Articles Posted in Driver’s License Reinstatement

Much confusion and misinformation exists about how the Illinois Secretary of State will handle a disposition of court supervision following an Illinois DUI arrest. In addition, many people do not understand the difference between supervision, probation and conditional charge for the purpose of Illinois DUI law.

It is worth repeating the two different cases an accused faces when charged with DUI. One case involves the criminal aspects of the charges- the fines, jail time, and other matters that arise in any criminal case.

The second case concerns the impact upon your driver’s license. The two are related but taking care of one does not always take care of the other. As a result, you can be cleared of the DUI and still lose your driver’s license, sometimes for as much as three years.

Your driver’s license is subject to suspension if you refused to take a breath test or if you took the test and registered above the legal limit of .08. The suspension is longer if you refuse than if you blow. A revocation occurs if you are convicted of the DUI.

A driver’s license suspension is for a definite period of time. At the end of that time, you are required to pay a fee and then your license will be returned to you, unless you were convicted of the DUI and your driver’s license was revoked. In that case, you must have a driver’s license reinstatement hearing before you can drive legally.

Court supervision requires you to plead guilty to the DUI charge. You will be fined and be required to complete a drug and alcohol evaluation, driver risk education classes and alcohol treatment, and attend a victim impact panel. The number of hours you are required to complete depends upon the risk level at which your evaluator places you.

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You were arrested for DUI and later convicted. Now your Illinois drive’s license is revoked.

You have read the Road to Reinstatement publication provided by the Illinois Secretary of State. It describes a confusing process. You decide to find a driver’s license reinstatement lawyer.

In making the selection, it helps to understand the Illinois driver’s license reinstatement process. To do so, you must be aware of all the consequences of an Illinois DUI conviction.

You have criminal issues (fines, jail, probation) to deal with. The judge or probation office may require you to obtain a drug and alcohol evaluation and possibly complete classes.

In addition to the criminal case, you will also lose your driver’s license in two different ways. First, your driver’s license will be suspended for anywhere from 6 months to 3 years. A suspension ends automatically.

A suspension does not depend upon the state proving you were drunk. In fact, the suspension can even stand in cases where the DUI case is dismissed or you are found not guilty of DUI.

Your license is revoked when you are convicted of the DUI. It will be revoked for 1,2, 3, 5 or 10 years. At the end of this time period, you do not get your license back automatically. Rather, you must have a driver’s license hearing with the Secretary of State.

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The state of Wisconsin provides for enhanced penalties (more jail time) if someone is convicted for a fourth time of a DUI offense. A Wisconsin judge was asked to decide whether a Wisconsin resident’s previous Illinois DUI and his Zero Tolerance (“ZT”) offenses should all be included in determining whether the Wisconsin DUI conviction he had received was his fourth offense for enhancement purposes.

Both sides seemed to agree that the previous Illinois DUI, even though it occurred in another state, would count. In Illinois, out-of-state DUI offenses would likewise be counted when Illinois has a hold that prevents someone from obtaining a license in another state. The real point of disagreement was whether the ZT tickets should count. As an Illinois driver’s license reinstatement lawyer, this writer does not believe that ZT offenses should be viewed as DUI convictions. The reason is that ZT offenses only apply to a driver under the age of 21 years. As a result, the State is nor required to prove that you were driving drunk. They simply have to show that there was any amount of alcohol in your system.

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Any experienced Illinois DUI lawyer can tell you that the overwhelming majority of those arrested for DUI are male. Some reasons for this are that men drive more miles than women, men are under more pressure as they are typically the primary breadwinners of a family, men take greater risks and society is more accepting of male excessive alcohol consumption.

However, United States Department of Transportation studies have shown a dramatic increase in female DUI arrests. The same reasons are cited: women are driving more, women have suffered fewer job losses during the recession and thus are often the primary source of family income, and particularly among younger women, there is less social stigma attached to DUI than was once the case.

In earlier times, judges were receptive to a man’s argument that the consequences of a DUI were too severe. He needed to “feed his family”. Not only could he face jail time and loss of driving privileges, but the monetary costs of a DUI would take money out of his pocket and that of his family.

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A woman in Galesburg, Illinois was recently arrested for DUI after an accident. The driver fled on foot but police later apprehended her. She was arrested and transported to the hospital for treatment of her injuries.

While the police were no doubt concerned about the driver’s safety, they had a second motive in transporting her to the hospital. Her emergency room doctor was no doubt told that police suspected she has used alcohol and drugs. As a result, the doctor ordered blood tests, as alcohol or drugs in the driver’s system could affect the doctor’s decision about what medications to order.

The blood tests results the doctor ordered for treatment purposes will not be admissible in determining whether or not the driver’s license of the accused will be suspended due to registering over the .08 legal limit and whether she will be required to obtain an MDDP. On the other hand, those results are admissible in the DUI prosecution itself. This prosecution, if successful, could result in a driver’s license revocation, and the driver would then need an Illinois driver’s license reinstatement hearing.

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As a follow up to an earlier Blawg,, Illinois State Representative Ron Stephens has apologized for his recent Illinois DUI arrest.

Stephens’ legislative district encompasses Highland, Illinois. While speaking before that community’s City Council, Stephens for the first time publicly commented on his recent DUI arrest. He apologized for the “huge mistake” he made by driving impaired.

Stephens’ pharmacist’s license was suspended several years earlier due to his personal use of controlled substances that he used his license to obtain. When the suspension ended, his license to practice pharmacy was automatically reinstated.