Illinois DUI Lawyer Blawg

Recently, a Pennsylvania man was penalized for a 1985 DUI. The driver was arrested for DUI while visiting Maine in 1985 and satisfied all the requirements of the state of Maine. However, because of bureaucratic confusion, the DUI was not reported to Pennsylvania, the state where he held a driver's license, until 2004.

In 2009, the driver was arrested in Pennsylvania for DUI. Pennsylvania law provides that someone without a DUI conviction in the previous 10 years is entitled to more lenient treatment.

The driver argued that his previous DUI was more than 10 years old. However, because the conviction was entered on his record within the last 10 years, he was not entitled to more lenient treatment, the court ruled.

Continue reading "Illinois DUI hold on out of state driver's license" »

You work hard for your money and do not want to waste it. If you lose your driver's license, you may be tempted to have attend a Secretary of State driver's license hearing without the benefit of a lawyer You may have been told to attend the first hearing on your own because "they deny everybody the first time". 'Everybody" who does not know what they are doing, or who hires an attorney who does not understand the process, or who believes what an ill-informed evaluator tells them will get denied the first time.

However, this does not have to be the outcome if you hire an experienced and knowledgeable driver's license hearing lawyer. Certainly the fees you pay are important, but if a lawyer who charges low fees does not have the experience and knowledge of the process to achieve a favorable outcome, you have not saved any money; you have wasted all of the money you paid him.

Ask a potential lawyer these questions: How many hearings do you attend each week; how long have you been doing this; is this the main part of your practice, or do you just do this "on the side" to bring in extra money; how much experience did you have as a Secretary of State hearing officer before you started representing clients; how many articles have you published or lectures have you given to other lawyers on this topic?

Continue reading "Choosing an Illinois Driver's License Reinstatement Lawyer" »

Any experienced Illinois DUI lawyer can tell you that the overwhelming majority of those arrested for DUI are male. Some reasons for this are that men drive more miles than women, men are under more pressure as they are typically the primary breadwinners of a family, men take greater risks and society is more accepting of male excessive alcohol consumption.

However, United States Department of Transportation studies have shown a dramatic increase in female DUI arrests. The same reasons are cited: women are driving more, women have suffered fewer job losses during the recession and thus are often the primary source of family income, and particularly among younger women, there is less social stigma attached to DUI than was once the case.

In earlier times, judges were receptive to a man's argument that the consequences of a DUI were too severe. He needed to "feed his family". Not only could he face jail time and loss of driving privileges, but the monetary costs of a DUI would take money out of his pocket and that of his family.

Continue reading "DUI arrest statistics show increase in female offenders" »

If you are arrested for an Illinois DUI, two things are at risk. The first is your liberty and property; the second is your driver's license.

DUI is a crime. As such, you are subject to fines and possible jail time if you are convicted of DUI. For a first DUI offense with no death or injury, a conviction can result in up to 364 days in the county jail and/or a fine of up to $2,500.

Many Illinois courts will also require to you attend a Victim Impact Panel (VIP), not drink or use drugs or go to taverns during a probationary period, attend a few Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings and obtain a drug and alcohol evaluation. You might also be required to complete Driver Risk Education (DRE) and complete alcohol counseling.

After you are convicted of the DUI, your driver's license will be revoked. In order to have it returned to you, you must have a hearing with the Illinois Secretary of State.

You may believe that once you have met all the court requirements--paid your fines, done your jail time, not gone to a tavern or consumed alcohol or drugs, obtained your evaluation and completed all your classes--the driver's license reinstatement hearing would be a simple matter of providing evidence to the Illinois Secretary of State of these accomplishments.

Continue reading "When it comes to Illinois DUI, your problems do not end with the courts" »

A woman in Galesburg, Illinois was recently arrested for DUI after an accident. The driver fled on foot but police later apprehended her. She was arrested and transported to the hospital for treatment of her injuries.

While the police were no doubt concerned about the driver's safety, they had a second motive in transporting her to the hospital. Her emergency room doctor was no doubt told that police suspected she has used alcohol and drugs. As a result, the doctor ordered blood tests, as alcohol or drugs in the driver's system could affect the doctor's decision about what medications to order.

The blood tests results the doctor ordered for treatment purposes will not be admissible in determining whether or not the driver's license of the accused will be suspended due to registering over the .08 legal limit and whether she will be required to obtain an MDDP. On the other hand, those results are admissible in the DUI prosecution itself. This prosecution, if successful, could result in a driver's license revocation, and the driver would then need an Illinois driver's license reinstatement hearing.

Continue reading "Illinois DUI crash leads to arrest" »

As a follow up to an earlier Blawg,, Illinois State Representative Ron Stephens has apologized for his recent Illinois DUI arrest.

Stephens' legislative district encompasses Highland, Illinois. While speaking before that community's City Council, Stephens for the first time publicly commented on his recent DUI arrest. He apologized for the "huge mistake" he made by driving impaired.

Stephens' pharmacist's license was suspended several years earlier due to his personal use of controlled substances that he used his license to obtain. When the suspension ended, his license to practice pharmacy was automatically reinstated.

Had his license been revoked, Stephens would have been required to prove to the board that he was fit to be pharmacist before the board would return his license to him. A driver's license reinstatement lawyer can explain the difference between a suspension and revocation.

A suspension exists for a definite period of time. Reinstatement of your license is automatic upon payment of a fee, provided your license is otherwise valid. A revocation is for an indefinite period of time. After 1, 5 or 10 years, depending upon your overall driving record, you are eligible to have a driver's license reinstatement hearing.

You may be able to apply for a restricted driving permit (RDP) during the revocation period. An RDP can only be issued if you can demonstrate undue hardship.

An experienced Illinois driver's license reinstatement lawyer knows that Illinois will not issue a new driver's license, renew an existing one or clear a hold so that you can obtain an out-of-state driver's license if you have a fourth DUI arrest after January 1, 1999 that results in a conviction. In determining the number of convictions you have, Illinois will include out-of-state convictions even if the convictions do not appear on your Illinois driving record but appear on the National Registry/PDPS.

This leads to harsh results. Years ago, the law did not treat DUI seriously and there was no four-conviction rule. Yet the old DUI counts against you forever, even though you received it before the four-conviction rule applied.

This could result in your paying for a DUI you received 20 or 30 years ago but did not fight because it was "no big deal". You have now, years later, been convicted of a fourth DUI from an arrest that occurred after January 1, 1999 and been informed that you can never drive again, not even for work.

Continue reading "The time has come for Illinois to lift the lifetime ban on obtaining a drivers license" »

As any lawyer familiar with Illinois DUI laws is aware, since January 1, 2009, Illinois has allowed drivers suspended for DUI to obtain a driving permit upon installation of a BAIID machine. Some commentators have questioned whether the MDDP program is effective.

The BAIID machine is part of the MDDP program. Evidence exists that the BAIID machine provides false alcohol readings caused by pizza, mouthwash, cough medicine and other substances other than alcohol. Therefore, we arguably have a program that is not only ineffective but also unfair.

The MPPD program comes into play when your license is suspended before you conclude your DUI case. On the other hand, if you are convicted of the DUI, your license will be revoked and you must have an Illinois Driver's license reinstatement hearing with the Illinois Secretary of State.

Continue reading "Some question reliability of the Breath Alcohol Interlock Ignition Device (BAIID)" »

State representative Ron E. Stephens has pleaded guilty to DUI in Macon County (Decatur) Illinois circuit court. This was his first DUI offense.

As any experienced Illinois DUI lawyer can tell you, this makes Stephens eligible for court supervision. Under a supervision disposition, you do not suffer a revocation of your Illinois driver's license and thereby avoid an Illinois driver's license reinstatement hearing.

In addition to protecting his driver's license, Stephens was able to avoid jail time that could have resulted from a DUI conviction. Stephens was ordered to pay fines and court costs of $1,410.00. Furthermore, during the one year he is subject to the supervision of the Macon County courts, Stephens is to refrain from the consumption of any amount of alcohol.

As a Springfield, Illinois DUI and driver's license reinstatement lawyer, I am familiar with nearby Macon County practices. The sentenced he received, as well as the fines and conditions of his supervision, are the same that any other Macon County DUI offender could expect.

Continue reading "Illinois state legislator pleads guilty to DUI" »

As reported, an alleged drunk driver was involved in a fatal crash and charged with DUI and reckless homicide. A reckless homicide conviction could result in prison time, and a conviction for DUI or reckless homicide will cause a driver's license revocation, the length of which will depend upon the driver's previous driving record and whether the conviction is for DUI or reckless homicide.

A knowledgeable, highly experienced Illinois driver's license reinstatement lawyer will explain to you that the Illinois Secretary of State, Department of Administrative Hearings considers fatal accidents to be the most serious type of case his office hears. In the typical Illinois Driver's License Reinstatement Hearing, the Secretary of State has only limited information about your Illinois DUI arrest. In a fatal accident case, he will have all the police investigate reports, accident reconstruction reports, photographs, a transcript of the county coroner's inquest and jury verdict, the crash report, the autopsy, and the grand jury indictment or the criminal information or complaint filed against you.

For hearings involving fatality, the Secretary of State allows extra time on his calendar to hear the case. This is done because you will be questioned in detail about all the information in the materials that the Secretary of State has gathered from the State's Attorney and the police. In addition, the Secretary of State will notify the family members of the deceased that you have requested a Driver's License Hearing and will advise them of their right to appear and testify at the hearing.

Continue reading "Illinois DUI leads to fatal crash and reckless homicide charges" »

You may be facing your first DUI charge. It could have been one of those fluke situations--you had a couple of drinks too many this one time and ended up driving. That can happen in real life.

However, because of pervasive distorted reporting by powerful interest groups and their media mouthpieces, the DUI system operates under different assumptions. These assumptions explain why the DUI arrest and driver's license reinstatement hearing processes may not function as you would expect.

First, some background will be helpful. There are two related but different tracks in an Illinois DUI situation. DUI is a crime that can result in jail and or fines. You are presumed to be innocent of the crime of DUI until proven guilty.

A DUI arrest can also result in license sanctions (suspension), and more severe sanctions (revocation) result from a conviction. The law does not consider the license sanctions to be in the nature of criminal proceedings and therefore the protections afforded in the criminal case (such as innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt) do not apply. If your license is revoked for DUI, you must prove to the Illinois Secretary of State that you will be a safe driver in the future.

Continue reading "The Driving Under the Influence (DUI) charges you never received but must be prepared to defend" »

If you are convicted of DUI and have an Illinois driver's license, your license will be revoked. You must then submit yourself to a driver's license reinstatement process before you are allowed to drive legally. The length of time you are required to wait before being eligible for reinstatement depends upon your age, the type of offense you committed and your previous driving record.

Something to keep in mind during this discussion: You may have been convicted of DUI in another state while driving on your Illinois driver's license. If that conviction appears on your Illinois driving record, it will be treated as though it occurred in Illinois.

Illinois drivers may (but not necessarily will) receive court supervision for their first DUI offense. Court supervision is not a conviction and it does not result in a driver's license revocation. In supervision cases, your license might be suspended, but it will not be revoked. This means that once the suspension period is over, you pay a fee and are automatically reinstated without a hearing.

A first conviction, on the other hand, results in a one-year revocation of your driver's license. However, the Secretary of State will not automatically return your license to you (as happens in the case of a suspension). The end of the revocation period only signifies that upon attending a hearing, you are entitled to ask for your license.

Continue reading "Illinois Driver's License Reinstatement after a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) Conviction" »

If this is your first Illinois DUI arrest, things may not be as bad as they could be. The sentence that celebrity playwright and actor Sam Shepard received for his Bloomington, Illinois DUI arrest is fairly typical for first offenders.

The term "first offender" has two very different meanings for someone arrested for an Illinois DUI. That is because an Illinois DUI takes two related but different tracks.

At the time of the DUI arrest, the police will almost certainly ask you to take a breath test. Unless you take the test and register less than .08, your license will be suspended. The length of the suspension will depend upon whether you took or refused the test and whether or not you are a first offender.

Before I go any further, you should understand the difference between an Illinois driver's license suspension and an Illinois driver's license revocation.

A suspension is for a limited amount of time. When the suspension ends, your license is automatically returned to you upon payment of the appropriate fee.

A revocation is for a specified period of time during which you cannot drive, just like a suspension. However, unlike a suspension, a revocation ends only after you have an Illinois driver's license reinstatement hearing with the Illinois Secretary of State. In other words, it is not automatic.

Remember that a driver's license suspension occurs if you refuse the breath test or take and fail it. A driver's license revocation occurs if you are convicted of DUI.

For purpose of the suspension, you are a first offender if you have not had a DUI arrest in the previous 5 years. If you have had a DUI arrest in the previous 5 years, you are a non-first offender.

Continue reading "Sam Shepard faces first offender consequences from Illinois DUI " »

Illinois has a "four strikes" lifetime driver's license revocation if you meet certain criteria. The factors that must be present for the lifetime revocation to apply are:

1) Your Illinois driver's license is revoked because of a DUI.

2) You have four (4) or more DUI convictions. This includes convictions that occurred in Illinois, as well as any that occurred in another state. However, court supervision is not a conviction and will not count towards the four.

3) At least one of the DUI offenses occurred after January 1, 1999.

If the above conditions exist, Illinois will not be able to provide you with a hearing to ask for any type of driving relief, either reinstatement or a Restricted Driving Permit (RDP). What this means is that you will never be allowed to drive in Illinois for any reason.

Furthermore, if you attempt to obtain a license in any other state, or if you have a license in another state that they will not renew due to an Illinois hold, Illinois will not release the hold. As a result, your home state might not issue you a license.

Continue reading "If you have a lifetime revocation of your Illinois Driver's License, you will be unable to obtain a driver's license in another state" »

The Illinois Zero Tolerance (ZT) Law provides that if you are under the age of 21 years and are stopped for a traffic violation and the police suspect you may have been drinking, they are entitled to ask you to take a breath, blood or urine test to determine if there is any amount of alcohol or drugs in your system. Even though the legal limit for driving in Illinois for a driver over 21 is .08, for a driver under 21, any amount of alcohol (or drugs, including marijuana) above zero is illegal.

Upon finding alcohol or drugs in your system, the police will issue you a Zero Tolerance ticket and report it to the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State will suspend your license for three (3) months for a first offense. If you refuse to submit to testing, you will be suspended for six (6) months for a first offense.

However, you can and will also lose your license in other circumstances in which you are not driving if you received a ticket for illegal consumption or possession of alcohol, or being in a tavern under the legal age. I will refer to these as drinking tickets.

You can also be suspended for the mere fact of being in possession of a driver's license or ID card that was issued to someone else, even if you are not issued a ticket. We will call these fake ID cases.

Continue reading "The Illinois Secretary of State can suspend your driver's license due to drinking tickets or a fake ID" »