Improper Venue Statute- Illinois

[ballpalyer182]

I live in illinois, there is a statute that says that a defendant can only be charged in the county where the crime allegedly occurred.

In my case ( I am being charged with a "theft by deception" and forgery) a company I used to work for claims that I used their contracts to deceive customers. the customers purchased from me and my partner a service which we performed and they paid us directly for. The alleging complainant did no work, provided no service and thus is not out any money.

What i want to discuss is if the law that exists that a says a defendant must have committed the alleged crime in the county where he/she is being charged.

What this company is asking the prosecutor to do is charge me for a crime in the home county of the company. I was a traveling salesperson and never worked or sold or collected money in the county in which the company is based.

They have multiple contracts which they claim they are entitled to the proceeds from where the exchange of money and service did not occur in the county in which i am being charged from.

SO the question is .. Is it legal for the judge to do the company a favor and allow the prosecutor to push charges for the company in a county that by the letter of the law has no rightful business in charging me there.

There have been 2 (402 conferences) in my case in which my lawyer was trying to explain to the judge that he doesnt have jurisdiction. the alleged crimes occurred not in the companys county, but strictly in other counties.

Without yet having ruled on this ( the case has been ongoing for 11 months so far) the judge has been claiming that venue is valid because i worked for a company that was based in his county, and since they are complaining, and since i executed contracts properly in these other counties and returned the monetary proceeds to the home county of the company, venue is valid. basically the judge is saying because the money was supposed to go back to the county of the company, then the alleged crime actually occurred in their home county and thus venue is proper.

this clearly conflicts blatantly with illinois law.

this will make history in illinois because if the judge rules as he says he will (the hearing on venue is in 2 months) then the law on the books about venue will be overturned. in other words then, a defendant can then be tried anywhere someone wants to charge them.

this seems like a tremendous miscarriage of justice.

i would like to see thoughts and opinions of any legal experts on this venue issue.

this is an issue because the companys standing in the county would be an unfair bias regarding an alleged crime that did not even commit in their county.

i will greatly appreciate advice and feedback

 

[justalayman]

So, if they filed in some other county you would be happy?

If your objection is denied, if found guilty, appeal the decision.

I'm curious what statute you are speaking of.

 

[ballpalyer182]

statutes

The county is an improper place of trial. …” 725 ILCS 725/5*114(a)(7).
4. Section 1*6(a) of the Criminal Code provides in pertinent part, “(a) Criminal actions shall
be tried in the county where the offense was committed, except as otherwise provided by
law.” 720 ILCS 5/1*6(a)
5. Section 1*6(g) of the Criminal Code provides in pertinent part, “(g) Theft. A person who
commits theft of property may be tried in any county in which he exerted control over
such property.” 720 ILCS 5/1*6(g)


I would be thrilled if the case were charged in the proper county. the sate has no chance to win the case as nothing was stolen or forged. the issue i want to talk about is illinois venue law though.

the company knows they dont have a prayer of winning the case in the proper counties, but their hometown judge is trying to help them in violation of illinois state law. the case is an abomination. what happened is the company felt burned becasue i stopped working for them, i cut out the middle man. i realized they werent playing any unique role in the service offering and my friend and i could do it all ourselves.

again the issue is venue..

thanks for your interest and reply!

 

[I'mTheFather]

I'll bet it's this:

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs5.asp?ActID=1876&ChapterID=53

However, included is this:

(720 ILCS 5/1-6) (from Ch. 38, par. 1-6)
Sec. 1-6. Place of trial.
(a) Generally.
Criminal actions shall be tried in the county where the offense was committed, except as otherwise provided by law. The State is not required to prove during trial that the alleged offense occurred in any particular county in this State. When a defendant contests the place of trial under this Section, all proceedings regarding this issue shall be conducted under Section 114-1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. All objections of improper place of trial are waived by a defendant unless made before trial.
(b) Assailant and Victim in Different Counties.
If a person committing an offense upon the person of another is located in one county and his victim is located in another county at the time of the commission of the offense, trial may be had in either of said counties.

 

[justalayman]

I'll bet it's this:

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs5.asp?ActID=1876&ChapterID=53

However, included is this:

Now your going to harsh the op's buzz.

the company knows they dont have a prayer of winning the case in the proper counties, but their hometown judge is trying to help them in violation of illinois state law.

You are being criminally charged aren't you? The company doesnt win nor lose. The state prosecutor wins or loses, on behalf of the citizens of Illinois.

 

[ballpalyer182]

response to prosecutor vs company complaint.

so i see nobody yet is willing to discuss the venue law i cited.

the company went to the cops and lied about what happened. they claimed that a business called them to complain. what actually happened is i inadvertently sent a text of a contract.

the police noticed that the comapny then changed their story. the police told the business owner that the businesses i worked with would have to file complaints in order for them to investigate. the owner is a harvard educated lawyer and so he was able to bully the cops around and told them he wanted me charged with "theft by deception" despite the obvious initial false statments he made. the police then went into the other counties to investigate for him.

they came up with ridiculous charges and instead of charging me in the correct counties, they charged me in the companys county. this is why i want the venue issue to be resolved

 

[justalayman]

so i see nobody yet is willing to discuss the venue law i cited.

the company went to the cops and lied about what happened. they claimed that a business called them to complain. what actually happened is i inadvertently sent a text of a contract.

the police noticed that the comapny then changed their story. the police told the business owner that the businesses i worked with would have to file complaints in order for them to investigate. the owner is a harvard educated lawyer and so he was able to bully the cops around and told them he wanted me charged with "theft by deception" despite the obvious initial false statments he made. the police then went into the other counties to investigate for him.

they came up with ridiculous charges and instead of charging me in the correct counties, they charged me in the companys county. this is why i want the venue issue to be resolved

It was discussed and dismissed. Didnt you notice the exception in the part of the law you cited? It says right in it:

except as otherwise provided by
law.” 720 ILCS 5/1*6(a)

And that is the section ImTheFather posted so, you can be prosecuted in the company's home county.

As to: the police went into other counties...

There is nothing to prevent the police from crossing a county line in an investigation.

You are betting on the wrong horse in this race. There is nothing improper about the current venue. You need to work on your actual defense to the charges rather than playing with the BS that you are.

 

[ballpalyer182]

except as otherwise provided by
law.” 720 ILCS 5/1*6(a)

And that is the section ImTheFather posted so, you can be prosecuted in the company's home county.

I dont see this at all as saying you can prosecute a companys case in their home county. the phrase "as otherwise provided by law" doesnt say that. it doesnt indicate that you can move a case from where it happened to where they want it to be. doesnt seem like you have a good grasp on how the law reads. "as otherwise provided by law" would mean there would have to be a very distinct portion of the law written to reflect a certain type of case that would be spelled out in the law.

the law does not say that a prosecutor can charge a traveling salesman in the county of a company who makes a complaint if the alleged action didnt occur in that companys county.

Now, if I had been allegedly committing a crime in both the companys county and the other counties then venue would be valid, because then you could try it in either any of those counties where crimes allegedly occurred.

there was a reference to an assailant and acting upon another person in another county.. im not an assailant. this is not a case regarding physical harm.



You are betting on the wrong horse in this race. There is nothing improper about the current venue. [/QUOTE]

why would there be venue law on the books if venue doesnt matter?

 

[justalayman]

You go ahead and believe what you wish to believe. Since the judge apparently doesn't agree with you, you will face trial in the county where the business is located. If convicted you can appeal and it will reviewed by the appeals court.

 

[westside]

If the charges were ridiculous, you'd be fighting them on that basis as opposed to searching for a loophole.