Church Interest 

 

Anti-Polygamy Law weakened in Utah by Federal Judge in Brown v. Buhman. See the ruling and an article by Religion and Politics on  the history of the state's anti-polygamy law. 

 

Starting a New Church? Church Law and Tax gives some tips in this infographic. 

Alliance Defending Freedom shares some ideas for seven church bylaws and suggested language for a statement on marriage.

 

Mauck & Baker News

Congratulations to Attorney Noel W. Sterett for being listed in SuperLawyer 2014 under Land Use & Zoning. 

The TLC mobile ultrasound unit took part in the March for Life on Sunday, January 19. Attorney Richard Baker was in attendance for the march that brought together both political figures and religious personalities to promote pro-life values. 

Mauck & Baker reached a settlement for TLC Pregnancy Services with the city of Elgin. Elgin will amend their zoning ordinance to allow the mobile unit to operate freely and will also compensate TLC for some of its attorneys' fees. See our press release for more details as well as news coverage by Chicago Tribune, Courier News, and Daily Herald.

Criminal Law: Going Solo   

 

A former trial attorney at firms such as Williams, Montgomery & John and Jack Ring & Associates, Moor recently started his own practice working in areas of law such as product liability and personal injury as well as a new area-criminal law.

 

With two criminal cases already-both involving murder, Moor isn't wasting any time getting involved in the criminal system as a defense attorney.

 

 

 

An unlikely beginning

 

 

"I had some friends who wanted to protest the '84 election," said Moor, referring to their opposition to a former voting law in Indiana prohibiting the casting of a write-in ballot and closing of voter registration 30 days before the polling. The group demonstrated at a polling station on the day of the election.

 

The law was later found unconstitutional in Paul v. State of Indiana Election Board in 1990, but meanwhile, Moor and his friends were arrested for demonstrating. And after the prosecutor decided to bring the disorderly group to court, Moor found himself facing a judge to defend his actions. Being at the mercy of the court with his freedom at stake was a frightening experience, according to Moor, but his time in front of a judge would come to be the first of many.

 

"I represented myself in a five day jury trial and was acquitted," explains Moor, while two friends were put in jail because they were disrespectful of the judge. Moor found the he enjoyed his first experience at court and decided to go to law school at IU...with a recommendation from the judge at his trial.

 

Even though his interests in the legal system really began in criminal law, working for an established litigation firm seemed a more financially savvy choice for a recent graduate looking to pay off student loans. So, he began working in Chicago on insurance law, product liability, personal injury and even aviation litigation working his way up from associate to partner until 2013.  In the fall of last year Moor decided to pursue criminal law, but was not only more experienced as an attorney, but was in a different place in his faith.

 

 

Another perspective

 

In the mid 90's, Moor became a Christian and got involved in prison ministry through his church First Presbyterian in Evanston, allowing him to see crime from another side. Working in prison ministry showed him that for some, the years locked away from society became an opportunity for spiritual change as he watched inmates and former inmates transformed by the Gospel.

 

"You meet people who are very alone and alienated and often forgotten, and you basically fellowship with them," said Moor.  "I don't think that any person charged with a crime, any crime should ever be shunned." And it's this understanding of prison not just as a correct facility, but a catalyst for redemptive reform that allows Moor to see that a criminal conviction could be an opportunity for faith.

 

"There's actually a pretty healthy Christian community in the prisons," explains Moor, pointing out the state and federal prisons have chaplains, prison ministries often fund chaplains in county jails, and sometimes Christian inmates will initiate group gatherings with other inmates. 

 

Moor also anticipates opportunities to present clients with Biblical truth during trial. Ministering to his clients by offering prayer and encouragement isn't an easy task considering his clients will have the penalty of a prison sentence if they are convicted.

 

"In representing a person at what is often the hardest time in their life, the Lord may open the door for me to share the Good News effectively or otherwise work in a defendant's heart," said Moor. "God knows both who we are now and what we will become, so a defense lawyer's duty is to give every defendant their best now no matter what."

 

Learning curve

 

With years of trial experience already behind him, Moor is knowledgeable of court proceedings, but still has complex criminal laws to learn.    

 

"A lot of lawyers think criminal law is easy.  Really it's not." said Moor. "There's so much law that you have to know and exercise on behalf of your client and it's important that you do it the right way," said Moor. "What I'm finding is it's exciting, but it's not easy."  

 

With a first-degree murder case and an attempted first-degree murder case, Moor will go before a judge and jury who will determine whether his clients will serve a sentence and the length of that jail sentence which could be from 25 years to life in prison. And although the penalties are serious, Moor wants to help those alleged of committing a crime and give them fair representation before the court because as a matter of law everyone has the right to full due process under the Bill of Rights.

 

"That's more rewarding in a lot of ways than other kinds of cases to me because other kinds of cases usually just boil down to money in some form or fashion," said Moor. "In criminal law you're talking about a person's liberty."