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If you are arrested for DUI, the sooner you contact an attorney, the better the chances of keeping your driver’s license.  A recent Illinois case underscores why it is important to act quickly.

When you are arrested for DUI, the Illinois Secretary of State will automatically suspend your driver’s license on the 46^th day after your arrest.  You may file a petition to overturn or rescind the suspension.  Your best bet for winning your petition is to file it as soon as possible after your arrest.

Illinois law provides that you must be given a hearing within 30 days of when the court received your petition to rescind or on the first appearance date.  If you file quickly, your chances that the state will not be ready within that deadline are greater, in which case the petition should be granted.

Once filed, it is important to stick with that timetable.  You are not entitled to the benefit of the deadline if you cause the hearing to be delayed.  For example, in People v. Boyd, the trial court granted the defendant’s petition.  However, the appellate court overturned that decision because the defendant’s attorney had agreed to a seven-day extension that he mistakenly thought was within the 30-day deadline. Thus, the appellate court counted the delay against the defendant.

Note that even if you are successful on your petition, your DUI case does not go away.   The suspension and the DUI are on two separate tracks.  Likewise, if you lose the petition but win your DUI, your license can still be suspended.

If you have questions about this or another related Illinois criminal or traffic matter, please contact Matt Keenan at 847-568-0160 or email  matt@mattkeenanlaw.com.

See 625 ilcs 5/2-118.1.

(Besides Skokie, Matt Keenan also serves the communities of Arlington Heights, Chicago, Deerfield, Des Plaines, Evanston, Glenview, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Rolling Meadows, Wilmette and Winnetka.)

You ingested some cannabis gummies after a stressful workday. Later that evening, you were pulled over for a faulty taillight.  You felt you were driving safely, but you admitted to the officer that you had eaten the gummies and now you are under arrest.

Can you really be arrested for DUI when the sale and use of cannabis are now legal in Illinois?

The answer is yes.  Just as the ready availability and sale of vodka does not mean you can drink a bottle before driving, the fact that marijuana use is now permitted does not mean you get a pass.  As a matter of fact, the penalties for a cannabis vs. an alcohol DUI are essentially the same.

That said, you may still have a defense.  Did the officer have a legal reason to stop your car?  Was the officer trained in detecting drug use?  Is there blood evidence to show that you were above the limit? Can the state prove you were driving?  Perhaps it’s not clear you were behind the wheel of the car.  Even if police acted lawfully and the evidence against you is overwhelming, an attorney who is respected in the courthouse may be able to negotiate a more favorable plea agreement than you could on your own.

If you have questions about this or another related Illinois criminal or traffic matter, please contact Matt Keenan at 847-568-0160 or email  matt@mattkeenanlaw.com.

(Besides Skokie, Matt Keenan also serves the communities of Arlington Heights, Chicago, Deerfield, Des Plaines, Evanston, Glenview, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Rolling Meadows, Wilmette and Winnetka.)

You were singing along with the radio while driving down a rather busy road when a car pulled into the road several yards ahead of you causing you to crash. Although the accident wasn’t your fault, you were still given a ticket for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident. (See 625 ILCS 5/11-601(a).)

What does that mean?  What can you do?

Under Illinois law, you must slow down as necessary to avoid colliding with any person or vehicle when on or entering a road in compliance with the law and the duty to use due care. To convict you, the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you drove carelessly and failed to reduce your speed.  The state need not prove that you exceeded the speed limit because the offense does not require speeding. Instead, the State must show that you failed to slow down as necessary to avoid the collision. Proof can include the presence or lack of skid marks, whether the airbag deployed and the extent of damage to your car’s front end.

For example in People v. Galarza, the defendant crashed into a tree and was charged with failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident as well as DUI. Defendant argued that his conviction could not rely solely on the fact there had been an accident.  While generally true, the court found other sufficient evidence to convict him:  Defendant was intoxicated and had jerked the steering wheel.  The car had substantial front-end damage, and the airbag had been deployed.  Further, defendant had injured his knee.

If you are charged with a DUI or traffic offense, contact an experienced attorney immediately.  An attorney can review your case for its best possible defense.  A verdict can depend on the particular facts of your case.  Different judges may view these facts very differently.  Therefore, it is important to hire an attorney who is familiar with your courthouse and can present your facts in their most favorable light.

If you have questions about this or another related Illinois criminal or traffic matter, please contact Matt Keenan at 847-568-0160 or email matt@mattkeenanlaw.com.

(Besides Skokie, Matt Keenan also serves the communities of Arlington Heights, Chicago, Deerfield, Des Plaines, Evanston, Glenview, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Rolling Meadows, Wilmette and Winnetka.)

One night you went to a birthday party.  The friend who drove you started a drinking game. While you only had two or three drinks yourself, your friend had many more and became too drunk to drive.  So you offered to take the wheel.  Is that a defense to a DUI?

The answer is no.  Under Illinois law, the fact that your friend was more impaired than you were simply does not matter.  DUI is against the law even though you may have been the lesser of two evils.  While you may have truly believed you were doing your friend a favor, the police can still test and arrest you if they suspect you are under the influence.

Even if you are helping a friend, driving under the influence (be it alcohol or another drug) is never a good idea.  It also does not matter if you were only driving a short distance if you were on public property when the offense took place.

If you have questions about this or another related Illinois DUI or traffic matter, please contact Matt Keenan at 847-568-0160 or email  matt@mattkeenanlaw.com.

(Besides Skokie, Matt Keenan also serves the communities of Arlington Heights, Chicago, Deerfield, Des Plaines, Evanston, Glenview, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Rolling Meadows, Wilmette and Winnetka.)

In Illinois, driving on a suspended/revoked license is a difficult charge to fight.  On a first offense, the state need only prove that you were driving and that your license was suspended or revoked.  However, you may still have a defense.

Did the police have probable cause to stop you?  If not, an attorney can petition the court to suppress the evidence from the stop.  In certain circumstances, the court might even dismiss your case.

Were you driving on private property?  The law bars driving without a license on “any highway” of Illinois.  A “highway” is defined as the entire width between the boundary lines of every way publicly maintained when any part is open to the public for driving or located on public school property. (See 625 ILCS 5/1-126).  Be aware, however, that a publicly maintained parking lot is still considered a “highway,” even though it is on private property.

Did you have some other type of driving permit?  Perhaps you don’t have a license, but you do have a restricted driving permit.  If so, the case against you could be dismissed. (See Secretary of State Restricted Driving Permit).

Was there necessity?  If you had a serious emergency, your driving could be excused.

Did police entrap you?  While this is unlikely, in one Illinois case a uniformed ranger ordered the defendant to move his car.  The court reversed the defendant’s conviction based on entrapment.  (See People v. Jensen, 37 Ill. App. 3d 1010, 347 N.E.2d 371, 1976 Ill. App. LEXIS 2296 (Ill. App. Ct. 1st Dist. 1976).

If you have questions about this or another related Illinois criminal or traffic matter, please contact Matt Keenan at 847-568-0160 or email  matt@mattkeenanlaw.com.

(Besides Skokie, Matt Keenan also serves the communities of Arlington Heights, Chicago, Deerfield, Des Plaines, Evanston, Glenview, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Rolling Meadows, Wilmette and Winnetka.)

First time driving on a suspended or revoked license is a Class A Misdemeanor in Illinois.  The offense becomes a Class 4 Felony (1) on a second or later offense if your driving proximately caused a crash that resulted in personal injury or death; or (2) if your license was revoked because of a reckless homicide or aggravated DUI in which you caused a death.

If your license was suspended for financial reasons such as failing to pay a fine, the offense is essentially a traffic ticket.  But if you get three or more of these tickets, you can still be charged with a Class A Misdemeanor.

Driving on a suspended or revoked license is generally easy for the state to prove.  The state must simply show that you were driving and that your license was suspended or revoked.  If your license was revoked based on prior offenses, the state must show the record of those prior offenses.  I did one trial where the state forgot to enter the defendant’s record into evidence, thus failing to prove one element of the offense.

If you are charged with a driving on a suspended or revoked license, contact an experienced traffic attorney immediately.  An attorney can review your case for its best possible defense.  Did the police have probable cause to stop you?  If not, an attorney may be able to petition the court to suppress any evidence from the stop. In limited cases, this can result in the court dismissing your case.

Can the state prove you were driving?  If so, were you on private property?  Was there a significant emergency?  Did an officer force you to move the car?  In one Illinois case, a conviction was reversed where a uniformed ranger asked the defendant to move his car.  (People v. Jensen, 37 Ill. App. 3d 1010, 347 N.E.2d 371 (1976).)

If you have questions about this or another related Illinois criminal or traffic matter, please contact Matt Keenan at 847-568-0160 or email matt@mattkeenanlaw.com

Reference: 625 ILCS 5/6-303

(Besides Skokie, Matt Keenan also serves the communities of Arlington Heights, Chicago, Deerfield, Des Plaines, Evanston, Glenview, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Rolling Meadows, Wilmette and Winnetka).

Under 725 ILCS 5/103-3.5, you have the right to communicate free of charge with an attorney of your choice and members of your family as soon as possible upon being taken into police custody, but no later than 3 hours after arrival at the first place of detention. You must be given access to a telephone to make 3 calls. If you are moved to a new place of detention, your right to make 3 calls within 3 hours of arrival is renewed.

If police violate these rights, your statements to them are presumed inadmissible as evidence. However, the state may overcome this presumption by showing that your statement was voluntarily given and is reliable based on the totality of the circumstances.

The 3-hour rule does not apply if you are asleep, unconscious or otherwise incapacitated or if an exigent circumstance prevents the officers from complying. The police report must then document the exigent circumstance. Once the exigent circumstance ends, the right to make 3 phone calls within 3 hours resumes.

The police must display a notice of your right to the 3 calls and may also have to display the phone number of the public defender, where available.  Police must maintain records of the number of calls you made, when you made them, and the reason why if you did not make calls.

Before this law took effect on 1/1/22, police could hold you a “reasonable time” before allowing you to make phone calls.

If you have questions about this or another related Illinois criminal or traffic matter, please contact Matt Keenan at 847-568-0160 or email  matt@mattkeenanlaw.com.

(Besides Skokie, Matt Keenan also serves the communities of Arlington Heights, Chicago, Deerfield, Des Plaines, Evanston, Glenview, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Rolling Meadows, Wilmette and Winnetka.)