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List of Forms by Chapter
Chapter 1 — Trial Strategy
II. Selection of the Jury
III. Opening Statement
IV. State’s Case-in-Chief
V. [1.30] Defense Case-in-Chief
VII. [1.37] Jury Instructions
VIII. [1.41] Closing Argument
Chapter 2 — Jury Issues
III. Jury Waiver
V. [2.17] Voir Dire
VI. Jury Instructions
VII. Juror Misconduct, Tainted Jury, and Sequestration
XI. Verdicts
XII. [2.43] Considerations for Representation
Chapter 3 — Trial Legal Issues
I. Conduct of the Judge
II. The Prosecutor
III. Trial Procedures
IV. Verdicts
V. [3.75] Obtaining and Calling Witnesses
Chapter 4 — Evidence
I. [4.1] Introduction
II. General Principles and Definitions
III. Types of Evidence
IV. Hearsay, Records, and Other Out-of-Court Statements
Chapter 5 — Preserving the Record
Chapter 6 — Criminal Sentencing in Illinois
II. [6.2] Determining the Sentencing Range
III. The Sentencing Hearing
Chapter 7 — The Criminal Appeal
III. [7.3] Initial Steps in Filing Direct Appeals to the Appellate Court
IV. Motion Practice and Review of the Record on Appeal
V. Writing the Brief
VI. Petitions for Rehearing and Petitions for Leave To Appeal
VII. Nondiscretionary Appeals to the Supreme Court
VIII. Extraordinary Appeals
X. Forms
Chapter 8 — Illinois Post-Conviction Hearing Act
I. [8.1] Introduction
II. [8.9] Initiation of Proceedings: Section 122-1
III. Limitations Period: Section 122-1(c)
IV. [8.30] Rights of Indigents
V. [8.37] Successive Petitions: Section 122-1(f)
VII. [8.48] Duties of Postconviction Counsel
VIII. Circuit Court Procedures
IX. [8.77] Contents of Petition — Section 122-2
X. [8.81] Cognizable Claims
XI. [8.109] Waiver (Forfeiture); Res Judicata
XII. Appellate Review
Chapter 9 — Habeas Corpus
I. Preliminary Considerations
II. [9.4] Introduction
III. Initiating the Case Under 28 U.S.C. §2254
V. [9.35] Statute of Limitations
VI. Investigation of the Petition
VII. Preparation of the Petition
VIII. Filing the Petition
IX. Initial Proceedings on the Petition
X. Special Problem Filings
XI. Amendment
XII. Responsive Pleadings
XIII. [9.109] The State Court Record
XIV. [9.116] Legal Issues
XVII. Evidentiary Hearing
XVIII. Relief
XIX. Appeal
XXV. [9.170] SourcesAnna M. Ahronheim is an attorney in private practice. Ms. Ahronheim obtained her J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law. For the next 22 years, she was an attorney with the Illinois Office of the State Appellate Defender. From 2008 through 2017, she was the supervisor of the Capital Habeas Unit of the Federal Public Defender’s Office in the Western District of Pennsylvania and represented clients in habeas corpus proceedings. She has given presentations on postconviction practice at seminars sponsored by numerous organizations and law schools. She intends to devote her post-public-defender practice to the representation of incarcerated clients in Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Michigan.
Sami Z. Azhari is an attorney at Azhari LLC, in Chicago, where he concentrates his practice on federal and white-collar criminal law. Mr. Azhari is a Superlawyers Rising Star (2015 – present), Chair of the Federal Criminal Law Committee of the Northwest Suburban Bar Association, and faculty at the ABA White Collar Crime Conference (2021). Mr. Azhari received his B.S. from Purdue University and his J.D. from Michigan State University.
William B. Beattie is an attorney at The Law Offices of William Beattie, Ltd., in Mount Prospect, where he focuses on criminal defense at the trial and appellate levels in both state and federal courts throughout Illinois. Mr. Beattie has also represented clients before the Illinois Criminal Review Board and the Illinois Secretary of State. Outside of his criminal work, Mr. Beattie has litigated civil cases involving defamation, false light invasion of privacy, breach of contract, and fraud. Before entering private practice, Mr. Beattie was a member of the felony trial division of the Cook County Public Defender’s Office. He has instructed in the areas of trial advocacy, constitutional law, and scientific evidence involving witness identification testimony, drug recognition experts, and standardized field sobriety testing. Mr. Beattie received his B.A. from the University of Minnesota and his J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law.
Matthew A. Chivari is Founding Attorney at Chivari P.C., in Chicago, where he focuses his practice on criminal defense. Mr. Chivari is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Illinois State Bar Association, and the Chicago Bar Association. He received his J.D. from DePaul University College of Law, with a certificate in criminal law, and earned CALI Awards in Prosecuting and Defending Criminal Cases, as well as Negotiations.
Keith Grant is Senior Supervising Attorney at the Lake County Public Defender’s Office, in Waukegan, where he focuses on criminal defense. He is the President of the Illinois Public Defender Association, was Past President of the Lake County Bar Association, and sits on the Board of Directors of both the Lake County Bar Foundation and the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority. Grant received his B.A. from Ripon College and his J.D. from Northern Illinois University College of Law.
Marcos D. Reyes is the Local Attorney Manager for the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office based in Portage, Wisconsin, where he practices in criminal defense. He is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the Puerto Rican Bar Association. Reyes received his B.A. from Loyola University and his J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.
Stephen L. Richards is an attorney at the Law Office of Stephen L. Richards, in Chicago, where he concentrates his practice in criminal defense and civil rights. He received the Kutak-Dodds Award, Defender Prize, from the National Legal Aid & Defender Association in 2003. He has lectured and written extensively on criminal law and the death penalty, and he has been a member of the Illinois Supreme Court’s Screening Committee for the Capital Litigation Trial Bar and Past President of the Illinois Public Defender Association. Richards received his B.A. with honors from the University of Chicago and his J.D. from Brooklyn Law School.
Jed H. Stone is an attorney at Stone & Associates, Ltd., in Waukegan, where he concentrates in criminal defense and civil rights. He is a Fellow of the American Board of Criminal Lawyers, was nominated by his peers as an Illinois Leading Lawyer in 2020, and has been selected as an Elite Lawyer in the field of criminal defense since 2022. Stone received his B.A. from Lake Forest College and his J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law.
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