Illinois DUI Lawyer Blawg

The jury has spoken. Former Yankees catcher Jim Leyritz has been found not guilty of DUI manslaughter. Leyritz was, however, found guilty of the DUI charge.

Leyritz had been charged with reckless homicide and DUI after being involved in an intersection crash in Florida. From the outset, the case did not appear to be going in the prosecutor's favor. The defense was able to present the jury with testimony that the deceased driver was intoxicated even though the judge had ruled the jury should not hear such evidence.

As the trial progressed, things got worse for the state's case. The state presented two witnesses in an effort to prove that Leyritz ran a red light and thereby caused the other driver's death. However, one witness admitted that he did not see the light but only looked at it when tires screeched. The other witness, Leyritz's passenger, said the light was yellow. If the light was red, then Leyritz caused the accident and ensuing death; if it was yellow, it is possible the other driver ran the red light.

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The jury is deliberating the DUI death case brought against former Yankee catcher Jim Leyritz. Leyritz is accused of driving drunk, thereby causing an intersection collision that led to the death of the driver of the vehicle with which he collided.

The prosecution claims that Leyritz ran a red light and that his blood alcohol content at the time of the accident was .18, well above the Florida legal limit of .08, which is the same legal limit for an Illinois DUI. At the time Leyritz was tested, 3 hours after the crash, his blood alcohol content was .14.

The state (prosecutor) hired a toxicology expert who testified about the process of "reverse extrapolation". Reverse extrapolation simply means that the expert worked the numbers backwards. He estimated Leyritz's blood alcohol content when he was driving was .18.

On the other hand, Leyritz offered a spirited defense of the charges. First, no witness was able to state with certainty that Leyritz's light was red. At most, they testified it was yellow when he entered the intersection. One witness was a passenger in Leyritz's vehicle. The other was a pedestrian.

Furthermore, Leyritz had his own expert. This expert also relied upon reverse extrapolation and the concept of the alcohol absorption curve. The idea is that alcohol does not enter the bloodstream (and therefore effect the blood alcohol content) immediately upon drinking. It takes some time.

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What is the process that leads to being arrested for DUI in Springfield Illinois? What happens after you are arrested?

There are a number of reasons that you may initially encounter law enforcement in connection with the operation of a motor vehicle. Common situations include speeding, improper lane usage (weaving or crossing the centerline or fog line), other erratic driving, equipment violations (light burned out), being involved in an accident- your fault or not, a roadside safety check, a report from someone claiming to have observed you leaving a bar intoxicated, a citizen's complaint of your supposed erratic driving, or the police randomly run your license plates and you come back suspended or revoked.

Also, the police may come upon you while you are asleep in your car or dozed off behind the wheel in traffic. There may be other reasons but these are the most common.

Now that the police have stopped you, they will be looking for reasons to believe you may be under the influence of alcohol. It all starts, even before you get out of the car, with your breath (odor of alcohol), speech (slurred) and eyes (bloodshot, watery, glassy). The next decision point will probably be whether you have difficulty producing your driver's license, insurance card and vehicle registration.

At some point during all of this, the officer is going to ask you whether you have been drinking, or how much have you had to drink. If you answer "no" or "none" he will challenge you by claiming he smells it on your breath.

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In Illinois, there are two different types of actions that the state can take against your driver's license due to DUI. You will receive a driver's license suspension, a driver's license revocation or both.

A suspension has a specific ending date. When the suspension date arrives, the suspension ends after you pay a reinstatement fee. A revocation also has an ending date but when the date comes, you do not automatically get your license back but instead must have a driver's license hearing.

Your DUI arrest involves two cases. The first is the suspension case. The suspension arises not from the state having to prove you were driving drunk but from the mere fact that they asked you to take a breath or blood test and you either: 1) refused to take the test or 2) took the test and registered over the legal limit of .08.

Therefore, even if the DUI is dropped or you are find not guilty, your license will be suspended unless your DUI lawyer is able to convince the judge that the police had no basis to stop you, or to believe you were under the influence or to ask you to submit to a breath or blood test.

How long you will be suspended depends upon two things. The first is whether or not you submitted to a breath test or refused. A refusal always results in a longer suspension because the police want you to take the breath test and make it easier to prove their case.

The second factor is whether you have a previous DUI arrest and how long ago that arrest occurred. If in the previous 5 years you have not had a DU arrest that resulted in court supervision, a plea down to reckless driving or a breath test suspension, you are a "first offender". If you have had a DUI in the previous 5 years, even though you received supervision or reckless driving or the DUI was dismissed but you had a breath test suspension, you are not a "first offender".

If you are a "first offender" and you took a breath test, your license will be suspended for 6 months. If you refused the test, the suspension will be for 12 months.

In either case, you will not be able to have a hearing with the Illinois Secretary of State to obtain a work permit. However, after the suspension has been in effect for 30 days, you are entitled to petition the judge for an MDDP.

Continue reading "Waiting period for Illinois driver's license hearings after a DUI" »