New Driver’s License Law Takes Effect July 1st, 2011 – Chicago Criminal Defense Lawyer

May 19, 2011
suspended license

revoked license

Currently, if you are arrested for DUI and there is personal injury or death involved in the accident, you must be convicted of the DUI before the Secretary of State has the authority to revoke your drivers license and take away your driving privileges.

Under the new law, which takes effect July 1, 2011, simply being arrested for DUI involving personal injury gives the Secretary of State the authority to revoke your drivers license. As a result, the accused must wait a full year before requesting relief from the revocation.

Even if you are found not guilty of the DUI, the arrest alone is enough under the new law to revoke one’s drivers license.

If you have been charged with DUI or have had your license suspended or revoked it is important to have representation to protect your interests. Purav Bhatt is a traffic attorney and former prosecutor serving Cook, DuPage, Lake and Will counties, as well as, Skokie, Lincolnwood, Rolling Meadows and Chicago.

 

DUI – Are you actually driving?

March 16, 2011

duiDUI stands for driving under the influence. Illinois, like many other states, has tailored its DUI laws to cover situations where the person was not actually driving. Instead, to be charged with a DUI, you simply need to be in “control” of the vehicle. According to Illinois law, this is considered controlling a car without driving.

However, there are some circumstances where it is not so clear that a person is “actually controlling” a car. There has been a growing question about what it means to be “controlling” a car in a DUI case. For example, people can legally use their car as a shelter after they have been drinking alcohol.  Someone who sleeps in their properly parked car after getting drunk is not “controlling” their car for purposes of Illinois DUI law. Occasionally, there are situations that are legally unclear such as when the key is in the ignition to turn on the air condition. Does that action create a DUI?

People may have no intention to drive, but only to sleep in their car. Maybe the keys were in the ignition to roll down the window, turn on the air conditioning or turn on the radio?

The Illinois DUI statute does not define what “actual physical control” of a vehicle is, and there have been varying types of jury instructions on the meaning of this phrase through-out the courts.

If you’ve been charged with a DUI, you may have more defenses than you think are available to you. I am a criminal defense attorney specializing in DUI cases in Chicago, Lincolnwood, Skokie and Evanston. Please contact Purav Bhatt if you’d like to discuss your options.