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Adam Sheppard sits as Moot Court Judge for Northwestern Law School
April 13, 2012 | Blog, In The News, Recent Cases
Adam Sheppard was recently honored to be tapped by faculty of Northwestern Law School to sit as a judge for a Moot Court proceeding at the law school. Adam was part of a three judge panel which acted as a would-be U.S. Court of Appeals in a moot court case involving the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act as well as a breach of contract claim. The students who participated in the moot court proceeding were extremely well prepared and responded to Judge Sheppard’s questions thoroughly and articulately.
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Adam Sheppard Lectures at Chicago Bar Association / Young Lawyers Section Criminal Law Committee on Strip Searches and the Recent Florence Decision
April 13, 2012 | Blog, In The News, Recent Cases
On April 13, 2012, at the Chicago Bar Association, Adam Sheppard was honored to speak to the Young Lawyer’s Criminal Law Committee on the issue of strip searches, the recent Florence decision from the U.S. Supreme Court, and the state law in Illinois regarding strip searches. Below is a link to the recent Florence case where the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, authored by Justice Kennedy, held that jail officials did not violate the Fourth or Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution by carrying out a policy that every person arrested and held at a jail or other detention facility (where there would be the potential for interaction with other inmates), would be required to strip naked and manipulate parts of their body to allow for a visual inspection. The Court specifically rejected a proposal that would have banned jail officials from conducting strip searches of individuals arrested for minor offenses unless jail officials had a reasonable suspicion that the arrestee was concealing a weapon or other contraband. See the Florence decision at http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/11pdf/10-945.pdf
In Illinois, arrestees are afforded greater protection against strip searches. The Illinois statute which governs strip searches is 725 ILCS 5/103-1 (c)-(j). It provides as follows:
"(c) No person arrested for a traffic, regulatory or misdemeanor offense, except in cases involving weapons or a controlled substance, shall be strip searched unless there is reasonable belief that the individual is concealing a weapon or controlled substance.
(d) "Strip search" means having an arrested person remove or arrange some or all of his or her clothing so as to permit a visual inspection of the genitals, buttocks, anus, female breasts or undergarments of such person.
(e) All strip searches conducted under this Section shall be performed by persons of the same sex as the arrested person and on premises where the search cannot be observed by persons not physically conducting the search.
(f) Every peace officer or employee of a police department conducting a strip search shall:
(1) Obtain the written permission of the police commander or an agent thereof designated for the purposes of authorizing a strip search in accordance with this Section.
(2) Prepare a report of the strip search. The report shall include the written authorization required by paragraph (1) of this subsection (f), the name of the person subjected to the search, the names of the persons conducting the search, and the time, date and place of the search. A copy of the report shall be provided to the person subject to the search.
(g) No search of any body cavity other than the mouth shall be conducted without a duly executed search warrant; any warrant authorizing a body cavity search shall specify that the search must be performed under sanitary conditions and conducted either by or under the supervision of a physician licensed to practice medicine in all of its branches in this State.
(h) Any peace officer or employee who knowingly or intentionally fails to comply with any provision of this Section is guilty of official misconduct as provided in Section 103-8; provided however, that nothing contained in this Section shall preclude prosecution of a peace officer or employee under another section of this Code.
(i) Nothing in this Section shall be construed as limiting any statutory or common law rights of any person for purposes of any civil action or injunctive relief.
(j) The provisions of subsections (c) through (h) of this Section shall not apply when the person is taken into custody by or remanded to the sheriff or correctional institution pursuant to a court order." (Source: P.A. 81-1509.)
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Coming soon…
February 8, 2012 | Blog
Coming soon…
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