Sami Azhari, Attorney at Law
NOTE: This article features new content to account for Illinois legal changes once Public Act 101-363 became state law. Since August 9, 2019, this Act amended various aspects of the state DUI statutes as recreational use marijuana became legal in Illinois. In Illinois, the offense of driving under the influence (DUI) can be based on […]
NOTE: This article has been updated to reflect the law as of 2020. The penalties listed are the most recent penalties pursuant to 625 ILCS 5/11-501. The penalties for an arrest for driving under the influence in Illinois were increased in 2011 and those penalties exist today. A second offense of DUI is still a […]
Attention: This article was originally published April 01, 2014. The information has since been reviewed for accuracy and is up-to-date as of December 2019. Drive too fast and you might go to jail. No, seriously. And if you have been pulled over for speeding by a State Trooper, you may have been told the same […]
Attention: This article was originally published February 25, 2013. The information has since been reviewed for accuracy and is up-to-date as of December 2019. All DUIs are charged under the same statute, 625 ILCS 5/11-501. Regardless of whether it is a misdemeanor or felony, a person’s guilt or innocence is determined by the same sections […]
Most people with multiple drunk driving offenses do not assume they will be (legally) behind the wheel for quite a while following their arrest. Illinois has strict mandatory driver’s license suspension laws that make it difficult for even first time offenders to start driving again. For those with more than two or three convictions, they […]
It has long been Illinois policy that any amount of cannabis in the blood or urine of a driver can be the basis for a DUI charge. As of January 2014, Illinois updated the DUI laws in response to its new medical marijuana law. Under the new law, a qualifying patient under the Medical Cannabis Pilot […]
The nation’s highest court gave police broad powers to stop vehicles based on anonymous tips in a recent opinion. In the Navarette v. California case, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the police can pull over a vehicle based on an anonymous tip that the driver is intoxicated without observing any traffic violations themselves, […]
For years, DUI offenders have had to worry about their driver’s licenses and the possibility of incarceration. But recently, prosecutors have given defendants another cause for concern. The government can seize a DUI offender’s vehicle, and after a process called civil forfeiture, sell the vehicle at auction and keep the proceeds. The process takes place […]
Statistics from the Federal Bureau of Investigation have alarmed anti-drunk driving advocates: more women are getting arrested for DUI than ever before. In 2011, the most recent year nationwide statistics are available from the FBI, women accounted for 25 percent of all DUI arrests. Many are concerned because the percentage of arrests was as low […]
An important decision was just handed down by the United States Supreme Court concerning driving under the influence. In Missouri v. McNeely, the court was asked to decide whether it was unconstitutional to take blood by force without a search warrant. The court held that when a DUI suspect refuses a blood test, the police […]
- by Sami Azhari, DUI Lawyer
