Illinois DUI Lawyer Blawg

A 15-year old boy was arrested in Mt. Prospect, a Cook County town, for DUI and driving without a license. The minimum legal driving age in Illinois is 16 years, although 9 months before his 16th birthday, a child enrolled in a driver's education course may obtain a learner's permit. 625 ILCS 5/107.

Prior to receiving a license at the age of 16, a student must undergo 50 hours of behind-the-wheel-training (at least 10 of which must be at night) accompanied by a licensed driver who is a parent, guardian, or family member at least 21 years old with at least one year of driving experience. 625 ILCS 5/6-107.1(a)(1) The trainer must be seated in the front of the vehicle.

The permit is only valid during certain hours of the day. A local curfew that restricts the hours further may apply 625 ILCS 5/6-107.1(b)

These same restrictions apply to a fully licensed driver under the age of 18. 625 ILCS 5/6-110(a-1) Exceptions to the curfew apply when a parent or guardian is in the car, when running an errand for a parent or guardian, going to or from work, when engaged in interstate travel, and when traveling to and from school provided there are no detours.

If a driver under the age of 18 years is convicted of DUI or any other offense that would cause a driver's license revocation, that person may not obtain a license any earlier than age 18. Other offenses that will prevent the driver from obtaining a license before the age of 18 include a conviction for operating a motor vehicle at a time the person does not hold a valid driver's license and a conviction for a drug offense while in actual physical control of a motor vehicle. 625 ILCS 5/6-107(c)

A driver who commits a DUI offense while under the age of 21 and who is subsequently convicted of DUI will receive a two year driver's license revocation. Under no circumstances may he apply for any type of driving relief for the first year of the revocation. In the second year, he may apply for a restricted driving permit (RDP) in order to relieve undue hardship. 625 ILCS 5/6-205(d)(1)

Under the Monitoring Device Driving Permit (MDDP) program, a driver whose license is suspended due to not taking a breath or blood test to determine alcohol concentration, or taking the test and registering over .08, may drive during the period of the suspension provided he agrees to install an interlock device in the vehicle he operates. 625 ILCS 5/6-206.1 This device makes it impossible to start the car without blowing into a tube that measures blood alcohol concentrations.

Continue reading "Cook County DUI arrest for 15-year old unlicensed driver" »

Anyone who has completed a driver's education course may obtain a driver's license at age 16. 625 ILCS 5/6-107(b) For those between the ages of 16 and 21 ("youthful drivers") there is an array of special laws that can, if violated, cause a loss of a driver's license. In addition, those between the ages of 16 and 17 fall under the Graduated Driver's License (GDL) requirements.

In Illinois, the age at which you are legal to consume, possess or purchase alcohol is 21 years, in accordance with the Liquor Control Act of 1934 (235 ILCS 5/6-16), even though for virtually all other purposes, you are considered an adult at the age of 18. A driver, as well as a passenger under the age of 21 can be charged with such a violation.

Whether you are driving, riding, walking, or standing, your driver's license is in jeopardy if you are charged with a drinking ticket. In accordance with 625 ILCS 5/6-206(a)(43), if you receive court supervision for such a charge, your driver's license will be suspended for a period of 3 months.

During that suspension period, you may apply for a restricted driving permit (RDP) with the Illinois Secretary of State. If you are convicted of the charge, your driver's license will be suspended for 6 months. 625 ILCS 5/6-206(a)(38); 92 Illinois Administrative Code (IAC) §1040.32 a)9) and you may apply for an RDP.

If you are found in possession of a driver's license or ID card not issued to you, your driver's license will be suspended for 12 months. 625 ILCS 5/6-206(a)(10); 92 IAC §1040.32 a)3 Note that this can occur even though you are not driving, even though you are not drinking at the time, even though you are not attempting to enter, have entered or are leaving a bar, even though you have never used the ID and even though you did not receive a ticket. Freed v. Ryan, 301 Ill.App.3d 952; 704 N.E.2d 746 (1st Dist. 1998)

Once the police confiscate the fake ID, they will send it to the Secretary of State. That will set the wheels in motion for a 12-month suspension. You can apply for an RDP.

Another situation and one that the law considers to be more serious, is a manufactured license or ID. Unlike the situation above, in which you are found in possession of a real license or ID that belongs to someone else, a manufactured ID is completely fictitious, typically purchase over the Internet.

This is a violation of 6-301, 6-301.1 or 6-301.2 or Section 14, 14A or 14B of the Illinois Identification Card Act. Until June 2011, this cause a 12-month revocation of your driver's license, which could only be reinstated at a Secretary of State driver's license hearing. Now it causes a 12-month suspension, with automatic reinstatement upon payment of a fee. 92 IAC §1040.32 a)5)A-C)

Continue reading "Cook County driver and passenger cited for alcohol-related offenses" »

For most of this country's life, matters dealing with local public safety, including DUI and traffic laws, have been the responsibility of state government. The one notable exception has been the rules of the road governing traffic on the Interstate highway system, whose funding comes primarily from the federal government, and of course the Interstate highway systems crosses the boundaries of all the states.

Beginning in 1984 and continuing to this day, that changed. While beyond the Commercial Driver's License CDL law Congress has not explicitly injected itself into traffic laws, it has done so indirectly. When it wants states to do something, Congress uses the coercive power of the purse: if a state does not pass a law Congress believes it should, Congress withholds federal highway money.

Prior to 1984, the age at which a person could purchase, or possess, or consume alcohol varied among the states. In Illinois, the age for beer and wine was 19, and it was 21 for distilled alcohol. In Iowa, the age for all alcoholic beverages was 18.

Today, the drinking age in Illinois is 21. 235 ILCS 5/6-16 It is the same in all 50 states. No state wants to forfeit federal highway funds.

At one time, each state was free to set its own legal limit for blood alcohol content, or to have no limit at all. In Illinois, the limit was initially 15, later lowered to .10. Today, it is .08. (625 ILCS 5/11-501(a)(1)), as it is in all 50 states. The reason for this is, that's how the federal government wants it to be.

The federal government has gotten involved more directly pertaining to CDLS It has been accepted that because over-the-road truckers cross state boundaries, a uniform set of laws benefits both the motoring public and the trucking industry. While the federal government has not written a specific CDL law, it has set forth guidelines that all states are required to follow at the risk of losing their ability to issue CDLS if they fail to do so. Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 (CMVSA) (Title XII of Pub. Law 99-570) [49 U.S.C. § 2701 et seq.]

Continue reading "Congress gets behind interlock devices" »

In Pennsylvania, until you are convicted of a DUI charge, you will ordinarily not lose your driver's license. However, one Pennsylvania judge does require certain offenders to surrender their driver's license without a guilty finding.

There are a number of DUI laws that are uniform throughout all 50 states. Illinois, like the other 49 states, makes it illegal to operate a motor vehicle with an alcohol concentration of .08 or greater "blood or breath units" 625 ILCS 5/11-501(a)(1) "Alcohol concentration" means "either grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood or grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath". 625 ILCS 5/11-501.2(a)(5)

Blood concentration is measured by drawing blood from you body, analyzing the results and determining what percentage of your blood contains alcohol. Qualified medical personnel must draw the blood, and the testing must be performed in accordance with procedures that the Illinois State Police establish and publish in administrative rules. 625 ILCS 5/11-501.2(a)(1); 20 Ill. Admin. Code §1286.320

As an alternative, law enforcement may turn to breath testing. In this type of testing, you will expel air from your lungs into a machine. The machine supposedly converts the air in your lungs into an equivalent quantity of alcohol in your bloodstream.

The results of this test can lead to a DUI conviction.The testing procedures are regulated by State Police Rules 20 Ill. Admin. Code §1286.200

In most circumstances, you have a choice about whether or not to submit to testing. Some exercise the choice to not test because they do not trust the science. This is logical, as the blood and breath test both involved a number of procedures, and errors do occur.

In a prosecution for DUI, the burden is on the state to establish that the test was conducted in compliance with the applicable Illinois State Police Breath Testing regulations. People v. Emrich, 113 Ill.2d 343 (1986) It violates the Constitution for the state to require you to prove the machine was defective once you have cast doubt upon its reliability. People v. Orth, 124 Ill.2d 326 (1988)

Some parts of the Illinois DUI laws differ from the laws of other states. For instance, your driver's license can be suspended before you have ever been convicted of a DUI. In fact, a suspension can remain in effect even if the DUI charge is dismissed or you are found not guilty.

Continue reading "Sangamon County Driving Under the Influence and Loss of Driver's License" »