HERE'S INFORMATION FOR YOU ON ILLINOIS PARDONS

DO YOU WANT A PARDON? IF SO, WE PREPARE YOUR PETITION!

WHAT IS A PARDON?

There are two kinds of pardons: 1) Federal pardon, and 2) State pardon. If you have been convicted of a federal crime, the only person who can grant you a pardon for that crime is President Barack Obama. If you have been convicted of a state crime, the only person who can grant you a pardon for that crime is the Governor of the state where you were convicted. For example if you were convicted in Illinois, the only person who can pardon you is Governor Pat Quinn.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF “PARDON POWER”
1) Clemency: this term is used interchangeably with the other terms below. There are different types of clemency.
a. Pardon: You are asking for forgiveness of your conviction, whether you are in prison or you have already served your time.
b. Commutation: You are in prison and you are asking for your sentence to be reduced. This is not a pardon but you are getting out of prison earlier than the original sentence.
c. Reprieve: You are in prison and you are asking for the death penalty to be stayed.

PROCESS
Each state has a different procedure as to how someone would go about seeking clemency. In Illinois, a person seeking clemency must:
1) Submit a petition to the IL Prisoner Review Board: this petition includes all the information about your case and why you feel you should be pardoned by the Governor. (You can retain us to prepare & submit your petition!)
2) Optional hearing before the Board: After the petition has been submitted, you have the opportunity for a hearing; you present your case before the Board as to why you should be pardoned. (We also appear at your hearing!)
3) The Board makes a confidential recommendation to the Governor, whether they think you should be pardoned.
4) The petition awaits final denial or approval from the Governor. By law, the Governor is not required to make a decision within any period of time. That means you must wait for an answer. You cannot even re-petition the Governor if no decision has been made.

DENIAL: If the Governor denies your petition, you can re-petition one year after the denial. You are never completely barred from seeking a pardon. Keep asking until you are granted the pardon!

APPROVAL: If the Governor grants your pardon request, he will (in most cases) also request an order from the court that your record also must be expunged. A pardon alone, without the order to expunge, does not remove the record of conviction from public access. If you were asking for a commutation of sentence, you will be released from prison; however, a commutation does not mean your conviction will be removed.

WHAT ARE MY CHANCES OF RECEVING A GOVERNOR’S PARDON?

Your chances of a pardon are as good as the petition you submit: There is no guarantee that your pardon will be granted because the final decision is left up to one person: the Governor. If a pardon is your only option, then you should petition for one; otherwise, the felony conviction is on your record forever. Your chances are as good as your case. If you made one mistake many years ago and since then you haven’t been in trouble, you have gotten a job and have raised a family, then your chances are better than the person who has been arrested several times since the conviction, has no job experience and no education. The better you can present yourself and your case to the IL Prisoner Review Board and the Governor, the better your chance of receiving the pardon. You don't get unless you ask and you have nothing to lose for asking, so ask for that pardon! We suggest hiring an attorney who knows how to prepare a petition for clemency. Just like you would hire a divorce attorney to help you with your divorce, you should hire a pardon attorney to help you seek a pardon!


SUCCESSFUL COMPLETTION OF FELONY PROBATION – DO I NEED A PARDON?

Just because you did not go to prison, that does not mean you don’t have a conviction. In fact, to the contrary; felony probation is a conviction, just as much as going to prison. The judge could have sentenced you to prison but instead he gave you felony probation. Felony probation is not expungeable, and it is not sealable. (Exception: if you were given “1410 Probation” and that’s usually given to people convicted of Class 4 PCS or Class 4 Prostitution.) Unless you fall into this exception, your only option is to seek a Governor’s pardon.

WHAT ARE MY CHANCES OF RECEVING A GOVERNOR’S PARDON?

Your chances of a pardon are as good as the petition you submit: There is no guarantee that your pardon will be granted because the final decision is left up to one person: the Governor. If a pardon is your only option, then you should petition for one; otherwise, the felony conviction is on your record forever. Your chances are as good as your case. If you made one mistake many years ago and since then you haven’t been in trouble, you have gotten a job and have raised a family, then your chances are better than the person who has been arrested several times since the conviction, has no job experience and no education. The better you can present yourself and your case to the IL Prisoner Review Board and the Governor, the better your chance of receiving the pardon. You don't get unless you ask and you have nothing to lose for asking, so ask for that pardon!

HOW LONG DO I HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE GOVERNOR TO DECIDE?

No news is good news. If you haven't heard anything, that means your pardon is sitting on the Governor's desk, waiting for a decision to be made. Ex-Governor Blagojevich left approximately 2600+ on Governor Quinn’s desk. Many people are just like you: waiting for an answer. Until a decision has been made, you cannot even re-petition. The only thing you can do is continue to wait. The Governor has no statute of limitations on how long he can "sit" on the petitions before making a decision. Don't fret; you don't know how many of those petitions are really worthy of a pardon, how many were submitted individually or through an attorney and how many are prisoners asking to be released or people living in society with felony convictions.

www.xpunged.com and www.tamaraholder.com

3/11/09: Tamara on CNN HLN "Showbiz Tonight" Discussing the Latest on Rihanna/Chris Brown

www.xpunged.com and www.tamaraholder.com

THE RIHANNA/CHRIS BROWN SAGA - UNFORTUNATELY, I SEE IT EVERY DAY

Rihanna & Chris Brown at the pre-Grammy's - right before the alleged fight

On February 8, 2009, Chris Brown & Rihanna allegedly got into a physical altercation where Brown allegedly choked, punched and bit his girlfriend. Recent discussion alludes to the fact that Rihanna initiated the fight after she discovered a text message from another woman on her man's phone.

As a criminal defense attorney, I see domestic cases almost every day. Unfortunately, the majority of the cases are dismissed out of court because the alleged victim refuses to testify due to fear of retaliation or, more commonly, reconciliation between the parties.

Therefore, without live testimony, prosecutors generally do not have any other evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. If you don't have the victim's word, you don't have much of anything because there are rarely 3rd party witnesses in domestic incidents. In this case, Rihanna is allegedly back together with Chris Brown. And, she asked the judge not to issue a no-contact order against Brown. All signs point to her desire not to want to testify against him as well. Article here. Granted, prosecutors can subpoena her to testify but rarely are witnesses forced to testify if they do not want to...at least in a case like this where it involves abuse in a romantic relationship.

Rihanna is a teen idol who is being watched by all of her fans across the world. Her decision on whether to testify will send a signal to all women in abusive relationships. Physical aggression occurs in 1 in 3 teen (ages 18-24) dating relationships. (Sarah Avery-Leaf & Michele Cascardi, Dating Violence Education: Prevention and Early Intervention Strategies, in Preventing Violence in Relationships 82. Paul A. Schewe ed., 2002.) 90% of all family violence defendants are never prosecuted, and one-third of the cases that would be considered felonies if committed by strangers are filed as misdemeanors (a lesser crime). (News from U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, September 2, 1993) 

Most of my blogs are about defending the criminal.  But domestic violence and sexual abuse is inexcusable.  Not enough people speak out against abuse because many victims are ashamed.  Women in Hollywood speak out for all kinds of causes that have personally affected their lives.  For example, Brooke Shields was the first famous person to bring post partum depression to light. The last famous victim of domestic violence that I can remember was the Ike & Tina Turner tumultuous relationship.  Rihanna can use this painful time in her life to speak out against domestic violence. Of course, it makes me look "good" when the state drops a case against my client because the victim does not want the state to proceed on the charges, but, at the end of the day, I am not the one who goes back to the same pattern of violence. 

Another issue that this case brings to light is the repeated disregard of the law that musicians, actors and athletes possess.  If Chris Brown were not Chris Brown, he would be facing greater felony charges, possibly even attempted murder with no bond.  Remember, Rihanna almost lost consciousness.  An over-zealous prosecutor could have wanted to trump up the current charges and really stick it to him.  But, since Chris Brown is Chris Brown, he is apparently seeking a plea agreement to misdemeanor charges, according to TMZ.  Article here. Chris Brown beat the s**t out of his girlfriend.  Did you see her face?  This wasn't a little squabble or a hair-tussling match.  In fact, even if Rihanna did initiate the fight, Brown's attempt to "fight back" went one step (or two or three steps) too far. Just because Mr. Brown is a celebrity, that does not mean the rules do not apply. See my blog on this issue as it pertains to athletes here.

Here is my unfortunate prediction: Prosecutors will reduce his charges to misdemeanor battery.  He will be required to take domestic violence classes and perform community service.  Maybe, he'll do a bit of jail time.  If Rihanna isn't testifying against her boyfriend, the state probably will not proceed on the felony charges.  They need her if they want to win the case, regardless of what they say - that they can proceed on her pictures and her statement.  Plus, this is Hollywood and it seems like the rules don't apply in LA-LA Land the same way they do in the rest of the country.  I've seen this situation too many times to predict any differently.  Maybe Rihanna will stand up for herself and for the thousands of victims of domestic violence who do not have a voice.

www.tamaraholder.com and www.xpunged.com