A salesman from Schaumburg has had a very good quarter. His bosses have invited him and everyone else in his office who hit their sales quotas to quit work at lunchtime and enjoy free St. Patty’s day drinks at their favorite local bar as a reward for their efforts. While he’s reluctant to start drinking so early on a Thursday, the salesman is proud of the work he has done and he does not want to be left out of an office social event. He lets his bosses buy him one green beer and a shot of whiskey, before he decides to head home. He feels totally fine to drive, but on his way home, he sees those familiar flashing lights in his rearview mirror. The police claim he rolled through a stop sign, and they ask him to take a Breathalyzer test. The salesman blows over the legal limit, and is charged with DUI.
If you were charged with a St. Patrick’s Day DUI in Illinois, you are not alone. Police presence is greatly increased the entire weekend of St. Patrick’s Day celebrations as they anticipate a huge increase in drunk driving. Being overwhelmed by traffic stops and anticipating drunk drivers can lead police to make careless mistakes and be a bit more liberal in their testing methods than they otherwise would be. If you were charged with a DUI on St. Patrick’s Day, you may have options available to you to overcome the charges and keep a conviction off of your record, particularly if you never should have been charged in the first place. An experienced criminal defense lawyer can help you fight the charges against you and ensure that you will not be convicted of a crime that you did not commit.
Defenses to St. Patrick’s Day DUI Charges
If you are facing DUI charges in Illinois, you are also facing the potential of severe criminal penalties. In fact, even your first DUI conviction in Illinois can result in fines up to $2,500 and a year in prison. For this reason, it is important to be proactive and do everything you can to fight the charges. In some cases, you may even be able to have the charges against you dismissed. In other circumstances, you may have a strong defense that you can assert in court to challenge the validity of the charges or the evidence against you. Here are some common and effective defenses for DUI charges:
No probable cause to make the stop. In order to pull you over, police must have reasonable suspicion that a crime is being committed or probable cause to believe that a crime is being committed. For a DUI, reasonable suspicion may be established if they witness or receive reports that you are swerving or driving erratically or recklessly. If they see you speeding or missing a taillight, this also creates a legal pretext to pull you over. If they pull you over without reasonable suspicion or probable cause, they have violated your constitutional rights, and the charges against you should be dismissed.
Unreliable testing. Field sobriety tests are some of the most subjective and unreliable tests out there. Countless physical and mental impairments and environmental conditions, in addition to language barriers and other factors, can lead someone to be off-balance when asked to stand on one leg or recite the alphabet backwards. These test results can and should be challenged in court.
Inaccurate testing. Just because a breathalyzer or blood test is administered, that does not mean that it is accurate. Breathalyzer results can be misleading if taken too long after the accident, and blood and urine tests are vulnerable to human error and poor testing conditions.
Contact Glasgow & Olsson Criminal Trial Lawyers
If you are facing charges for DUI in Illinois, you do not have to fight them on your own. When you need an attorney, experience matters. The experienced criminal defense attorneys at Glasgow & Olsson, serving Schaumburg, Illinois, are ready to zealously advocate on your behalf and work to get your charges thrown out. Contact Glasgow & Olsson today.