Fairfield is the county seat of Wayne County, Illinois, United States, the site of Frontier Community College, Fairfield Community High School, Fairfield Memorial Hospital, and Airtex; an auto parts manufacturing facility. The population was 5,421 at the 2000 census. Fairfield is most famous for being the hometown of the Shelton Brothers Gang, notorious bootleggers who failed in defeating the Harrisburg, Illinois based Birger Gang to control criminal activities in Southern Illinois. During the first half of the 20th century gang leaders Carl, Earl and Bernie Shelton made Fairfield a household name of the time. Based on testimony of Charlie Birger himself, the Shelton Brothers were convicted for a 1925 unsolved mail carrier robbery of $15,000 and were sentenced to 25 years much to the relief of the denizens of Fairfield and surrounding villages. Soon after the Shelton Gang disappeared as Birger dominated bootlegging in Southern Illinois until he himself was hanged in Benton. for the murder of West City. Mayor Joe Adams in 1928. Fairfield was the hometown of Kenneth Michael Kays, recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroism during the Vietnam War, and Country music singer-songwriter Lance Miller.

What is constitutional law?

Constitutional law attorneys handle cases involving the construction and interpretation of federal and state constitutions, including individual rights and governmental powers. Constitutional law cases can involve issues like First Amendment rights -- such as freedom of speech, press, and religion -- and the checks and balances on authority among different branches of government. Most of the federal constitutional rights are found in the Bill of Rights, that was created originally as a limitation on the action by the federal government, but many of those rights are also applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.

Answers to constitutional law issues in Illinois

The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution says that you have a right to be free of unreasonable police searches and...

The general criteria for making an arrest is what is referred to as probable cause. Probable cause arises when there...

There are two different types of warrants that may be issued:

  • arrest warrants - an order issued by a...

The Miranda decision relates specifically to the rights of a criminal suspect after he has been detained by the...

Bail is typically set by a magistrate or a judge who considers the seriousness of the offense and the likelihood of...

In certain kinds of cases, lawyers charge what is called a contingency fee. Instead of billing by the hour, the...

Gambling is subject to legislation at both the state and federal level that bans it from certain areas, limits the...

After conviction and sentencing, a defendant has the opportunity to file an appeal of his sentence. If the conviction...

Students have certain rights depending on whether they are attending a private or public school or university. A...