Our Attorneys | Law Office of Cheryl R. Whitley

Attorney 01 / 02

Cheryl R. Whitley

Esq., Lead Trial Counsel

Cheryl founded the firm in 2009 after seven years prosecuting felonies for the St. Clair County State's Attorney's Office. She knows how the other side builds a case — what they look for, where they cut corners, and what makes them fold at trial.

She has tried more than 90 cases to verdict, from DUI bench trials to first-degree murder. Her practice is intentionally lean: she takes the cases personally and stays on them from arraignment through verdict. No handoffs to associates, no shuffling between paralegals.

When she isn't in a courtroom, Cheryl mentors public defenders through the Illinois State Bar and teaches trial advocacy at the SIU School of Law each spring.

“The state has unlimited resources and a head start. My job is to make every minute of that head start cost them — and to give you the defense the prosecutor hopes you can't afford.”

Former Prosecutor Advantage

Seven years inside the State's Attorney's Office.

Before founding the firm, Cheryl spent seven years as a felony prosecutor for the St. Clair County State's Attorney — working directly with Belleville PD, Illinois State Police, and DEA task forces. She knows the playbook because she helped write it.

7 yrs

Felony prosecutor

400+

Cases prosecuted

12+

Agencies worked with

Education

Saint Louis University School of Law
Juris Doctor · 2003
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
B.A., Political Science · 2000

Recognitions

Super Lawyers — Rising Star, 2011–2014
Super Lawyers — Criminal Defense, 2018–2024
Avvo Rating 10.0 — Superb
Top 100 Trial Lawyers — National Trial Lawyers Association

Practice Areas

Felony DefenseDUI & TrafficDrug CrimesDomestic ViolenceFederal ChargesPost-Conviction

Associations

National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Illinois State Bar Association — Criminal Justice Section
St. Clair County Bar Association
Illinois Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Attorney 02 / 02

Marcus T. Delgado

Esq., Felony & DUI Defense

Marcus joined the firm in 2017 after four years as an assistant public defender in Madison County, where he handled more than 1,200 felony and misdemeanor cases.

He leads the firm's DUI defense practice and is one of only a handful of attorneys in southern Illinois who is certified in Standardized Field Sobriety Testing — the same certification the arresting officer holds. He uses it to dismantle their reports on cross.

“A traffic stop is a story the officer writes. My job is to read it word by word and find where the story doesn't hold up.”