What to Expect for Your Case at Markham Courthouse?

If you have been arrested for a criminal offense or a traffic offense in the southside of Cook County, then you will likely be at the Markham Courthouse located at 16501 S Kedzie Parkway, Markham, IL 60428(opens in a new tab). The courthouse opens at 8:30 a.m. and closes at 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Like every other courthouse, you will be required to go through a security line.

A felony case in Markham moves through several settings before anything is decided, and most people leave their first appearance unsure what actually happened. At Chicago DUI Lawyers we explain each step before it happens, so you know what the next date is for and what is being decided.

Charged with a DUI or a criminal offense at Markham? Request a free, confidential case review and we will tell you what the charge carries and what is realistically arguable.

Who stands next to you in this building matters, because a Markham call runs on local practice as much as on statute. Nicholas Ktenas is a former Cook County prosecutor and knows how these files are screened and valued from the other side of the courtroom. Lauren Ktenas also came from the State’s Attorney’s Office. Alexander Ktenas, our managing partner, has conducted hundreds of criminal and DUI trials.

That background does not decide your case. What it does is remove the guesswork about what the State is likely to do with it, which is the part most people cannot assess on their own.

How a case moves through the Markham courthouse

In the Markham courthouse, you are allowed to bring your phone inside. However, it would help if you kept the phone on silent, or the deputies will confiscate the phone. If you are charged with a misdemeanor offense, then your case will be in room 201, 204, 205, or 206. If you are charged with a felony offense, then your case will either be in room 101 (for bond hearings and preliminary hearings), room 103, 105, 106, 107, or 108. Generally, in Markham, the misdemeanors start at 9:00 a.m., and the felony cases start at 9:30 a.m.

Below is a list of all the towns that the Markham courthouse handles. If you have been arrested in any of these towns or by any of these police agencies, then your case will be heard at the Markham courthouse.

Which police departments write the most Markham DUIs

Markham courthouse handles hundreds of DUI cases every week. The towns that write the most DUIs are Blue Island, Calumet City, Chicago Heights, Country Club Hills, Flossmoor, Homewood, Lansing, Lynwood, Midlothian, Park Forest, Riverdale, Sauk Village, Steger, Cook County Sheriff’s police, and Illinois State Police.

Our Cook County DUI lawyers have worked against the most relentless of prosecutors and are fully prepared to take your case to trial if necessary.

Each of these towns writes a substantial number of DUI citations to individuals on a daily basis. If you have been arrested for a DUI in the Markham courthouse, you will be assigned to one of four misdemeanor rooms. Below is a list of which courtroom each town writes to.

What a Markham misdemeanor or felony can carry

What a Markham case carries depends on how the offense is classified, not on the building. In Illinois, a Class A misdemeanor carries up to 364 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,500 under 730 ILCS 5/5-4.5-55. Lower misdemeanor classes carry less.

Confirm the classification on your own paperwork before relying on any figure here, because the charge on the citation and the charge the State finally files are not always the same.

Felony exposure is wider. Illinois felony sentencing ranges start at one to three years for a Class 4 and run far higher for the most serious classes, with fines up to $25,000 under 730 ILCS 5/5-4.5. Whether probation is available at all depends on the class and on your record, which is usually the first question worth answering.

If the charge is a felony, read our page on felony DUI or speak with a criminal defense lawyer before your next date.

Questions people ask before a Markham court date

Before your first Markham court date

Two things are worth doing before you appear. Write down what you remember while it is fresh, including the time of the stop and what was said. Then check your paperwork for the courtroom number and the call time, because arriving at the right building on the wrong call still counts as late.

Our attorneys appear in this courthouse regularly and handle DUI, criminal defense and traffic matters here. A charge is not a conviction, and what is arguable depends on the evidence and the classification rather than on how the case feels right now.

Request a free, confidential case review. You will speak with an attorney, not an intake screener, and if we are not the right firm for your case we will say so.

For the other five districts, see Cook County court districts.