No longer would those with four DUI convictions suffer a lifetime of never driving again. Instead, Illinois House Bill 4206 would give repeat DUI offenders another chance to demonstrate rehabilitation. A law that is proposed but has not yet been enacted into law is known as a “bill”. Bills that…
The director of a social service agency in Champaign received court supervision following an arrest for Driving Under the Influence (DUI). Reports indicated that the probable cause for initially stopping the driver was excessive speed. It may come as a surprise that speeding is not one of the leading traffic…
Britt Miller, age 27, was arrested for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) in Decatur Illinois. Miller had signed autographs and raffled sports memorabilia during a Super Bowl party at a restaurant located in his hometown of Decatur. At about 2:00 AM on the night after the Super Bowl, police stopped…
Background: In the case of People v. Butorac, 2013 IL App (2d) 110953, an Illinois appellate court examined the rights of a boater who was subject to a warrantless entry and search of his boat while he was boating on it. The Court held that because of the unique nature…
The Illinois court system consists of three layers. The first is the trial court, which is situated in the downtown area of all of Illinois’ 102 counties. A single judge presides over a trial. In most cases, including Illinois DUI cases, a jury trial is available. In that instance, the…
Every state has laws that make it illegal to drive under the influence of alcohol (DUI). 625 ILCS 5/11-501 Each state also has laws concerning the consequences of a DUI arrest and a DUI conviction. The laws of each state vary substantially regarding these driver’s license consequences and what is…
Mother’s Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) is an organization that began as a grassroots effort to change DUI laws. It is now a lobbying group that relies upon free publicity, intimidation of judges and prosecutors and political favoritism to get its way. On an annual basis, it bestows various awards to…
Illinois has joined a few other states in adopting a law that allows for medicinal use of marijuana. It is known as the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act. Public Act 98-0122 It is a “pilot program” in that if lawmakers do not renew the program, it automatically…
In some states, for instance, Vermont, a refusal to submit to a breath test can in and of itself be a crime in addition to the separate crime of Driving Under the Influence (DUI). At the present time, in Illinois, the rules on refusal are different from those in Vermont…
While the benefits to public safety are questionable, the industry that provides Interlock Ignition devices is no doubt thrilled that the federal government has proposed mandatory use of their machines even for first time DUI offenders. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is probably the most influential voice in…