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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.)

The answer depends on your specific circumstances.

Did your driving show impairment?  Did you behave in a calm and controlled manner with police?  Were you stumbling to get out of the car?  Is your voice slurred on the evidence video?

On or about your first court date, your attorney will request any evidence that the state may have on you.  The evidence will likely include a video of your arrest.  The video should show what happened during the police stop and may even show your driving.  After viewing the video, your attorney can better assess if the state will be able to prove all the elements of the DUI beyond a reasonable doubt.  If not, you may want to take your case to trial.

Bear in mind  if the police later obtain a blood or breath test showing you were above the .08 limit, the lack of field sobriety tests might not matter. However, an attorney can also evaluate whether police had probable cause to stop or arrest you.  If not, the attorney can bring a motion to suppress the evidence from your stop, which, under limited circumstances, may result in the judge dismissing your case.

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.)

Zoom Court was first initiated in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Court business could thus continue, while keeping everybody safe.  Now, effective New Years Day, 2023, the Illinois Supreme Court has made remote hearings permanent.  Revised Illinois Supreme Court Rule 45 governs the use of Zoom going forward.

For criminal or traffic matters that do not involve the possibility of jail or prison time, you may be able to attend all court hearings on zoom, except for: (i) evidentiary hearings, other than ex parte evidentiary hearings (such as emergency order of protection hearings); (ii) settlement conferences; (iii) bench trials; (iv) jury trials; and (v) any type of case or proceeding exempted from remote participation.

In criminal cases (including DUI) involving the possibility of jail or prison time or juvenile delinquency, you may appear by zoom without advance court approval for: (i) initial appearances; (ii) initial or subsequent appearances in juvenile delinquency matters at which continued detention of a minor will be determined; (iii) status hearings; (iv) waiver of a preliminary hearing; (v) arraignments on an information or indictment at which a plea of not guilty will be entered; (vi) presentation of a jury waiver; (vii) non-evidentiary hearings; and (viii) hearings conducted under the Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act (725 ILCS 207/1 et seq.) at which no witness testimony will be taken.”

In criminal cases involving the possibility of jail/prison time or juvenile delinquency, you must appear in person unless the judge approves otherwise for:  “(i) Negotiated pleas; (ii) Evidentiary hearings; (iii) Sentencing hearings; (iv) Probation revocation hearings; (v) Arraignments or other proceedings or appearances at which a plea of guilty will be entered; (vi) Hearings conducted under the Sexually Dangerous Persons Act (725 ILCS 205/0.01 et seq.); (vii) Bench trials or stipulated bench trials; and (viii) Any case type or proceeding type exempted from remote participation in accordance with paragraphs (b)(2) and (b)(7).”

Jury trials must also be in person, except witnesses in certain situations may be allowed to testify on zoom.

The chief judge of your county may exempt particular types of cases from zoom court as he or she deems necessary.  A judge may also require you to appear in person for reasons special to your case.  The judge must then inform you on the record that you are required to do so.

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.)

Before you can be arrested for DUI, police must have probable cause.  But at what point are you considered under arrest?

In Illinois, you are under arrest when your freedom of movement has been restrained by means of physical force or a show of authority. To determine when that happened, a court looks at: (1) the officer’s intent to make the arrest, and (2) your understanding, based on an objective standard of reasonableness, that you were under arrest. Probable cause cannot be justified by the evidence found after your arrest.

For example, in People v. Workheiser, the defendant took one field sobriety test but refused others, at which point, the officer handcuffed him and told him he was under arrest.  The defendant then agreed to perform the other tests. The court held that the results of testing after the arrest could not be used to determine probable cause.  Unfortunately for the defendant, the court still found probable cause for the arrest based on his poor driving, slurred speech, admission of drinking and fumbling and dropping his wallet.

If you have been charged with DUI or similar offense, contact an experienced attorney immediately.  An attorney can review your case for your best possible defense.  Did police follow procedure during your arrest?  If not, an attorney can bring a motion to suppress the results of an illegal arrest. If successful, the court could, in limited circumstances, dismiss your DUI.

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.)

In our April 20, 2021 post, we discussed People v. Pearson in which the court held that police could not search a defendant’s hospital room without a warrant because the defendant had a reasonable expectation of privacy in his hospital room.  (Can Police Search My Hospital Room Without a Warrant?)

But a later Illinois Appellate case shows how specific facts viewed by a particular judge can reach a different outcome.  This is why it is important to hire an experienced attorney who is familiar with your courthouse and can present your facts in their best possible light to your specific judge.

In  People v. Turner, after discussing the Pearson case, the court concluded that defendant Turner did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in his hospital trauma room. Thus, police could seize any evidence in plain view without a warrant.

The Turner court looked at many of the same factors set out in our April 20 post. But in this case, the court decided that while defendant was legitimately present in the trauma room to seek medical treatment, none of the other factors weighed in his favor.  The defendant did not own or have a possessory interest in or have prior use of the trauma room.  The hospital, rather than the defendant, had control over the room and the ability to exclude others from it.  Defendant was in the trauma room for two hours to be medically assessed. All told, this did not establish a legitimate expectation of privacy.

A slight change in the facts or a different judge hearing the same facts might have come to a different conclusion.

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.)