Illinois Carjacking Trial Begins Without Defendant – Trial in Absentia

A criminal case surrounding the carjacking of a young mother began Tuesday in Cook County, despite the fact that the defendant was nowhere to be found.

Michael Buhrman, 31, was scheduled to appear in court Tuesday on charges stemming from an incident in which he allegedly carjacked a vehicle in a parking garage at gunpoint.

According to the plaintiff, she was spending her work break in her car when an old man approached her to see if she needed any help.  The woman got out of the car to speak to the man, and he pulled out a handgun.

The man sped off in her vehicle, but he was stopped by police a few minutes later.  When they approached the car, they noticed that Buhrman had a handgun and a latex mask on the passenger’s seat.

It’s uncertain if Buhrman stole the idea from Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible III, but prosecutors weren’t given the opportunity to ask about the mask because Buhrman failed to show up for court.

His absence was hardly unexpected though, as he hasn’t been seen since last September.  On the last day he was seen, authorities got a signal from Buhrman’s court ordered GPS anklet that someone was attempting to tamper with the device.  When authorities arrived on the scene, the only thing they found was a detached GPS bracelet.

Buhrman is being tried in absentia, meaning the court views his decision not to show up as an indication that he is waiving his right to appear.  The trial is expected to conclude within the week.

Attorney Brett Appelman comments

This sounds like something straight out of Law and Order.

When a defendant is initially being addressed by the judge, they are told “if you fail to appear we can go ahead and hold your trial without you.”  We hear this all the time, but what does it actually mean?

A criminal defendant who skips town and fails to appear at their trial can literally be tried, found guilty, and sentenced without even being in court.  It is called a “Trial in Absentia”, and they happen with some regularity.  If you fail to show up for your trial, you are assumed to have waived your right to appear, meaning that the judge will believe that you willingly decided to not show up and defend yourself.  The trial will commence without you.

In this case, the alleged car-jacker has fled and has not appeared for his trial.  His lawyers will put on his defense and try to win the trial, but having an absent defendant makes their job much harder.  A jury is not likely to look favorably upon a defendant that has run away from his own trial.

If he is found guilty, the judge will hand down a sentence, and if this defendant is ever caught he will serve that sentence, be it probation, fines, or more likely in this case, prison time.

Related source:  Chicago Tribune

4 Reasons to Hire a Divorce Lawyer

Divorce can be an expensive and stressful and process, and it can become even more complicated if you try to mediate your divorce without help from an experienced legal team.

The main objective for a divorce attorney is to ensure you receive what you are entitled to in a divorce.  The majority of people going through a divorce are doing it for the first time, so it’s beneficial to have legal expertise on your side that can explain the process and help save you money.  Although it may seem cheaper to try to settle your divorce without paying for legal services, it can actually be more costly if things are done incorrectly.  Illinois Divorce Attorney Sean Sullivan provides commentary on the benefits of hiring a divorce attorney.

• Divorce attorneys have a wealth of knowledge – Although no two divorces are exactly the same, divorce attorneys have been through the process hundreds of times and know how to put your needs first.  There are a variety of motions that need to be filed with the court, and you won’t need to worry about missing a deadline or failing to file a motion if you hire a divorce attorney to take care of the paperwork for you.

“Some people think that they cannot afford to hire an attorney to handle their divorce, but the question may very well be, ‘can you afford not to?’”

• In cases of custody or abuse – Divorces become even more complicated when issues of custody or alleged abuse arise.  If you are determined to earn full or partial custody of your children, it’s best to hire an attorney to assist in the process.  Trying to tackle this matter by on your own can lead to added emotional stress and convey the wrong message during the custody process.  If you are accusing your spouse of verbal or physical abuse, an attorney can help protect your rights and safety.

“Emotional issues can be very painful during a divorce if you don’t have someone to lean on for support.  Always hire your own divorce lawyer and let them handle it from the beginning.”

• It can save you money – There is a common perception that going through a divorce without a lawyer will save you money in legal fees and court costs, but that is not always the case.  For example, if you fill out forms incorrectly or neglect to prepare for court, it can be more expensive to fix your mistakes.  Also, by not hiring an attorney you may be forced to miss work for court sessions.  Although you aren’t paying for an attorney, you miss out on earned income or may be forced to burn valuable personal days.

“Oftentimes it is more expensive to fix things that are done wrong than it is to pay for them to be done correctly in the first place.”

• They’ll make sure you don’t get swindled – One of the biggest reasons why you should hire a divorce attorney is because your soon-to-be-ex has hired one.  As mentioned above, the main goal of a divorce attorney is to get you everything you’re entitled to.  If one side is backed by legal expertise while the other is armed with only their “best guesses”, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see who is going to come out on top in the courtroom.

“If you simply rely on the advice or go with whatever your soon-to-be-ex’s lawyer suggests, you could end up paying more in legal fees in the long run.”

Naperville Babysitter Pleads Not Guilty in Televised Arraignment

When Naperville babysitter Elzbieta Plackowska pled not guilty to the murder of two young children, she did so in front of cameras, which were allowed in a DuPage County courtroom for the first time in the county’s history.

The arraignment, which lasted less than five minutes, was the first televised criminal proceeding of a Chicago metro area court case.

“Everything went smoothly,” DuPage County Chief Judge John Elsner said after the hearing.

Plackowska did not speak during the arriagnment, and Assistant Public Defender Michael Mara entered the plea on her behalf.

Plackowska faces 10 counts of murder after she allegedly fatally stabbed her 7-year-old son and a 5-year-old girl whom she was babysitting on October 30.

Cameras were allowed in court as part of a new Illinois Supreme Court policy that seeks to make court proceedings more widely accessible.  One television camera and one still camera were allowed to document the arraignment by Judge Robert Kleeman, who presided over the hearing.  Judge Kleeman rejected two additional media requests for a greater camera presence.

DuPage County is the 23^rd Illinois county to allow camera documentation in court, but it became the first county in the Chicago metro area to allow such media coverage.

Plackowska and State’s Attorney Robert Berlin did not object to the camera presence, and Berlin said they didn’t affect the proceeding.

“The arraignment was like any other arraignment we do in this building,” Berlin said.  “Honestly, I didn’t even notice the cameras.”

Although Illinois is trying to make it easier for the public to have access to court proceedings, Berlin said people need to be aware that what happens in a courtroom is serious business, not entertainment.

The integration of cameras into the courtroom has been successful in other Illinois counties, and their presence in DuPage County could open the door for expanded media coverage in more Chicago-area court cases, said Supreme Court spokesman Joseph Tybor.

“DuPage is a stepping stone to Chicago,” Tybor said.

Illinois Attorney Brett Appelman Comments

In America we value our court system as one of best and fairest in the world.  Part of that commitment to fairness is that our courts are open; everything is done in public, and anyone who wants to can go to the courthouse and see all of the proceedings for themselves.

As an expansion of that desire for openness, many courts have begun to allow cameras and reporters inside the courtroom.  Chicago and the Chicago area have never before allowed cameras into the courtroom to tape the proceedings, but today’s recording is a big step in expanding that openness to television audiences.  Even if you can’t make it to the court, you will still be able to view exactly what goes on in the courtroom through your television.”