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Recent Blog Posts
Underage Drunk Driving and Fake IDs
Using a fake identification card and underage drinking and driving are offenses that often go hand-in-hand. While fake IDs are not always the cause for underage, intoxicated drivers behind the wheel, they significantly increase the number of young drivers able to obtain alcohol, more easily enabling them to drive after they have been drinking. Whether you have been involved in the distribution or carrying of an illegal ID, or have simply used your personal identification to purchase and distribute alcohol to someone under the legal drinking age, you are at risk for a variety of penalties under Illinois law.
Penalties for Possessing and Using a Fake ID
If you are caught using a fake ID, you will face the loss of your driving privileges for up to one year. Additionally, you can be convicted of a Class A misdemeanor or a Class 4 felony if you do any of the following:
- Lend someone your license;
Allegations of Domestic Violence Can Be Dangerous
Domestic battery is a serious offense in the state of Illinois. It is also an act that can be reported by someone other than your spouse, child, or significant other. Mandatory reporters—those that are required to report acts of domestic violence to the authorities—can be found in schools, doctor’s offices, and hospitals. Thanks to a new law, you will now find potential reporters in the salon as well.
Beauticians and stylists will undergo training to help them learn how to talk to victims of domestic violence. They will not face legal ramifications if they do not report suspected abuse, but they will be encouraged to do so when the situation is appropriate. The goal is to ensure that victims who really need help receive it, but not all people who are reported have actually abused someone. In fact, false allegations of domestic violence and abuse are rather common - more common than most people realize. What might a false reporting mean for you and your family?
Distracted Drunk Driving; A Dangerous Combination
As cell phone technology continues to advance, it is getting harder and harder for some people to put their devices down while driving. Despite being surrounded by warnings of the dangers of texting while driving, a large percentage of drivers—many of them in their late teens and early twenties—continue to pay more attention to their phones than they do to the safe operation of their vehicle. Distracted driving is bad enough, with thousands of accidents every year caused by inattentive drivers, but adding alcohol to the mix can lead to even more catastrophic results.
College Student Arrested for Drunk Driving While Taking a Snapchat Photo
Last October, a freshman at Texas A&M University was booked on drunk driving charges after the car she was driving slammed into the back of a parked police cruiser. The police officer, who had been responding to a domestic disturbance call, approached the young woman’s car and found her sitting in the driver’s seat without a shirt. According to an affidavit filed by the officer, the woman said that she was trying to take a sexy Snapchat photo for her boyfriend while she was at a red light.
Mobile Traffic Camera Car Given a Ticket
Over the last several years, the issue of traffic cameras has been a topic of debate throughout the Chicago region. There have been questions about the accuracy and validity of tickets issued by the automated systems as well as concerns regarding the due process afforded those who receive citations. While the discussion about red-light and speed-cameras continues in Northern Illinois, other cities around the country have begun using mobile traffic cameras installed on municipal vehicles. Mobile traffic enforcement cameras are meant to keep the streets and roadways safer, but, as an example from New Orleans shows, they can sometimes have the opposite effect.
New Program, New Problems
According to reports, the city of New Orleans began using mobile traffic enforcement cameras just a few weeks ago. The cameras are mounted on vehicles that are generally parked at a particular location for periods of time. City officials say that the mobile cameras are a temporary measure and will be primarily used at sites scheduled to have permanent cameras installed at a later date. As of now, five such cameras have been put into service, with five more expected later this year.
Wearable BAC Sensor May Be the Next Step in Preventing a DUI Arrest
The next time you are at the gym or out for a walk, take a look at the arms of some of the people around you. Almost certainly, you will find that at least a few have a thin strap around their wrists that looks something like a cross between a bracelet and watch band, but with no visible face. There is a very good chance that these straps are fitness trackers in the style of a Fitbit—if not the branded product itself. Over the last decade, fitness trackers have become a multi-billion dollar industry within the "wearable" technology sector. The coming additions to the wearable market, however, will be quite a bit different. It will soon be possible for a strap on your wrist to estimate when you have had too much to drink and to help you get home without being pulled over for driving under the influence (DUI).
Government Challenge
In 2015, the National Institute of Health (NIH) invited tech startups and individuals around the country to develop a prototype wearable device capable of measuring blood alcohol content in real time—or as close as possible. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), a subagency of the NIH, conducted the challenge to harness the technology being used in wearable fitness trackers and apply it toward reducing alcohol problems and increasing public safety.
White Collar Crime and the Role of the FBI
When you think about white collar crime, you may visualize the country’s top executives participating in unlawful actions and reaping a wide range of beneficial perks. This is understandable, to an extent due to a number of Hollywood box office hits such as The Wolf of Wall Street, Boiler Room, or Catch Me If You Can. In real life, many such crimes are handled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), making white collar offenses like forgery and deceptive practices major issues.
As early as 1939, white collar crime—a term that refers to fraudulent actions committed by business government professionals—was characterized by deeds of deceit, concealment or a gross violation of trust but not through the application of threats, violence or physical force. Such actions are typically motivated by financial gain and the avoidance of financial loss.
Drunk Driving: A New Year’s Breathalyzer Could Cost You
This coming weekend is sure to be filled with parties focused on looking back on the year that was and ahead to the year that will be. While a champagne toast at midnight is common at many New Year’s Eve celebrations, a large number of revelers will continue to drink relatively heavily throughout the night and well into the next morning. Of course, those of legal drinking age are free to make their own choices regarding how much they have to drink, it is important to remember that getting behind the wheel after drinking can lead to serious legal problems.
DUI Checkpoints
Throughout the holiday season, efforts by law enforcement have been underway to combat drunk driving. One of the most common methods for doing so is the use of sobriety checkpoints on highly-traveled streets and highways during times when drunk drivers are likely be on the roads. If you encounter a sobriety checkpoint, you may be asked to submit to a battery of field sobriety tests. If the police have probable cause to believe that you are driving under the influence, you can be arrested on the spot.
Young Drivers and Traffic Stops; Learning the Rules of the Road
Being pulled over by police is a stressful experience for anyone, under any circumstances. The event can be especially nerve-wracking for young drivers who are often uninformed and unprepared to handle the situation. Young drivers are frequently pulled over by law enforcement on the roadways due to careless, distracted driving behaviors, such as texting and talking on the phone or interacting with other passengers. A traffic stop can quickly take a turn for the worst if the teen handles the situation poorly, which is why it is so important for every young driver to have a firm understanding of what to do when an officer directs them to the side of the road.
New Illinois Law Looks to Educate Teen Drivers
Whatever the reason for being pulled over, preventing an already tense situation from escalating is the number one concern for everyone involved. Many young drivers do not know how to act , highlighting the ongoing need to inform drivers about the proper way to handle a pull-over incident. Illinois lawmakers recently passed a measure that mandates that all driver’s education classes include a section on traffic stops for this very reason. The goal behind the law is to show teens the best way to respond and to keep problems during the interaction with police to a minimum.
DUI Prosecution and the Statute of Limitations
When a person is pulled over on the suspicion of driving under the influence (DUI), the next step is being taken into police custody until officers feel the individual is sober enough to make it home safely. In most cases, a citation is issued upon release which includes a date for a mandatory court appearance. All too often, however, defendants appear on their required date in court only to discover that their case is not actually on the docket. How does this happen? The answer may be found in what occurs after the issuance of the citation.
Behind the Scenes
Keep in mind that a county prosecutor’s office has a multitude of cases to review each day. Your case, while extremely important to you, is just one of many being processed at any given time. The date on the citation is often an arbitrary date, generally at least a month or two months after the incident initially occurred. It is presumed that this time is sufficient to accomplish the necessary steps, including:
Stoned Driving in Illinois: New DUI Marijuana Standards
The debate over marijuana has been ongoing for a number of years in this country. Some states take a much more permissive approach to the drug and its use while others remain strict, begrudgingly updating their laws only when necessary. Thus far, Illinois has only been willing to take certain legislative steps pertaining to the use of marijuana in the state. Its medical marijuana program was very slow to get underway and efforts to decriminalize—not legalize—low-level possession of the drug took several years to pass. When the decriminalization bill was approved, however, it also addressed the issue of driving under the influence of marijuana, creating a quantitative standard for determining a driver’s impairment.
New Standards
Prior to the new law taking effect this past July, the state of Illinois maintained a zero-tolerance policy for driving under the influence of marijuana. If any trace of the drug was found in the driver’s system, he or she could be charged with DUI. The major problem with such an approach was that existing tests could detect traces of marijuana in a person’s body several weeks after use. In essence, the tests did not address the driver’s current state of impairment whatsoever.
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