If a person is found guilty of driving under the influence in Illinois, and he has no prior offenses of DUI or reckless driving, then the judge is authorized to sentence the defendant to court supervision. Supervision is generally the disposition sought after by attorneys. As discussed in other articles on this blog, supervision is […]
The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority is a state agency that studies our court system closely. From time to time, I read the summaries on their site. They have been tracking the increasing frequency of probationary sentences for driving under the influence and other vehicle code offenses. Their statistical survey proves that judges are cracking […]
The Illinois legislature is debating a bill that would legalize cannabis in medicinal use. House of Representatives is considering HB 30 in the present legislative session. The bill is sponsored by Lou Lang, a Democrat from Skokie. The bill would establish the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program. Any person with a debilitating medical […]
Another year comes and another set of penalties for driving under the influence in Illinois. The law in Illinois on DUI changes every year. The reasons for this include the fact that ambiguities in earlier statutes are detected or become problematic in court, and these instances are reported to state lawmakers. Another reason the law […]
The state legislature has added a new provision to the forfeiture statute in Illinois for 2011. This new law provides prosecutors another way to penalize intoxicated drivers. The law in Illinois allows the police to tow the vehicle of any person who was arrested for driving under the influence. Most municipalities impose a $500 administrative […]
If the defendant prevails in the hearing on the petition to rescind statutory summary suspension, the judge will sign an order directing the Secretary of State to rescind the suspension. The clerk in that courtroom will follow up with the Secretary of State after the court call has concluded. But this takes time. The clerk […]
The state legislature added another offense to the Illinois Vehicle Code in 2011. Passed as Public Act 96-1237, the new law became effective on January 1, 2011. The law adds a new charge to the DUI laws already on the books. The new law can be found at 625 ILCS 5/11-507. It is called supervising […]
Every person who was arrested for driving under the influence in Illinois should look back at the traffic stop. The question that must be answered is, why was the defendant pulled over in the first place? A traffic stop is legally a seizure that falls under the 4th Amendment to the United States Constitution. The […]
The state legislature has amended the DUI statutes in 2011 and established additional civil penalties for people accused of driving under the influence. The law in Illinois up to 2010 provided that if a person was involved in a motor vehicle accident that resulted in personal injury or death, the police were allowed to draw […]
On occasion, a person will get two or more DUIs within a short period of time. Sometimes when this occurs, the person gets the second DUI before appearing in court on the first DUI. Or, he may get the second DUI sometime during the course of appearing in court on the first DUI offense. Where […]
- by Sami Azhari, DUI Lawyer
