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Springfield DUI Lawyers

1. Locher, Bruce: * Any type of drug offense, including trafficking, distribution, and possession * Juvenile Court cases, including drug offenses, underage drinking, burglaries and violent crimes * Traffic violations ranging from Speeding and improper lane usage to reckless driving and DUI (drunk driving) * Allegations of sexual abuse against children * Fraud, embezzlement and other white collar crimes * Robbery, burglary * Violent Crimes ranging from Murder to Battery and Assault * Violations of parole and probation * Appeals and post-convictions * Expungements, record sealing and pardons
2. Harders, Robert: What Happens to First Offenders in the State of Illinois? Illinois First Offender DUI, at its least severe, is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to $2500 in fines, and up to 364 days in jail. If someone suffers great bodily harm as a result of the drunken driving, Illinois will raise the charge to a felony. The first DUI conviction can result in the loss of your license for a minimum of one year. You could also be required to attend Victim Impact Programs, be evaluated and complete any alcohol counseling required, perform community service, or any other requirements made by a Judge. STATUTORY SUMMARY SUSPENSION LAW: If you are arrested and found to have a blood alcohol content BAC of .08 percent or more and/or any impairing drug in your system while operating a motor vehicle, your driving license will be automatically suspended for three months. At the time of arrest, the officer will take your license, and if it is valid, will provide you with a temporary receipt allowing you to drive for 45 days. Your suspension begins on the 46th day from the arrest date and will not be terminated until you pay the reinstatement fee and your record is updated. DUI in general is punishable by up to 364 days in jail, and up to $2500 in fines. First offenders are eligible for supervision (not a conviction), the legal breath limit is 0.08 for alcohol, and any amount of intoxicating drug or compound in blood. A conviction results in automatic revocation (permanent deprivation) of driving priviliges in Illinois. First Offender Table You may challenge a suspension at a judicial hearing: To contest a summary suspension, a petition must be filed in the circuit court of venue within 90 days of receiving your notice of summary suspension. The burden of proof at a summary suspension hearing rests upon you. A hearing must be held within 30 days of the date the petition is filed, or on the first appearance date if a traffic ticket is issued for filing of the DUI charge. Under 21 Table A person under age 21 found guilty of DUI may be ordered by a judge, as a condition of probation or discharge, to participate in the Youthful Intoxicated DriverŐs Visitation Program. In this case, you will undergo a comprehensive counseling session prior to visitation to determine if the program is appropriate. If approved, you may be sent on a supervised visit to a location where the results of alcoholism or DUI crashes can be viewed. If you were suspended prior to age 18, you will be required to successfully complete a driver remedial education course to make your driving privileges valid again. In addition, you may be required to submit to a complete driverŐs license examination to be re-issued a driverŐs license. Yes, you can one be arrested for a DUI even if you are not driving. You need only to be in "actual physical control" of a motor vehicle. For example, you could be sitting behind the wheel in park, with the engine off and the radio on, and be considered in "physical control" even though not driving. During 2001, 91 percent of drivers arrested for DUI who either failed or refused chemical testing lost their driving privileges; 82 percent of those were first offenders. Sixty-two percent of the summary suspension were for failed chemical tests, while 38 percent were for refusals. The Secretary of StateŐs office also recorded 251 suspensions for Illinois drivers who refused chemical tests in other states. (If an Illinois driver refuses to submit to chemical testing in another state, his/her Illinois driving privileges will be suspended.) **The term "first offender" is somewhat misleading. Technically, those with a prior DUI conviction, court supervision, or reduction to reckless driving more than five years before the date of current arrest are considered first offenders even though they are ineligible for court supervision on the criminal charge of DUI.
3. Kirby, Phillip: Criminal Defense
4. Dees Law Office: Driving Under the Influence (DUI) charges are very serious and carry consequences above and beyond a criminal record. Being convicted as a drunk driver often means having to report the conviction on housing applications, job applications, and may lead to increased insurance premiums. Do not go it alone in court without a lawyer. You may unknowingly agree to a deal or plead guilty without understanding the full extent of the consequences. It is critical to be represented by a criminal defense lawyer as soon as possible after being arrested or charged with drunk driving.
5. Feldman, Wasser, Draper & Benson: ...represent clients charged with DUI in secretary of state hearings and drivers license hearings in order to get a revoked license back or obtain a restricted driving permit / work permit so the client may legally drive to work.
6. Tom Bruno: Illinois law provides that it is a "Class A" misdemeanor to drive with 0.08% BAC or greater, regardless of whether your ability to drive is impaired. This was changed from the previous 0.10% effective July 3, 1997, as Illinois became the 14th state to lower its level from 0.10% to 0.08%. It is also illegal to drive when your ability to do so is impaired by alcohol and/or drugs, regardless of your BAC. BAC is Blood Alcohol Concentration, or the percentage of alcohol in your bloodstream, typically measured by measuring the alcohol in your exhaled breath and attempting to compute the percentage that is in your blood by applying a formula to convert alcohol in your exhaled breath to alcohol in your bloodstream. A "Class A" misdemeanor is punishable by up to one year in jail and up to a $2,500 fine. If you had a breath test of 0.16% BAC or greater there is a minimum fine of $600. Upon conviction for Driving Under the Influence, the Secretary of State is compelled to revoke your driver's license. Revocation is open-ended. You are eligible to re-apply for your driving privileges after one year (typically), but many persons find that it takes 18, 24, or even 36 months before they can satisfy the Secretary of State to reissue their driver's license. Is DUI different from DWI? No. In different states, and even in different areas of Illinois, different terminology is used. DWI is "Driving While Intoxicated". DUI is "Driving Under the Influence". The term "Driving While Intoxicated" does not appear anywhere in the Illinois statute, but the two terms are used almost interchangeably. Statutory Summary Suspension If a request is properly made by the police officer, following an arrest for Driving Under the Influence, that the arrested driver submit to a breath test, the driver must comply or face suspension of his or her license. Illinois law catagorizes persons as "first offenders" and "non-first offenders". A first offender who refuses a proper request for a breath test faces an automatic six month loss of license. A first offender who blows a breath test greater than 0.08% BAC faces an automatic three month loss of license. The length of the suspension depends on whether the person has a prior Statutory Summary Suspension and whether the person submitted to a breath or blood test in the current case. This suspension is automatic. However, the law does provide an opportunity for the defendant to have a pre-trial hearing at which he or she can contest the suspension. This pre-trial hearing is separate and distinct from a person's guilt or innocence. We have been successful many times prevailing in these pre-trial hearings, thus assuring that our clients' driving privileges are not suspended. These suspensions begin 45 days after the refusal or breath test. They occur regardless of the outcome of the actual charge of Driving Under the Influence. The second phase of a DUI is the guilt or innocence of the person accused of the DUI. In this phase, the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt the guilt of the person accused of DUI.
7. Turner Law Office: The United States Supreme Court held in 1966 in the case of Miranda v. Arizona that a person has a right to an attorney during questioning by the police. The basis for this right is the privilege against self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution.
8. McWard Law Office: Driving Under the Influence (DUI)
    
   A DUI IN ILLINOIS CAN COST YOU YOUR LICENSE
   You need to talk to a lawyer to protect your rights and your license.
   Police officers have to play by the rules. If they don't, you may be able to preserve your right to drive. In any event, talk to our office about your DUI charge.
    
   THE POLICE OFFICER MUST:
   
   1. Advise you of your rights
   2. Let you talk to a lawyer
   3. Tell you your license may be suspended
   4. Fill out the ticket and reports properly
   5. Fill out all the suspension papers properly
   6. Have a good reason to stop you
   7. Ask if you want to do field sobriety tests or breath tests (Not tell you)

   If a police officer makes a procedural mistake, you may get your license back and the charge dropped.

   A DUI is a complicated process because of the Secretary of State's involvement with your license and the criminal prosecution in court.
   Police make mistakes.

9. Brian Dees: Driving while under the influence of alcohol is a criminal offense.
10. Holley & Rosen: Drivers License Reinstatement - the area of law practiced before the Illinois Secretary of State assisting those who have had their license suspended or revoked in Illinois. When the Illinois Secretary of State revokes an individual's driver's license after two or more DUI's, the individual can request a formal hearing to request full reinstatement of driving privileges, or in the alternative, a restricted driving permit allowing the individual to drive to and from work (work permit), to alcohol/drug group support meetings such as AA, NA or CA (support permit), to regularly scheduled medical appointments (medical permit) or to and from school (education permit).
11. Scott & Scott: In today's society, a vehicle is a necessity. Our goal is to protect your right to own and operate a vehicle. Our first line of defense is to challenge the reason that you were stopped. There are bad stops! There are many things that you need to do before appearing in front of a judge. We know what these things are and we strongly urge you to move quickly and contact us if you have been arrested or cited for a traffic offense. If it is your first arrest, our goal is make sure that you can continue driving. For second offenses, the goal is often to keep you out of jail and able to continue providing for your family. We will get you the best shot at being able to continue driving and avoiding jail time. But you must move quickly.
12. Gates, Wise & Schlosser: Our firm prides itself on being an advocate for citizens accused of driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol or drugs. A successful DUI defense requires an attorney who understands the administration of field sobriety tests, the medical and scientific theory of breath alcohol analysis, the limitations of breath testing machines, and the rules and regulations governing the admissibility of a breath test. Our firm understands the anxiety which accompanies a DUI charge and the potential hardship caused by a loss of driving privileges. We make every effort to retain our client's driving privileges.
13. Harvatin Law Offices: If you plead guilty to DUI, you give up your probable cause rights, your right to a jury trial, your right to cross-examine witnesses and to produce evidence in your own behalf, to question the procedures the police used, and to require the State to produce witnesses and prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
14. Rabin, Myers & Hankin, P.C.: Any citizen may appear in court without an attorney. But the potential penalties for DUI are so severe, you are well advised to seek counsel.
15. Vincent Law Office: In Illinois, refusal to take a breathalizer will result in a 6 month (instead of 3) suspension of your driver's license. (This assumes there was probable cause for the arrest). While this statutory minimum sounds harsh, remember that submitting to the test offers the state evidence against you. Consult an attorney before submitting to such a test.