Chicago Criminal Lawyer Blog
A Lake View DUI Arrest Is More Than A Bad Night
A DUI charge in Lake View can begin in a matter of minutes, but the consequences can follow a person for years. Lake View is one of Chicago’s busiest neighborhoods, with traffic moving through Wrigleyville, Northalsted, Southport, Belmont, Clark, Addison, Broadway, Halsted, Sheffield, and the streets surrounding Wrigley Field. Police activity often increases around nightlife areas, Cubs games, concerts, rideshare zones, restaurants, late-night businesses, and major intersections where officers are watching for traffic violations. A driver may believe the stop is only about a turn signal, lane movement, speeding, or a minor crash, but the tone can change quickly once an officer begins asking whether the person had anything to drink, used cannabis, took medication, or came from a bar.
Illinois DUI law is broad. Under 625 ILCS 5/11-501, the State may charge a person with DUI for driving or being in actual physical control of a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, drugs, intoxicating compounds, a combination of substances, or with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more. The law also includes cannabis and controlled substance provisions. A DUI case does not always require proof that the person was falling down, incoherent, or driving dangerously. Prosecutors may try to build the case through officer observations, field sobriety testing, chemical test results, statements, video, crash evidence, and circumstantial facts. That is why a Lake View DUI attorney must look beyond the arrest ticket and examine whether the evidence actually proves the charge beyond a reasonable doubt.
