Areas of Practice & Cases
People of Illinois v. Mario Flores (Illinois Circuit Court)
Mr. Flores was on Illinois’ death row when Mr. Goodman agreed to take on his case. Working with an investigator, Mr. Goodman obtained new evidence and affidavits that undermined the conviction and helped earn Mr. Flores a commutation of his sentence from Governor Ryan. Mr. Flores currently liv
Commutation of death sentence
People of Illinois v. Mario Flores (Illinois Circuit Court)
People v. Hansen, 327 Ill. App. 3d 1012, 765 N.E.2d 1033 (1st Dist. 2002)
Mr. Hansen was convicted forty years after the 1955 killings of boys named Schuessler and Peterson, a case which had been one of the most notorious unsolved murders in Chicago history. Mr. Goodman won two appeals for Mr. Hansen and helped get his original conviction reversed and then retried the cas
Read the Tribune ArticleReversal of murder conviction
People v. Hansen, 327 Ill. App. 3d 1012, 765 N.E.2d 1033 (1st Dist. 2002)
People v. David Flowers
Mr. Flowers was charged with car jacking after he was arrested behind the wheel of a stolen vehicle that had previously been taken by force from its owner. Mr. Goodman tried the case to a not guilty verdict, attacking the eyewitness identification and presenting an alibi defense.
Not guilty trial verdict on carjacking charge
People v. David Flowers
People of Illinois v. Fatuma Muhamed
The State charged Ms. Muhamed, a Somali refugee suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, with aggravated battery to a police officer, a serious felony that would have likely resulted in her deportation. Mr. Goodman agreed to represent Muhamed pro bono, took the case to trial, and presented psy
People of Illinois v. Sundus Balwa
Ms. Balwa is a refugee from Iraq who came to the U.S. with her three children, one of whom was severely disabled, to escape persecution and torture under the Saddam Hussein regime. In Chicago, Balwa’s disabled daughter died tragically after a fall from an apartment window. Although the state c
Read Tribune ArticleNot guilty of abuse and neglect using mental health defense
People of Illinois v. Sundus Balwa
People of Illinois v. Andrew Reyes, 638 N.E.2d 650 (Illinois 1st Dist. Appellate Court, 1993):
Mr. Goodman represented Mr. Reyes in the appeal of his conviction and twelve year sentence for attempted murder and won a complete reversal. This case broke new ground in Illinois accountability law. Mr. Reyes was released after two years of unjust incarceration. Mr. Reyes was awarded a Certificate
Read the ExonerationSuccessful acquittal on attempted murder charge
People of Illinois v. Andrew Reyes, 638 N.E.2d 650 (Illinois 1st Dist. Appellate Court, 1993):
People of Illinois v. Sladjana Vuckovic
Ms. Vuckovic was a legal aid attorney who allowed her client – a murder suspect under police interrogation – to use her cell phone to contact his family. Vuckovic was charged with bringing contraband, a cell phone, into a penal institution, a felony charge in Illinois that carries a maximum sent
Read the Chicago Tribune ArticleSuccessful trial for felony charge
People of Illinois v. Sladjana Vuckovic
People of Illinois v. Victor Perez 189 Ill. 2b 254 (Illinois Sup. Ct. 2000)
When Mr. Perez hired Mr. Goodman’s firm, he had been convicted of first degree murder on a theory of accountability* and was serving a twenty year sentence. Mr. Goodman argued Mr. Perez’s case before the Illinois Supreme Court and won a unanimous reversal of his conviction, followed by a
Read Chicago Tribune ArticleSuccessful appeal from first degree murder conviction
People of Illinois v. Victor Perez 189 Ill. 2b 254 (Illinois Sup. Ct. 2000)
People of Illinois v. Christopher Raygoza 474 F.3d 958 (7th Cir. 2007)
At the time he engaged Mr. Goodman’s services, Mr. Raygoza was convicted of one count of first degree murder in connection with gang related shooting on the southwest side of Chicago, serving a sentence of 45 years. Mr. Goodman took the case to federal court where he raised the constitutional
Read Tribune ArticleSuccessful appeal from first degree murder conviction
People of Illinois v. Christopher Raygoza 474 F.3d 958 (7th Cir. 2007)
United States v. Jeffrey Schroeder 536 F.3d 746 (7th Cir. 2008)
Mr. Schroeder was convicted of tax preparer fraud and sentenced to three years incarceration. Mr. Goodman represented Schroeder on the appeal of his sentence and won a reversal of this harsh sentence, convincing the Court of Appeals that Mr. Schroeder could not be held liable for his clients’
Successful appeal for tax preparer fraud
United States v. Jeffrey Schroeder 536 F.3d 746 (7th Cir. 2008)
People v. Christopher Oliver, No. 08 CF 451 (Coles County, IL)
Christopher Oliver was charged with first degree murder in connection with the beating death of a disabled man who resided at a group home at which Oliver worked as a developmental trainer. Oliver hired Goodman’s firm after his previous attorney had attempted to convince Oliver to plead guilty to
Read the Newspaper Article
United States v. Gary Heesch, No. 05 CR 340 (Judge Manning)
In the summer of 2008, Mr. Goodman won a rare acquittal before a federal jury in this fraud case representing Gary Heesch, the CEO of Wasatch Pharmaceuticals, a public corporation headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. Heesch and eleven other individuals were charged with multiple counts of mail fra
Read Salt Lake Tribune ArticleWhite collar crime acquittal after jury trial
United States v. Gary Heesch, No. 05 CR 340 (Judge Manning)
Innocent in Guantanamo
Shawali Kahn is a citizen of Afghanistan. For many years he made a modest living as a shopkeeper and merchant from a small farming village near Kandahar. From February of 2003 until December of 2074, Mr. Kahn was held in extrajudicial detention at the Guantanamo Bay containment camps in Cuba.
Read Khan's Wikipedia EntryAcquittal
Innocent in Guantanamo
Rod Blagojevich
Attorney Leonard Goodman has worked tirelessly for his client, former Governor Rod Blagojevich. After two 7th Circuit Appeals, 1 Re-Sentencing, 2 Cert Petitions, and 2 Commutation Petitions dating back to the Obama Administration, Governor Blagojevich is finally back home with his wife and daughters
Commutation
Rod BlagojevichAdditional Cases
Homicide/Violent Crimes
People of Illinois v. Kenneth Hansen
People of Illinois v. Victor Perez
People of Illinois v. Christopher Raygoza
People of Illinois v. Andrew Reyes
People v. David Flowers
People of Illinois v. Sundus Balwa
People v. Mario Flores
Criminal Appeals
USA v. Brian Wilbourn
USA v. Ivan Eberhart
Victor Perez
Chris Raygoza
Kenneth Hansen
Andres Reyes
Jeffrey Schroeder
Rod Blagojevich
Narcotics
USA v. Arturo Angel
USA v. Brian Wilbourn
USA v. Ivan Eberhart
White Collar Defense
USA v. Gary Heesch
People v. Sladjana Vuckovic
USA v. Jeffrey Schroeder
Mental Health Defense
People of Illinois v. Sundus Balwa
People v. Fatuma Muhamed
Political Corruption
Rod Blagojevich
Betty Loren Maltese
Tom Philpot