IS SPEEDING A MISDEMEANOR IN ILLINOIS?

Posted on September 12, 2024 by mdkeenan

The answer is yes, depending on how fast you were going.

Speeding between 26 and 35 miles over the limit is a Class B Misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail.   Speeding 35 miles over the limit and above is a Class A Misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year.  These same penalties apply when speeding past school or construction zones.

Speeding can be a tricky offense to fight because it’s generally you against the officer’s radar gun. Note that the prosecution need not present that sort of evidence by law.  In some cases, the officer’s testimony by itself may be sufficient to find you guilty. That said, an experienced attorney may be able to negotiate an agreement to plead guilty to a lesser, non criminal, offense.

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 5/11-601.5, Speeding

625 ILCS 5/11-605.1, Special Limit While Travelling Through A Highway Construction Zone

625 ILCS 5/11-605, Special Speed Limit While Passing Schools

(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.)

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CAN A DOG SNIFF YOUR CAR FOR DRUGS IN A PUBLIC PLACE?

Posted on August 23, 2024 by mdkeenan

You parked your car at the mall and went shopping.  When you returned a couple hours later, an officer was waiting with a trained drug detection dog.  The dog had alerted to something in your car.  After a search, the officer found narcotics under the passenger seat and arrested you.

Can they do that?  What can you do?

The Fourth Amendment protects us from searches and seizures without probable cause.  However, under Illinois law, a certified drug detection dog sniffing a car in a public place is not a search or a seizure. (See People v. Kendricks). Further, that dog’s alert may provide an officer with the probable cause needed to search your car.

In that case, should you simply give up and plead guilty?  Not necessarily.  An experienced attorney can review your case to determine if you have a good defense. Can the state prove all the elements of your offense beyond a reasonable doubt?  For example, were you parked in a public place?  What if the car was parked in your driveway? Was the dog properly certified?  Can the state prove the drugs belonged to you?  Perhaps someone else had access to your car. Even if the police have probable cause and the state’s evidence 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.)

 

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CAN I HAVE MEDICAL MARIJUANA IN MY CAR?

Posted on August 11, 2024 by mdkeenan

The officer pulled you over after you ran a stop sign.  You have a prescription for marijuana, and your prescribed meds were sitting next to you on the passenger seat.  The officer spotted them and arrested you for Possession of Medical Cannabis in a Motor Vehicle.

What can happen to you? What can you do?

Under Illinois law, you may not have marijuana in the passenger area of your car unless it is inaccessible in a secured, sealed, odor-proof and child-resistant medical cannabis container.  The law applies even though you have a medical cannabis card, are a medical cannabis designated care giver or an agent of a medical cannabis dispensary.

Possessing medical cannabis in a motor vehicle is a Class A Misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and revocation of your medical cannabis card or your status as a caregiver/agent/dispensary for up to two years.

If you are charged with possessing medical cannabis in a car or similar offense, contact an experienced attorney immediately.  An attorney can review your case for your best possible defense.  Did the police have probable cause to stop you?  If not, an attorney can petition to suppress the results of your stop.  In some cases, the court may even dismiss your case.  Can the state prove all the elements of your offense beyond a reasonable doubt?  Maybe your container was secured when the officer thought it wasn’t.  Even if your stop was legal 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.)

 

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WHEN DOES A TRAFFIC STOP BECOME AN ARREST?

Posted on July 29, 2024 by mdkeenan

If you are stopped for a traffic offense or DUI, an arrest occurs the moment you are no longer free to leave.  This moment matters because an officer must have probable cause to arrest you.  If not, an attorney may petition the court to suppress the evidence from your arrest.

However, an officer may also make a brief, investigatory stop based on a reasonable, articulable suspicion of criminal activity, which is known as a Terry stop.  A Terry stop requires less than probable cause but more than a hunch. Your attorney can still petition to suppress the evidence but a Terry stop is easier for the state to justify.

Whether your stop was a seizure requiring probable cause or something less is a highly fact-based question which different judges may see very differently.  Therefore, it is important to have an attorney who is familiar with your particular judge.

For example, being handcuffed may seem like an obvious arrest, but some courts have disagreed. Courts consider various factors, such as whether the officer drew their weapon, their tone of voice, use of handcuffs, physical touching and the threatening presence of several officers. Depending on the context, physical force or a show of authority may not be enough to turn a Terry stop into an arrest.

For example in People v. Pellegrino,  the trial court denied the defendant’s motion to suppress.  The defendant said an arrest occurred when the officer took his keys. The appellate court disagreed, instead finding the seizure was a Terry stop. The officer did not draw her weapon, use a threatening voice, handcuff defendant or touch him. When taking the keys, she was the only officer at the scene. The court then looked at whether the officer could justify the Terry stop. However, because the court did not have enough information, it sent the matter back to the trial court.

If you are charged with DUI or a similar offense, contact an experienced attorney immediately.  An attorney who is familiar with your courthouse may be able to present the facts of your case to your particular judge 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.

See our related post at Did police have probable cause before your arrest?

(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.)

 

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CAN AN OFFICER STOP ME BASED ON ANOTHER OFFICER’S INFORMATION?

Posted on July 14, 2024 by mdkeenan

The answer may be yes, based on “the doctrine of collective knowledge.”

For example, in People v. Whiles, an Illinois officer received a call about a possible drunk driver. A Michigan officer happened to be in the area.  Having seen the defendant driving erratically, the Michigan officer signaled the Illinois officer. The Illinois officer then arrested the defendant for DUI.  Defendant argued that the Illinois officer lacked probable cause to make the stop, because he had not himself seen the defendant’s erratic driving.

The court disagreed.   While the Michigan officer did not have jurisdiction in Illinois, he was driving a marked car.  The rational inference of one officer flashing another was: ‘Here is your intoxicated driver.’ The trial court may consider the collective knowledge of all officers, even if such knowledge was not told to the arresting officer, when determining whether a reasonable suspicion existed to stop a defendant.

If you have been charged with DUI or a similar offense, contact an experienced attorney immediately.  An experienced attorney can review your case for your best possible defense.  A stop based on the doctrine of collective knowledge is highly fact specific.  Did probable cause really exist in the first place?  If not, then the doctrine of collective knowledge may fall apart.

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 our related post Did Police Have Probable Cause Before Your Arrest?

(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.)

 

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YOUR RIGHT TO COMMUNICATE WHILE IN POLICE CUSTODY IN ILLINOIS

Posted on July 4, 2024 by mdkeenan

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 these calls is renewed.

If police violate these rights, your statements to them are presumed inadmissible as evidence. However, the state may then show that your statement was voluntarily given and is reliable based on the totality of the circumstances. The court may consider whether police knowingly prevented or delayed your right to communicate or failed to comply with the requirements of the law.

The 3-hour rule does not apply if you are asleep, unconscious or otherwise incapacitated or if exigent circumstances prevent police from complying. Exigent circumstances include when someone’s safety is threatened. The police report must then document the exigent circumstance. Once the exigent circumstance ends, the right to make three phone calls within three hours resumes.

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

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WHEN DOES A TRAFFIC ACCIDENT BECOME A CRIME?

Posted on June 29, 2024 by mdkeenan

Contrary to what you may have seen on TV, running a stoplight that results in a traffic death is not automatically a criminal offense.  Of course, the death is a terrible tragedy, and you may be sued in civil court for negligence, but you will not go to prison.

However, a traffic accident may become a criminal offense if you: (1) drove recklessly, (2) were impaired or (3) left the scene of an accident.

In Illinois, you may be charged with reckless homicide if you unintentionally kill someone while driving a motor vehicle. Your actions, whether lawful or unlawful, must be performed recklessly and must be likely to cause death or great bodily harm. (See 720 ILCS 5/9-3.) You act recklessly when you consciously disregard a substantial and unjustifiable risk, and that disregard constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would exercise in your situation. (See 720 ILCS 5/4-6.)

You can also face prison time if you had alcohol or drugs in your system.  If you were below the legal limit of .08 or had taken drugs, the state must show that your impaired driving caused the accident.  If you drove safely even after a few drinks, the state may have trouble convicting you. However, if you were over .08  the state need not show you were impaired, only that your caused the accident and your blood alcohol was over the limit.  (See 625 ILCS 5/11-501.)

A third offense with possible prison time is leaving the scene of an accident involving personal injury or death. If you are in an accident, you must immediately stop at or as close to the scene of the crash as possible without obstructing traffic.  You must help the person struck and remain there until you have given your contact and insurance information. (See 625 ILCS 5/11-401.)

If you are charged with a traffic or criminal offense, contact an experienced attorney immediately.  An attorney can review your case for your best possible defense.  Generally, the state must prove all the elements of a criminal offense beyond a reasonable doubt.  Can the state prove that you drove the car? Did someone else cause the accident? Can you challenge the breathalyzer results? If you left the scene, were you looking for safe place to pull over? Even if 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.)

 

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WHAT IS A CANNABIS DUI IN ILLINOIS?

Posted on June 15, 2024 by mdkeenan

You find that marijuana gummies ease certain health problems, although you don’t have a prescription for them. One day, you may have eaten too many before driving on an errand.  Police stopped you for weaving and arrested you for DUI.

What are the charges?  What can you do?

In Illinois, there are two primary types of marijuana-based DUIs:

Under 625 ILCS 5/11-501(a)(7),  you may not be in actual physical control of a vehicle if within two hours you have a tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of either 5 nanograms or more, of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol per milliliter of whole blood or 10 nanograms or more of other bodily substance.  In short, the state must prove that 1) you were driving or were in physical control of a vehicle and 2) you exceeded the legal limit.

Under 625 ILCS 5/11-501(a)(4), the state must prove that you were in actual physical control of the vehicle while under the influence of cannabis to a degree that you could not drive safely. In that case, the state doesn’t have to prove the amount of marijuana in your system, only that your driving was impaired.

If you have been charged with DUI or a related offense, contact an experienced attorney immediately.  An attorney can review your case for its best possible defense.  Did the police have probable cause to stop you?  Did they follow correct procedures during the arrest?  Can the state prove the elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt? Even if the 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.)

 

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CAN I DRIVE AFTER A DUI?

Posted on May 26, 2024 by mdkeenan

After a DUI arrest, the Secretary of State automatically sends a notice that your driver’s license will be suspended on the 46th day after your arrest.  The length of that suspension depends on whether you took the field sobriety tests or breathalyzer as well as whether it’s a first or later offense.  The minimum suspension period is six months.

Your attorney may fight your suspension by promptly filing a petition with the court.  The earlier the petition is filed, the better your chances of driving. This does not mean that you win your DUI. Likewise, if you win your DUI, you could still have a suspended license. The Secretary of State and the Court operate on two different levels. A decision in one does not affect the other.

If you lose the petition, you may still qualify for a Breath Alcohol Interlock Ignition Device  (BAIID).  You can drive with a BAIID, but you must breathe into the device to start your car.

If you your DUI ends in a supervision, you may get your license back after any suspension period is over AND you pay your reinstatement fee.  If you are convicted, the Secretary of State will suspend your license for at least one year.  After that suspension, you may apply to regain your license.

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.)

 

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WHAT IS THE PROCEDURE ON A FIRST TIME DUI IN ILLINOIS?

Posted on May 20, 2024 by mdkeenan

Once you have been arrested, you are typically brought to the police station, asked to take a breath test and released.  You will be given a court date for your first court appearance. You will also be given a Sworn Report stating that the Secretary of State will suspend your driver’s license, usually beginning 46 days after your arrest.

On the first court date, you are best advised to show up with an experienced DUI attorney. The attorney will enter his or her appearance, which tells the court that he or she is your official representative. The attorney will also ask for copies of the evidence against you.

If you promptly hire an attorney, that attorney may file a petition fighting the suspension of your driver’s license. Even if the attorney cannot win that petition, you may be eligible to drive with a Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Device.

After evaluating the evidence against you including any police video from the arrest, the attorney may wish to bring other motions before the court. Perhaps the police lost the video from the arrest. An attorney can ask the court to sanction the state which in some circumstances result in dismissing the charges against you.

After reviewing the evidence, your attorney can also advise you on whether you have a winnable case or whether you should make a plea bargain. An attorney, who is familiar with the courthouse, may be able to negotiate a more favorable plea agreement than you could on your own.

In either case, you will likely be asked to get an alcohol evaluation. In Cook County, only one agency (Cook County Social Services) is authorized to prepare these reports. Your sentencing may depend on how your evaluation turns out. An attorney can help prepare you for your evaluation.

If you decide against a plea bargain, your attorney may take your case to trial before a judge or jury.

If you have questions about this or another DUI, contact Matt Keenan at 1-847-568-0160 or email matt@mattkeenanlaw.com.

 

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