DUI Defense- Alcohol, Drugs or Marijuana
DUI - Alcohol
Our goal as your DUI defense attorney is to obtain the best result based on the facts in your case, we will carefully review all the evidence in your case to determine how we may best defend your DUI case in court. We want to protect your driver’s license.
To begin we can dispute the arrest, under Illinois law, we can file a Petition Rescind the Statutory Summary for you within ninety (90) days of your arrests. We can fight your arrest by establishing that you were not properly placed under arrest DUI as defined in 625 ILCS 5/11-501 of the Illinois Vehicle Code. We may argue that your arresting officer did not have reasonable grounds to believe that you were driving or in actual physical control of your car while under the influence of alcohol and/or other drugs, or a combination thereof. Or we can dispute your arrest by showing the court that you were not properly warned by the arresting officer as provided in 625 ILCS 5/11-501.1(c) of the Illinois Vehicle. Another ground to contest your arrest is to establish that you did refuse to submit to and/or complete the required chemical test or tests, pursuant to 625 ILCS 5/11-501.1 (d) of the Illinois Vehicle Code, that your arresting officer asked you to complete. Finally, we can dispute your DUI arrest by proving that you did submit to the requested test or tests, but the test sample of my blood alcohol concentration did not indicate a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more:
If we succeed in disputing your DUI arrest then the statutory summary suspension will be rescinded, your license will not be suspended, or your driver’s license will be reinstated. The statutory summary suspension of your license commences on the 46th day from your DUI arrest.
At trial we can dispute that you were too impaired to drive. Whenever possible we will take your case to trial to obtain a not guilty verdict before a judge or a jury. Our experienced trial attorneys will work hard to obtain a finding a not guilty by contesting the grounds for the stop, the grounds for arrest and the opinion of impairment given after the administration of the field sobriety tests.
A DUI supervision or conviction will stay on your record permanently. We understand how devastating the charge of DUI can be to you and your family, the cost of fines, treatment, possible community service and/or jail time. In addition to the possible loss of your driving privileges. We work hard to obtain the best possible outcome for you and your family. Call us at 847-468-1200 to schedule your free consultation and allow us to put our knowledge and experience to work for you.schedule your free consultation and allow us to put our knowledge and experience to work for you.
DUI- Drugs
An increasing number of drivers are being arrested for driving under the influence of drugs. As the abuse of prescription, opioids and other drugs continue to rise so do arrests for driving impaired by such drugs. Police officers are trained and equipped to recognize and test for impairment based on drugs. You can be charged with a DUI if you are tested and found to have consumed any amount of an illegal drug. If you have consumed a legal prescription drug prescribed to you and you are driving after it has adversely affected your ability to drive, you can be arrested for a DUI. If you are impaired by a drug while you are and behind the wheel of a car you can be charged with a DUI just as though you were impaired by alcohol.
We are knowledgeable and have specialized knowledge in the areas of toxicology, pharmacology and chemistry with which to understand and defend you DUI case based on impairment of drugs. Whether the allegations are that you were "high" or otherwise under the influence of drugs while you were operating a vehicle and/or in possession of drugs (i.e. opioids, cocaine and other controlled substances) in your vehicle we will provide the best defense possible.
We are familiar which challenging the results of field sobriety tests which are subjective. The measurement of impairment is a controversial topic, and as a result, many drug-related DUI cases are fought and won with the help of an experienced lawyer. Sometimes, a urine or blood test is not determinative of impairment. Schedule your appointment so that we can discuss your arrest for driving under the influence of drugs by calling 847-468-1200.
DUI - Marijuana
As of January 1, 2020, it is legal for those 21 years of age and older to possess and use marijuana products in Illinois subject to certain limitations. However, you cannot drive if you are impaired by marijuana and cannot drive safely. Although you may now use and possession marijuana in Illinois, the laws governing driving under the influence of marijuana have not changed. It is still illegal to drive or be in physical control of a motor vehicle while under the influence of marijuana or to have over a certain level of marijuana in your blood or other bodily substance.
You may be charged with driving under the influence of marijuana under two different laws:
1. Driving while under the influence of marijuana alone or in combination with other drug(s), meaning that you are incapable of safely driving (usually based, at least in part, on a police officer’s observations); and/or
2. Driving with an excess concentration of THC in your body. In Illinois, it is illegal to drive with a THC concentration of 5 or more nanograms in your bloodstream or 10 or more nanograms in any other bodily substance (e.g. saliva or urine) within 2 hours of driving or being in physical control of a motor vehicle. A nanogram is simply a measurement of the substance in a person’s body.
A law enforcement office may make a DUI stop if he has reasonable suspicion that your driving is impaired using marijuana. During such a DUI stop the officer has the right to request that you submit to certain physical field performance tests conducted by the police officer, known as standardized field sobriety tests (SFSTs). These tests may include the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, walk and turn test, and one leg stand test. Additionally, the officer may request that you submit to a roadside chemical test, such as a saliva test, designed to detect the presence of THC (the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis). If you refuse or fail the field sobriety tests or a roadside chemical test, a summary suspension of your driving privileges may be for twelve (12) months if you refuse chemical testing or six (6) months if you submit to and fail chemical testing.
Don’t simply plea to your DUI if the circumstances are right, we may be able to try your case before a judge or jury to seek a finding of not guilty. Call us at 847-468-1200 to schedule your free consultation and allow us to put our knowledge and experience to work for you.
DUI- Medical Marijuana users
When the Illinois medical marijuana law went into effect on January 1, 2014, it resulted in necessary changes to Illinois DUI law to account for the fact that certain persons could now legally use marijuana for medical purposes. It is important to understand the impact of these changes.
A person who is granted a registration card (known as a registered user) allowing him or her to use medical cannabis is granted immunity from local or state laws prohibiting the possession or use of marijuana in prescribed amounts. A medical marijuana user is not subject to the legal prohibition having a concentration of 5 nanograms of the active metabolite of marijuana in his or her bloodstream or 10 nanograms in any other bodily substance (e.g., urine, saliva) within 2 hours of driving or being in physical control of a vehicle . However, the fact that a person is a registered user and therefore permitted to use medical marijuana is not a defense to a charge of DUI if they are impaired by marijuana at the time of driving. In other words, if you are registered medical marijuana user, you may only be charged with cannabis DUI based on a police officer’s observations of you and how you complete standardized field sobriety tests.
More importantly, in exchange for being permitting the medical use of marijuana a registered marijuana user must submit to these tests if the officer has a reasonable suspicion that the person is driving under the influence of marijuana. A register user who fails field sobriety testing or refuses testing is subject to the summary suspension or revocation (in the case of an accident involving serious injury or death if testing is refused) of their driving privileges.
Also registered users who submit to field sobriety testing and fail or refuse testing are prohibited under the law from applying for a monitored device driving permit (MDDP). Non-registered users who fail or refuse testing continue to be eligible for such permits. If a registered user submits to and fails testing then he or she is subject to a 6-month summary suspension of their driver’s license. Those registered users who refuse testing are subject to a 12-month summary suspension.
The law also provides that a registered user may not use marijuana while in a vehicle upon a public highway (whether as a driver or a passenger). It also provides that marijuana may not be transported within the vehicle unless it is in an approved tamper-evident container.
Anyone who is a registered user must remember that being granted legal permission to use marijuana to alleviate the symptoms associated with a serious medical condition is not a license to drive while under the influence. Furthermore, for those who attempt to do so, the consequences are potentially even more severe than for those who are not registered users.
Our attorneys have extensively studied and identified many issues under the new DUI laws as they apply to impairment by marijuana of registered and unregistered users. Call us at 847-468-1200 to schedule your free consultation and allow us to put our knowledge and experience to work for you.