The answer is yes, depending on how fast you were going.
Speeding between 26 and 35 miles over the limit is a Class B Misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail.   Speeding 35 miles over the limit and above is a Class A Misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year.  These same penalties apply when speeding past school or construction zones.
Speeding can be a tricky offense to fight because it’s generally you against the officer’s radar gun. Note that the prosecution need not present that sort of evidence by law.  In some cases, the officer’s testimony by…
Continue Reading IS SPEEDING A MISDEMEANOR IN ILLINOIS?

You parked your car at the mall and went shopping.  When you returned a couple hours later, an officer was waiting with a trained drug detection dog.  The dog had alerted to something in your car.  After a search, the officer found narcotics under the passenger seat and arrested you.
Can they do that?  What can you do?
The Fourth Amendment protects us from searches and seizures without probable cause.  However, under Illinois law, a certified drug detection dog sniffing a car in a public place is not a search or a seizure. (See People v. Kendricks). Further, that…
Continue Reading CAN A DOG SNIFF YOUR CAR FOR DRUGS IN A PUBLIC PLACE?

The officer pulled you over after you ran a stop sign.  You have a prescription for marijuana, and your prescribed meds were sitting next to you on the passenger seat.  The officer spotted them and arrested you for Possession of Medical Cannabis in a Motor Vehicle.
What can happen to you? What can you do?
Under Illinois law, you may not have marijuana in the passenger area of your car unless it is inaccessible in a secured, sealed, odor-proof and child-resistant medical cannabis container.  The law applies even though you have a medical cannabis card, are a medical cannabis…
Continue Reading CAN I HAVE MEDICAL MARIJUANA IN MY CAR?

If you are stopped for a traffic offense or DUI, an arrest occurs the moment you are no longer free to leave.  This moment matters because an officer must have probable cause to arrest you.  If not, an attorney may petition the court to suppress the evidence from your arrest.
However, an officer may also make a brief, investigatory stop based on a reasonable, articulable suspicion of criminal activity, which is known as a Terry stop.  A Terry stop requires less than probable cause but more than a hunch. Your attorney can still petition to suppress the evidence but a…
Continue Reading WHEN DOES A TRAFFIC STOP BECOME AN ARREST?

The answer may be yes, based on “the doctrine of collective knowledge.”
For example, in People v. Whiles, an Illinois officer received a call about a possible drunk driver. A Michigan officer happened to be in the area.  Having seen the defendant driving erratically, the Michigan officer signaled the Illinois officer. The Illinois officer then arrested the defendant for DUI.  Defendant argued that the Illinois officer lacked probable cause to make the stop, because he had not himself seen the defendant’s erratic driving.
The court disagreed.   While the Michigan officer did not have jurisdiction in Illinois, he was driving a…
Continue Reading CAN AN OFFICER STOP ME BASED ON ANOTHER OFFICER’S INFORMATION?

Contrary to what you may have seen on TV, running a stoplight that results in a traffic death is not automatically a criminal offense.  Of course, the death is a terrible tragedy, and you may be sued in civil court for negligence, but you will not go to prison.
However, a traffic accident may become a criminal offense if you: (1) drove recklessly, (2) were impaired or (3) left the scene of an accident.
In Illinois, you may be charged with reckless homicide if you unintentionally kill someone while driving a motor vehicle. Your actions, whether lawful or unlawful, must…
Continue Reading WHEN DOES A TRAFFIC ACCIDENT BECOME A CRIME?

You find that marijuana gummies ease certain health problems, although you don’t have a prescription for them. One day, you may have eaten too many before driving on an errand.  Police stopped you for weaving and arrested you for DUI.
What are the charges?  What can you do?
In Illinois, there are two primary types of marijuana-based DUIs:
Under 625 ILCS 5/11-501(a)(7),  you may not be in actual physical control of a vehicle if within two hours you have a tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of either 5 nanograms or more, of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol per milliliter of whole blood or 10 nanograms or…
Continue Reading WHAT IS A CANNABIS DUI IN ILLINOIS?

After a DUI arrest, the Secretary of State automatically sends a notice that your driver’s license will be suspended on the 46th day after your arrest.  The length of that suspension depends on whether you took the field sobriety tests or breathalyzer as well as whether it’s a first or later offense.  The minimum suspension period is six months.
Your attorney may fight your suspension by promptly filing a petition with the court.  The earlier the petition is filed, the better your chances of driving. This does not mean that you win your DUI. Likewise, if you win your DUI,…
Continue Reading CAN I DRIVE AFTER A DUI?

Once you have been arrested, you are typically brought to the police station, asked to take a breath test and released.  You will be given a court date for your first court appearance. You will also be given a Sworn Report stating that the Secretary of State will suspend your driver’s license, usually beginning 46 days after your arrest.
On the first court date, you are best advised to show up with an experienced DUI attorney. The attorney will enter his or her appearance, which tells the court that he or she is your official representative. The attorney will also…
Continue Reading WHAT IS THE PROCEDURE ON A FIRST TIME DUI IN ILLINOIS?

In Illinois, a battery can become an aggravated offense if you knowingly commit battery  on a public way.  See  720 ILCS 5/12-3.05(c).
To convict you, the state must prove that you knowingly, without legal justification caused bodily harm to or made physical contact of an insulting or provoking nature with another person while on a public way. The state need not prove an exact location, and any injury to the victim need not be serious.
Depending where it happened, an attorney may argue that you were not on a public way. Whether the road’s owners were public or private does…
Continue Reading WHAT IS BATTERY ON A PUBLIC WAY?

Even though Illinois abolished cash bail, you may still be held in jail on a DUI before trial if  you are a threat to safety or a flight risk. Even so, the state must show by clear and convincing evidence that  less restrictive conditions than jail would not avoid this threat.
At your pretrial release hearing, your attorney may be able to argue that some combination of conditions would protect public safety and avoid your flight.  Perhaps you could wear a SCRAM device which monitors your drinking, or at least, go on electronic home monitoring.
In deciding your release, a…
Continue Reading CAN I STAY OUT OF JAIL ON AN AGGRAVATED DUI BEFORE TRIAL?

You swore you’d never drink and drive again, but you did it anyway and now you have a second DUI.
What can happen to you? What can you do?
As you might expect, the penalties are greater for a second  DUI. If convicted, you may be sentenced to a mandatory minimum of five days in jail or 240 hours of community service on top of other criminal and secretary of state sanctions. See 625 ILCS 5/11-501(c)(2).  (A first time DUI is a Class A Misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine, but actual jail…
Continue Reading WHAT TO EXPECT ON A SECOND DUI

 
The answer is yes.  But your cannabis card makes a difference as to what the state must prove.
As of January 1, 2020, you may legally consume certain amounts of cannabis if you are over age 21. If you have a medical cannabis card, you may only be prosecuted for a marijuana DUI if you drove impaired. Without the card, you may be prosecuted if you were over the legal limit: a delta-9-THC concentration of either 5 nanograms per milliliter of whole blood or 10 nanograms per milliliter of another bodily substance.  This limit does not apply if you…
Continue Reading CAN I BE CHARGED WITH DUI IF I HAVE A MEDICAL CANNABIS CARD?