Chicago Criminal Lawyer Blog
t happens more often than you might think in Chicago: someone leaves a bar late at night, realizes they’re too impaired to drive, and chooses to sit in their car to stay warm or wait for a ride. Moments later, police approach, ask questions, and make an arrest for DUI. Under Illinois law, you don’t need to be driving to be charged with driving under the influence. Merely being in the driver’s seat while under the influence can be enough to face a Class A misdemeanor under 625 ILCS 5/11-501. The statute allows for prosecution based on “actual physical control” of a vehicle, even if the car never moves.
This interpretation of the law means you could be criminally charged for trying to make a safer decision. It’s a concept that confuses many people, especially when their car was parked legally and never driven. The State doesn’t need a video of you driving—it needs to prove you had the ability and opportunity to do so. The location of the keys, your position inside the vehicle, and whether the engine was running all become part of the State’s argument.
Legal Proceedings and Police Evidence in Non-Driving DUI Arrests
