Richard Dvorak

Mr. Dvorak has more than 17 years of litigation experience in the area of criminal defense, appeals, and civil rights.  He has obtained millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts, mainly in the area of police misconduct.  He has tried hundreds of criminal cases and handled close to 100 appeals.  Mr. Dvorak has won significant victories on appeal in the Illinois Supreme Court, Illinois Appellate Courts, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and in the United States Supreme Court.

State of Illinois, 1999.

Northern District of Illinois, 1999

United States Supreme Court, 2004

Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, 2007

B.A. in Journalism and History, University of Wiscconsin-Madison, 1993

Juris Doctor, DePaul College of Law, 1999

Sullivan Award (International Human Rights Law), 1998

Arthur Kinoy People’s Law Award, 2003 (Pro Bono Work Successfully Defending Iraq War Protesters)

National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

National Association of Distinguished Counsel

$900,000 wrongful conviction settlement (false confession).  Bradford v. City of Chicago.

$900,000 failure-to-protect settlement (jail case). Lambert v. Cook County.

$800,000 verdict (excessive force in a police case).  Moore v. City of Chicago.

$750,000 settlement (excessive force in a jail case).  Donahue v. Cook County.

$750,000 verdict (excessive force in a jail case).  Martin v. Cook County.

The Second Amendment & Section 1983 Civil Rights Litigation, Illinois State Rifle Association, 2011

“Confessions” and “Representing Clients in the Early Stages of a Criminal Action”, Chapters of Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education’s Authoritative Practitioner’s Guide, 2009

Cracking the Code: “De-Coding’ Colorblind Slurs During the Congressional Crack Cocaine Debates”, Michigan Journal of Race & Law, 5 Mich. J. Race & L. 611 (2000), 2000

First Defense Legal Aid, Legal Advisory Board