In Illinois, the first offense of Driving Under the Influence may be punishable with up to one year in jail or up to a $2,500 fine. If you are charged with DUI, the State must prove two elements beyond a reasonable doubt: 1) Drinking and 2) Driving.

To prove drinking, the State must show that you were over the legal limit of .08, and that this impaired your driving. The first question is whether you took the breathalyzer. If you were wise, you may have refused. If you refused, did you then perform any field sobriety tests? If not, you could still be charged with a DUI based on what the police observed, but it may be that much harder for the State to prove your impairment at trial.

Suppose you turned down the breathalyzer but you performed the field sobriety tests? You may still have a defendable case. Many police cars now video their encounters with potential offenders. After watching the video, how well did you perform? Some defendants manage to hold their leg up fairly steadily and to walk a fairly straight line. If you did well, the state might have a tough time proving you were guilty of DUI.

What if you took the breathalyzer and blew over the limit? If you did not blow too far above .08 legal limit and/or your field sobriety tests looked good, you may still be able to defend your case. The state must show that your driving was impaired. If everything else looks good including your driving when the police pulled you over, then you might still win. Furthermore, in the State of Illinois, a breathalyzer machine is considered accurate if it registers within .009 of the actual result. Therefore, if you blew a .087, there may be some question about whether you or the breathalyzer device were over the limit.

What if your breathalyzer result was way over the legal limit? Then, you may still have a defense based on the element of driving. How were you pulled over? Did the police have probable cause to stop you? If you were obeying all traffic laws and you were the target of a random stop, you may be able to quash your DUI based on a lack of probable cause.

What if you were in an accident and the police were summoned after the crash? Someone has to testify that you were behind the wheel of the car. The state will have a harder time proving your DUI if no one actually saw you driving the car.

But what if the police legitimately followed you and observed you commit a traffic offense such as blowing a stop sign or weaving all over the lane? And then you blew a high breathalyzer and trashed your field sobriety tests? At this point, your case may no longer beatable. A skilled attorney, however, may help you negotiate a more favorable plea agreement.

If you have questions about a DUI or other criminal matter in the Skokie, Rolling Meadows, Maywood or other Chicago-area courthouse, please do not hesitate to contact Matt Keenan at 847-568-0160 or by emailing matt@mattkeenanlaw.com. Also, visit our website at http://www.mattkeenanlaw.com or our DUI blog http://duilawyerskokie.com

(Besides Skokie, Matt Keenan also serves clients in the communities of Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Chicago, Deerfield, Des Plaines, Evanston, Glenview, Highland Park, Kenilworth, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, Northbrook, Palatine, Park Ridge, Rolling Meadows, Schaumburg, Wilmette and Winnetka.)

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What can happen to you and what can you do?

In most Cook County criminal cases such as at the Skokie, Rolling Meadows and Maywood courthouses, attendance at court dates is mandatory. Failing to show up for court is a serious matter with serious consequences. The judge can issue a “bond forfeiture warrant.” That means any bond you may have posted will now belong to the State. Additionally, the court has now issued a warrant for your arrest.

If you did miss court, however, there is still hope. With the help of an experienced attorney, you can bring a motion before the court to vacate the bond forfeiture/warrant so that the new arrest warrant will be quashed and you can continue to defend your case under the old warrant. Be warned, however, that judges only have so much patience. If you continually miss court dates, it may be difficult to vacate a warrant if it becomes a habit.

If you missed a court date for a speeding ticket or other traffic offense, the court can find you guilty in your absence. You may be able to get the judgment against you vacated and make an appearance on your ticket. An experienced attorney can greatly assist you.

If you have an outstanding warrant for a criminal offense or if you missed a traffic ticket date, please feel free to contact Matt Keenan at 847-568-0160 or matt@mattkeenanlaw.com for assistance.

(Besides Skokie, Matt Keenan also serves clients in the communities of Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Chicago, Deerfield, Des Plaines, Evanston, Glenview, Highland Park, Kenilworth, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, Northbrook, Palatine, Park Ridge, Rolling Meadows, Schaumburg, Wilmette and Winnetka.)

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In Illinois, if your loved one has been picked up for a relatively minor offense and has a clean record, they may be eligible for an I-Bond. That means they can leave the police station on their personal promise that they will appear in Court.

But what if the situation is more serious? In that case, your loved one may be held over for a bond hearing until the earliest possible court business date. At the hearing, a Judge will decide how much money a criminal defendant must post in order to be released from police custody. If your loved one had the bad fortune to be picked up on a Friday night, they may have to spend the weekend in jail.

If you receive that distressed call, you are best advised to contact an attorney immediately. An attorney can visit your loved one in the police station, advise them not to talk to police and notify the police that they are represented by an attorney and will not answer questions. Timely intervention can help prevent your loved one from caving into police pressure and providing the evidence needed for a conviction.

An attorney can also play an important role at the bond hearing. At the hearing, the State will likely argue that a high bond or bail should be set. In Illinois courts, such as the Circuit Courts at Skokie, Rolling Meadows and Maywood, your loved one will have to post 10% of any bond that the Judge sets in order to be released. The bond may be set so high that your loved one has no hope of making it and must then remain in jail. An experienced attorney may be able to assess which arguments are most likely to sway a particular Judge to lower bail.

If you have questions or need immediate assistance, feel free to contact Matt Keenan at 847-568-0160 or email matt@mattkeenanlaw.com for advice.

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These offenses and more can result in your being charged with a felony. In Illinois, a felony can range from a Class 1 to a Class 4. In addition, Class X felonies are reserved for particularly severe offenses such as murder and sexual assault on a child. Penalties for a first offense in many cases may still result in probation, but some felonies carry mandatory minimum prison terms. If convicted, a Class X felony calls for a mandatory minimum term of 6 years.

If you are charged with a felony, what kind of legal procedures can you expect? In the Circuit Court of Cook County, such as the Skokie or Maywood courthouses, after going into custody, you will be granted a bond hearing. At the bond hearing, the court will set the amount of bail necessary to permit your release from jail. In all likelihood, the State will argue for the Court to set the highest bond possible, or in some cases, to deny bond altogether. An experienced attorney can help present those factors most likely to persuade a particular judge to set a reasonable bail.

About a month after the bond hearing, your case will be set for a preliminary hearing, that is a hearing to establish whether the police had probable cause to charge you. An experienced attorney can help by asking the right questions to create doubt about whether the police had a valid reason to stop you. A successful preliminary hearing can result in the charges being dismissed.

At the next court date, you will be brought for arraignment, where you enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. If you plead guilty, you will automatically give up many of your rights, such as the right to test the evidence against you. Your case may then be over, but you may end up with a stiffer penalty than if you fight the charges. If you enter a not guilty plea, the process of discovery begins. Your attorney will ask to see any evidence against you. After assessing this evidence, the attorney may negotiate a plea agreement or take your case to trial.

If you or someone you know has been charged with a felony, feel free to contact Matt Keenan at 847-568-0160 or matt@mattkeenanlaw.com. It is important that you not speak about this case with anyone other than an attorney, so as to avoid jeopardizing any defense you may have. Any communications about a case on Facebook or similar web pages should be removed.

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