one way of determining the value of the damage alleged is by looking to the cost of repairs necessitated by the defendant's conduct. See, People vs. Carraro, 77 Ill.2d 75, 394 N.E.2d 1194 (1977). If the prosecution seeks to prove the value of the damage in this manner, the defense will be permitted to challenge how that value was decided. The defense also may be permitted to offer contradictory evidence as to the value of the damage in question.
. . . the HoffmanLaw Office understands the relevant issues . . . It is our job and our mandate to carefully deconstruct the prosecution’s case against you and exploit weaknesses in its evidence to your advantage.
~Attorney Matt Hoffman, the HoffmanLaw Office
Interestingly, the criminal damage to property statute contains an affirmative defense. Under the statute, it is an affirmative defense to the charge of knowingly damaging the property of another under section (a)(1) of the statute that the owner of the property consented to the damage. See, 720 ILCS 5/21-1(c).
While misdemeanor and felony criminal damage to property charges are issued under the laws of the State of Illinois, and are listed in the Illinois Criminal Code, less-punitive types of criminal damage to property charges may be issued under local ordinances.
Local ordinance charges, which allege the violation of an ordinance of a unit of local government, like a city, village, or town, frequently are charged as petty offenses. Unlike misdemeanor and felony charges, petty offenses do not provide for sentences of incarceration and typically are punishable by fines, community service, and other similar requirements.
However your Lake County criminal damage to property case is charged, the HoffmanLaw Office understands the relevant issues. These issues can involve the value of the damage alleged, whether you were the person who damaged the property in question, and whether you had the requisite mental state to substantiate the charge against you, in addition to many others. It is our job and our mandate to carefully deconstruct the prosecution’s case against you and exploit weaknesses in its evidence to your advantage.
HoffmanLawHere to Defend You Every Step of the Way
Bond Court
In Lake County misdemeanor and felony cases, if you are arrested you might be brought before a judge for a bond hearing. At your bond hearing, the judge will consider the charges, the alleged facts, your criminal history, and other factors. Then the judge will set the conditions of your bond. You might be released on your signature or have to post money before you get out of jail. Your bond hearing can be the first time you appear in front of a judge in your case. The HoffmanLaw Office has nearly two decades of Lake County bond court experience in misdemeanor and felony cases. If you have been or are going to be arrested, the HoffmanLaw Office is ready to get to work quickly as your advocate at this early and important step in your case.
Preliminary Hearing
In a Lake County felony case, you have the right to a preliminary hearing or indictment. At your preliminary hearing, the prosecution will call witnesses to try to prove to a judge that there is probable cause that you committed a felony offense. If the judge finds probable cause, your case will be scheduled for arraignment. If the judge finds no probable cause, your charges will be dismissed. If no preliminary hearing is held, your case can be presented to the Grand Jury for indictment. The HoffmanLaw Office has almost two decades of experience with preliminary hearing and Grand Jury issues in Lake County felony cases. The HoffmanLaw Office knows how to assert your rights during this often technical part of your case.
Arraignment
In Lake County misdemeanor and felony cases, at your arraignment the judge formally will advise you of the charges you are facing and tell you their maximum possible penalties. The judge will order the prosecution and defense to comply with discovery rules. These rules will require the prosecution to turn over copies of police reports and other written evidence. At your arraignment, you will be asked to enter a plea. Almost all arraignments include a plea of “not-guilty.” The HoffmanLaw Office has represented clients in many hundreds of Lake County arraignments. This Office knows how to defend and assert your Constitutional rights at this significant step in the court proceedings.
Pretrial Conference
A pretrial conference is a court appearance after arraignment in a Lake County misdemeanor or felony case. At a pretrial conference, the prosecution and defense can work toward reaching an agreed resolution of your criminal charges. The HoffmanLaw Office views pretrial conferences, and every other court appearance in your case, as opportunities to advocate on your behalf. There can be multiple pretrial conferences as your case moves forward. During any pretrial conference, the HoffmanLaw Office is focused on the fact that you are presumed innocent. With this presumption always in mind, this Office has many years of experience in negotiating for positive outcomes in Lake County criminal court.
Motion Practice
The HoffmanLaw Office uses pretrial motions to try to favorably alter the outcome of your criminal case. A carefully written and successfully argued pretrial motion can have a profoundly positive effect on the outcome of your case. This is especially so when, for example, the court rules your confession was involuntary, or rules you were the victim of an unlawful search and seizure, or rules you were inappropriately identified in a police lineup, or even rules your charges are so problematic they must be dismissed. The HoffmanLaw Office works hard to analyze the facts and law of your case in exploring the use of effective pretrial motions.
Trial
At its core, the HoffmanLaw Office is a trial law firm. It is built on almost two decades of Lake County criminal court trial experience. If your charges do not resolve during the pretrial process, your case will go to trial. As your advocate, the HoffmanLaw Office will bring many years of Lake County criminal court trial experience to your defense. Attacking the prosecution's evidence, questioning the opinions of prosecution experts and police, and aggressively cross-examining prosecution witnesses are proven ways of raising reasonable doubt in the rigorous pursuit of a not-guilty verdict. The HoffmanLaw Office never waivers from its pursuit of your success.
HoffmanLaw(847) 587-5000
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