Driving Under the Influence (DUI) with injury is a serious offense in Illinois, carrying significant legal consequences. This article aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the legal implications, penalties, criminal case process, and the critical role of legal representation for individuals facing a DUI with injury charge in Illinois.
“Drunk driving” does not always mean operating a car on the open road while intoxicated. Under Illinois law, a person may be found guilty of driving under the influence if he or she is in “actual physical control” of a vehicle, even if the car is parked and not moving. To illustrate, an Illinois appeals court recently upheld the conviction and eight-year prison sentence of a man who was found passed out behind the wheel of his parked car.
The Driver was Not Driving
The case arose from an April 2012 arrest in Chicago. A police officer, responding to an unrelated call, came across a parked car with the driver’s-side door open. The officer saw a man passed out behind the wheel. The officer observed the man had bloodshot eyes and his breath smelled of alcohol. The man subsequently failed a field sobriety test and declined a Breathalyzer test. The man had two prior convictions for driving under the influence.
Though more than 250 laws went into effect on January 1, 2019, one in particular will affect all Illinois drivers. The Secretary of State’s Office announced in its “Illinois DUI Fact Book 2019” that driving the wrong way on any roadway is now an aggravated factor in sentencing for a DUI conviction.
The new law may have been inspired by multiple wrong way DUI crashes along Chicago area roads in recent years, including on I-57, Lake Shore Drive, I-80, and even in the Loop. One in September 2018 was especially disturbing: A woman was over three times the legal limit of .08% blood alcohol when she caused an accident by driving west in the eastbound lanes of I-90. Three people were killed and three children were critically injured. All were from the same family. The drunk driver also died from her injuries.
If you are charged with DUI while driving the wrong way of traffic, it is essential to retain an experienced Illinois DUI defense lawyer to represent you. An overview of the law and its harsh penalties may also be helpful.
Driving under the influence (DUI) is a very serious offense and is one of the most commonly committed criminal offenses across America. In 2014 over 1.1 million people were arrested for DUI in the United States. The penalties for DUI can vary greatly from state to state and it is important to know what you are facing should you be arrested for DUI in Illinois. As always it is best to first consult an experienced DUI attorney as soon as possible following your arrest.
Illinois Compiled Statute 625 is the state’s controlling law for DUI. It states that anyone who drives or is in actual physical control of a vehicle within the state with a blood alcohol content of over .08 or while under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance to the extent they are unable to drive safely is guilty of DUI.
Recently, the Illinois Medical Amnesty Law went into effect. The law, which grants immunity to underage drinkers who call 911 to report an alcohol-related injury, was partly inspired by a similar heroin exemption passed a few years ago. Both laws attempt to address the increasing number of tragic deaths caused by alcohol consumption, many of which could have been avoided but for a minor’s refusal to contact emergency personnel out of fear of prosecution.
Under current Illinois law, the crime of possessing, consuming, purchasing, or receiving alcohol while under the age of 21 years old is considered a Class A misdemeanor, which is punishable by a driver’s license suspension or revocation for up to one year. The minor is also required to pay a minimum fine of $500 and complete 25 hours of community service. Transporting alcohol while underage is also illegal under Illinois law and any passenger in the car can be charged with a maximum fine of $1,000. The driver faces a one year mandatory driver’s license suspension for a first offense and a one year revocation for any subsequent offenses.
A Highland Park, Illinois girl pled guilty last week to reckless homicide and was found guilty by a judge for aggravated DUI in a 2012 case that injured three and left a 5-year-old girl dead. The teen faces up to five years imprisonment on the reckless homicide case, and up to 14 years imprisonment in the DUI case. The girl had been released from drug rehab two weeks prior to the accident.
Illinois Reckless Homicide
An individual commits reckless homicide in Illinois if she “unintentionally kills an individual while driving a vehicle.” If no vehicle was involved, the death would be considered involuntary manslaughter under Illinois law.
In this case, the defendant passed out while driving her car and hit the young girl before crashing into a car. When she woke up, she backed up – hitting the girl a second time – and then, in her groggy state, ran over the girl one final time. The defendant admitted to police on the scene that she caused the crash.
In all criminal cases, an experienced attorney will strive to gain an outright dismissal or a reduction of charges. In some cases, however, where it is clear that the defendant committed the crime – as in this case, where not only did she admit her actions to police on the scene, but also there were numerous eyewitnesses – entering a guilty plea was the best defense. Because the judge can grant probation in a reckless homicide case, entering a guilty plea may be the best chance at gaining leniency from the court in sentencing.
Illinois Aggravated DUI
As admitted by the defendant and her attorney, the defendant caused the crash, which seemed to be the result of her huffing from a computer air duster while driving. The defense argued that not all inhalants are listed as intoxicants under Illinois state law, and in fact the Illinois Use of Intoxicating Compounds Act does not prohibit the use of difluoroethane, or DFE, which was the substance found in the defendant’s system at the time of her arrest.
This is not the first time the issue of whether DFE is considered an intoxicant for purposes of a DUI charge has been at issue. In 2012, the Second District Court of Appeals in Wisconsin overturned a conviction on a similar DUI charge. The court agreed with the defense that DFE was not listed in the Wisconsin statutes as a prohibited intoxicant, and that the defendant could not be found to have been in violation of the state’s DUI laws. In that case, the defendant inhaled the substance from a computer air spray can, like the one the defendant used in this case.
It is unclear from this case why the judge convicted the defendant of aggravated DUI despite the fact that DFE is clearly not listed under Illinois law as a prohibited intoxicant. The only rationale is a seeming catch-all phrase in the statute, which includes as a prohibited substance “any other substance for the purpose of inducing a condition of intoxication.”
Since DFE is not specifically listed as a prohibited substance, despite being a primary chemical in air spray cans, the assumption should be that it is not an intoxicant. In this type of case (and there is no implication that the defense in this case did not do these things), an experienced attorney could turn to a team of medical experts to look for other reasons the defendant may have passed out while driving that were unrelated to the DFE in her system.
Regardless of whether the blackout was or was not caused by the DFE, an appeal should be submitted immediately. The judge had no basis for finding that DFE was an intoxicant based on the plain language of the statute, and precedent – even though from another state – supports overturning the conviction. Continue reading
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