Yesterday I started another one of my Avvo Answers experiments, in which I asked the free advice service the following question:

Is it legal to own lock picks in Illinois?

Chicago, IL

And it it's legal, are there places where you're not supposed to have them? In particular, does Chicago have different laws?

[typos in my original question]

This morning I got my first answer from Avvo Level 10 Contributor Alan James Brinkmeier:

This attorney is licensed in Illinois.

Illinois has stringent picklock laws and locales require a locksmith license to use lock-picking devices to open locks in situations where the owner needs access. Lock picks are devices used to lift the various pins found within the cylinder of a lock. These special tools are used in order to open the lock without the use of a key.

Criminal activity is one such reason for strict picklock laws.

You might find my Legal Guide helpful "Ethics: Yes I Need a Lawyer!"

http://www.avvo.com/legal-guides/ugc/ethics-yes-i-need-a-lawyer

Good luck to you.

God bless.

NOTE: This answer is made available by the Illinois lawyer for educational purposes only. By using or participating in this site you understand that there is no attorney client privilege between you and the attorney responding

Brinkmeier's Avvo page describes his practice as 30% appeals, 25% state, local, and municipal law, 25% aviation, and 20% defective/dangerous products. He's apparently been practicing for 26 years.

I Googled "Alan James Brinkmeier" to see if I could find his firm's website. No luck. But I did find listings for him at Zoominfo, Superlawyers, and LawPromo. I thought I also found listings for him at the Southeast Texas Record and CASA, but it turns out those sites are just offering free legal advice services which are really just a feed from Avvo. I guess Avvo is syndicating its Avvo Answers service to other websites.

I also discovered that Houston criminal defense lawyer Mark Bennett has mentioned Brinkmeier in a post entitled "Avvo Answhores":

Brinkmeier, who has "answered" more than 8,000 questions on Avvo, "answers" questions in the area of ethics and professional responsibility, employment and labor, car and auto accidents, debt collection, lawsuits and disputes, child custody, juvenile law, wrongful termination, DUI and DWI, immigration, appeals, civil rights, and domestic violence anywhere in the U.S.

The disclaimers should say that the "answers" are for entertainment, rather than education or information.

What's the game? Why can't people like...Alan Brinkmeier, who recognize that they have no clue what they're talking about, just keep their traps shut and let the lawyers who have some chance of knowing the law answer the questions?

Brinkmeier took offense to this in the comments, and then he and Mark got in to a slightly bizarre argument about the comparative reliability of their respective phone systems.

As is my way, I took the following paragraphs from Brinkmeier's response

Illinois has stringent picklock laws and locales require a locksmith license to use lock-picking devices to open locks in situations where the owner needs access. Lock picks are devices used to lift the various pins found within the cylinder of a lock. These special tools are used in order to open the lock without the use of a key.

Criminal activity is one such reason for strict picklock laws.

and I fed them into Google, which lead me to this page at Superpages.com (which is also the second result in a Google search for the title of my question) in which the first three paragraphs contain the following sentences:

• "The states which have the most stringent laws on this matter include California, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Utah, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Washington DC and Canada."
• "In some locales, those individuals not identified in the statute as legally approved to possess this type of device have to obtain a locksmith license before purchasing a lock pick."
• "But qualified locksmiths also use lock picking devices to open locks in situations where the owner needs access and, for whatever reason, can't gain it."
• "Lock picks are devices used to lift the various pins found within the cylinder of a lock in order to open the lock without the use of a key."
• "Why in the world would anyone need to have a lock pick? Criminal activity is one such reason."

(emphasis added)

I don't think the apparent similarity of certain turns of phrase is entirely in my imagination, which leads to one obvious conclusion: Not only does James Alan Brinkmeier give free advice on Avvo, he also writes for Superpages.