Attorney David L. Freidberg's Legal Cases

Criminal defense

13 CR 13610

Jul 11, 2017

OUTCOME: Felony reduced to Misdemeanor

This is one of my favorite recent cases, and it wasn't a trial. To give some background, my client was charged with ten counts, most of which were aggravated unlawful use of weapon charges. This ... was the situation. My client's elderly father was involved in an altercation with another party while in the drive-thru lane at a McDonald's. His father felt threatened and called his some to come help him. Well, unfortunately, my client came to his aid while in the possession of an illegal firearm. No matter what the circumstances, if you do not possess a FOID card, you cannot possess a firearm in the City of Chicago. The penalty, upon a plea or finding of guilty, is a sentence in the Illinois Department of Corrections, otherwise known as prison. Probation is not an option. The case started in 2013. After about a year or so, after reviewing all of the evidence and having a few of the counts dismissed, I prepared a mitigation packet for the State's Attorney to review in the hope of obtaining a reduced charge of some sort. It took over 2 years for the State to finally make a determination as to my client's fate. Part of this was due to changes in personnel at the court level but the main factor was the change of the State's Attorney herself, from Anita Alvarez to Kim Foxx. Once Kim Foxx was sworn into office, she allowed her Assistant State's Attorneys more discretion on how to dispose of their cases. After reviewing my mitigation packet and my client's lack of background, they offered my client a reducer from a felony to a misdemeanor. No prison time whatsoever!

Domestic violence

17 OP 50267

Jun 21, 2017

OUTCOME: Order of Protection DENIED

Lucky my client had a witness! 63 year old client is accused of hitting and grabbing his 61 year old brother by the throat. What this was is called mutual combat, for lack of a better term. An argum ... ent ensued and as a result, the Petition (my client was the Respondent) pushed my client and grabbed him by the throat first. My client did in fact react in kind. The sister of both parties witnessed the fight but only after it started, so she could not say who was the instigator, thus, she was more than reliable as she did not give the appearance of choosing a favorite brother. The Petition also complained that Respondent injured his hand so severely that he required medical attention and rehabilitation. Luckily, the sister went to lunch about an hour after the incident, with the Respondent, who made no complaint whatsoever about his severely injured hand. The Court found her testimony believable and ruled in favor of my client. Order of Protection was DENIED.

Criminal defense

16 CR 134 - Warrant Quashed, Case Dismissed

Feb 28, 2017

OUTCOME: Case Dismissed

Sometimes things go well when you have a great judge. A gentleman called me last week regarding a warrant for his arrest. Turns out he was offered the State's Attorney's drug school program but did n ... ot complete it. This program is for first time offenders and requires the attendance of 4 drug school treatment classes. If the classes are in fact completed, then the case is dismissed and no conviction is entered. On the other hand, if the classes are not completed, then the case is assigned a felony trial judge and moves forward. In this case, my client did not complete the classes but did an outpatient treatment program elsewhere. Unfortunately, he was not able to notify the State's Attorney of this, his charges were not dismissed, and when he did not appear in court thereafter, a warrant was issued for his arrest. In this case, my client was unaware of these factors and only recently became aware of the warrant. I took the necessary steps of contacting the State's Attorney handling his case, provided him with a copy of my client's drug treatment, and filed a motion to quash the warrant and recall the bond. When this was heard today in front of the judge, she could not have been more accommodating in quashing the warrant. The State then completely dismissed my client's case. Perfect result.

Criminal defense

16-210301

Jan 31, 2017

OUTCOME: NOT GUILTY

Young man walks into a bar with a friend and walks out with a new one...at least that's how it started out. He met a girl at a bar, they had drinks, went to another bar for a few more and she invited ... him back to her place for a bottle of wine. Things get sketchy from there. They get into some type of innocuous argument and she asks him to leave. While he's leaving, he's still trying to talk to her but she starts pushing him out of her apartment. After she opens the door, she follows him into the hall and pushes him down a stairwell. As my client gets up he sees her at the top of the stairs still in a fighting stance. He grabs her and pushes her to the ground to prevent her from pushing him again, and that's when her neighbor, hearing the fight, runs up and grabs him and calls the police. Client was arrested for battery. Not wanting to admit guilty for something he didn't do, my client went to trial today. Judge heard all of the evidence and testimony from the victim and witness, even the witnesses testimony that wasn't true and found my client NOT GUILTY.

Criminal defense

05 C6 66021401 UUW Vacated

Dec 09, 2016

OUTCOME: Conviction for Aggravated UUW Vacated

And once again, a client called stating he had a previous conviction for Aggravated Unlawful Use of Weapon, which is a felony. This conviction was preventing him from obtaining more promising employme ... nt among other issues. I informed him that since his case was prior to 2013, and the People v. Aguilar decision found that the statute under which he was convicted was unconstitutional, I could most likely have that conviction vacated. Well, exactly that outcome occurred today! My client is no longer a convicted felon and is free to pursue whatever opportunities come his way.

Criminal defense

16121027501 Concealed Carry/Airport

Dec 05, 2016

OUTCOME: Not Guilty at Trial

I was retained by the defendant who was charged with carrying a loaded handgun into the airport, which was discovered during routine security screening. Obviously you are not permitted to carry a weap ... on into an airport, or any other government building, which my client was clearly aware of. The issue was that he did not realize he had left his gun in his bag when he packed for a business trip. The State's Attorney offered my client court supervision, which is not a conviction and could be expunged from his record two years after the supervision period ends. I recommended we set the matter for trial as there was no possible way the State could prove he had knowledge that the gun was in his bag. Turns out I was correct, the Court found that not only could the State not prove knowledge, they couldn't even prove it was my client's bag as they called the wrong witness to testify against my client. They called the Chicago Police Officer that arrived on the scene after the bag was taken from my client. The State should have called the TSA Agent that discovered the weapon. And as a bonus, I was able to have the Court order that my client's weapon be returned to him.

Criminal defense

16-1210275

Dec 05, 2016

OUTCOME: Not Guilty at Trial

Client with no criminal history was arrested for bringing a loaded handgun into the airport in his carryon, which was discovered during routine screening at security. My client had a concealed carry p ... ermit from a different state but that doesn't prevent someone from being arrested for bringing a weapon into an airport, which is strictly forbidden for obvious reasons. But the important part of the statute states that a defendant must knowingly commit the crime of concealed carry in an airport. We set the matter for trial and the State's Attorney called a Chicago Police officer, NOT the TSA representative that actually discovered the handgun. Because the officer could not testify, without hearsay evidence, that the bag containing the weapon even belonged to my client in the first place, the judge had no choice but to find my client not guilty.

Criminal defense

16 OP 75305 - OP Denied

Aug 30, 2016

OUTCOME: Order of Protection DENIED

Neighbor dispute. Long and short of it, there was an incident involving two neighbors dogs wherein my client was injured as a result. A few days later, her neighbors, upset that she filed a grievance ... regarding the dogs with the condo association, claim my client threatened them with mace and prevented them from entering their unit. The matter was set for hearing as there was no way I was going to recommend that my client agree to an Order of Protection that would appear on her criminal background. At the hearing, the other parties could not admit any evidence in support of their claims and my client was able to prevail on the merits as the judge did not believe the Petitioners' stories. Emergency Order of Protection vacated and OP denied.

Criminal defense

16 DV 70993 - OP Denied

Aug 22, 2016

OUTCOME: Order of Protection DENIED

This was a little different. It began as a domestic violence charge for assault between two roommates. My client allegedly damaged a camera in the apartment. The State offered to reduce the charge to ... just criminal damage to property which my client agreed to. The State at the last minute filed an Order of Protection against the defendant. We were taken by surprise! I immediately demanded a hearing on that issue. It turns out the victim surreptitiously recorded a conversation my client was having with her mother, without my client's knowledge. That recording could have been damaging to my client but I argued that it fell under the eavesdropping statute and could not be admitted as evidence. The judge agreed in part but allowed certain portions to be played in open court. After hearing the recording and the victim's testimony, as well as my client's, the judge ruled that there was no abuse committed by my client and denied the order of protection.

Criminal defense

16 OP 73809 - OP denied

Aug 05, 2016

OUTCOME: Order of Protection DENIED

I can never stress the importance of having an experienced attorney on your side. My client's half-sister filed an Order of Protection against her for allegedly texting her with profane messages, as w ... ell as making threats against her. The Petitioner, not my client, had copies of texts and emails but because she did not have a lawyer, she could not get the evidence into court. My client testified truthfully, as well as did her other sister, that she never made any threats against her. OP Denied!

David L. Freidberg's Legal Cases (93)

13 CR 13610

17 OP 50267

16 CR 134 - Warrant Quashed, Case Dismissed

16-210301

05 C6 66021401 UUW Vacated

16121027501 Concealed Carry/Airport

16-1210275

16 OP 75305 - OP Denied

16 DV 70993 - OP Denied

16 OP 73809 - OP denied