Jermaine Phillips challenged his DUI conviction, claiming that the evidence failed to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Specifically, he argued that his blood-alcohol level of .059 was below the legal limit, and other circumstantial evidence of his guilt was weak. An Illinois appellate court affirmed Phillips’ conviction, holding…
This September, the Illinois Supreme Court held that the Illinois implied consent statute was unconstitutional as applied to a driver when the test was requested two days after the motor vehicle accident. In May 2012, Kevin McElwain was involved in a traffic accident. He was stopped at an intersection and began to make…
Last month, Governor Bruce Rauner and the Illinois General Assembly decided to give four-time DUI offenders – whose licenses were permanently revoked under former state laws – a second chance. Recent data from the Illinois Secretary of State’s office suggests the law will effect 5,085 drivers, 55% of whom live in the…
Last month, a Florida judge recommended permanent disbarment for three lawyers who set up their legal opponent to be arrested for a DUI. His findings will be sent to the Florida Supreme Court, which will decide the lawyers’ ultimate punishment. A month earlier, Judge W. Douglas Baird found the lawyers Stephen Diaco,…
This July, the Montana Supreme Court decided whether the intermediate court erred in concluding that the state’s 24/7 Sobriety Program was unconstitutional. The high court concluded that, while the 24/7 Program did not, on its face, violate the state or federal constitutions, the statute was unconstitutional as applied to the defendant because the…
With marijuana’s increasing popularity and acceptance, it was only a matter of time before the advent of a handheld device to measure the presence of THC in an individual’s system. A THC breathalyzer would supplant blood and urine tests, which are currently the only available method to determine whether someone is under the…
Louisville, Kentucky Metro Corrections officer Liliana Hernandez has been suspended after being accused of lying under oath last month. According to court records, Hernandez falsely claimed on a form that a suspect refused to take a breath test, for which the suspect’s license was automatically suspended. She repeated the same fabrication while testifying in…
Based on close to 700 surveys given to law enforcement agencies throughout the state, the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists (AAIM) compiled crucial statistics regarding DUI arrests in Illinois. AAIM, a non-profit citizens’ action group, was founded in 1982 with the aid of former Secretary of State and former Governor Jim Edgar,…
Hundreds of court cases in Orange County, California are under review amid allegations that someone forged court records to fix DUI and other traffic cases. The FBI and Orange County prosecutors are investigating close to 600 superior court cases going back as far as 2006. It has been suspected that a court employee recorded fake sentence reductions and…
A bill setting 15 nanograms as the THC threshold for DUI-marijuana is awaiting the governor’s signature. Governor Rauner has 60 days to decide whether to sign it or veto it.Under the current law, a driver caught with any amount of marijuana in his system is considered legally impaired. Opponents believe the current law is…