Chicago DUI Lawyers

If you have been charged with DUI, your fate depends on your hiring a good DUI defense lawyer. Having an experienced DUI attorney on your side can be the key to avoiding a DUI arrest record and the loss of your driving license. We serve all six Chicago area counties. Call us today at (312) 466-9466 to schedule an in-office consultation with our Chicago DUI lawyers.

At the law offices of Steven R. Hunter, our Chicago criminal defense lawyers specialize in representing clients accused of DUI violations in Chicago and the surrounding area. Throughout Illinois, particularly in the Chicago area, we have become the go-to DUI lawyers for people with alcohol and drug cases involving motor vehicles.

Illinois DUI Arrests

"Driving Under the Influence" is defined as operating a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol, other drugs or intoxicating compounds and methamphetamine.

Over 48,000 people are arrested for drunken driving in Illinois each year. Of those Illinois DUI arrests, almost 40,000 are first-time offenders.

In Illinois, a driver is legally considered to be under the influence if he/she has a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or more, has used any illegal substance, or is impaired by medication. A driver's BAC is based on the ratio of alcohol to blood or breath. However, an individual with a BAC between .05 and .08 may be convicted of DUI if additional evidence determines that the driver was impaired.

Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol, or DUI, is unlike any other charge under Illinois Law. To begin with, an individual's driving privileges are affected. In fact, a DUI charge is really like two cases. One is criminal, where a judge or jury will decide if a person goes to jail or suffers some other punishment. The other is civil, and the accused may petition the court to rescind, or take back, a suspension of his or her driver's license. In addition, a conviction of DUI in Illinois, as opposed to an acquittal or a sentence of Supervision, nearly always results in a revocation of a person's driver's license.

DUI law frequently involves a forensic or scientific aspect. Arrestees frequently submit to a breathalyzer test, blood test or urine test, the results of which are used against them at at trial, and have to be attacked in complex, scientific ways.

Winning a DUI Case In Illinois

A DUI charge is also unique in that most people drink, and most people drive. Therefore, the majority of people recognize that they, too, could be charged with a DUI someday. This fact makes a DUI offense an attractive one to fight, because you don't have to overcome a self-righteous "I would never do that" attitude in most cases.

There are many defenses to an accusation of driving drunk or DUI. To really understand what defenses are available, anyone accused of a DUI should consult with a qualified attorney. However, some of the more common ways to fight a DUI arrest include:

• DUI Arrest Pre-Trial Motions - Before a DUI case goes to trial, our Chicago criminal defense lawyers often make pre-trial motions to argue that certain evidence should be kept out of the trial, that certain individuals cannot testify, or that the case should be dismissed altogether. We have a strong track record in making successful DUI case pre-trial motions.
• "Not the Driver" DUI Defense - In many DUI cases, a defendant is accused of driving while intoxicated when in fact they were not the driver of the car or the car was not being "driven" at the time of arrest.
• Alcohol Consumed After Accident - DUI lawyers have, in some DUI cases, successfully argued that alcohol was consumed after an accident occured and not prior to the accident.
• Not Drunk DUI Defense - A common defense to DUI is that the driver was not drunk.

A thorough investigation for a DUI includes many things. An in-depth interview with the defendant is a must. It is also essential that an attorney obtain copies of police reports, accident reports, test results, etc.

Armed with the information obtained from the interview and records, an attorney can then interview relevant witnesses and decide if there are grounds for a Motion to Suppress Evidence, a Petition to Rescind the summary suspension, or a Petition for Monitoring Device Driving Permit. The attorney will also be in a position to evaluate various defenses and decide which one is the strongest.

DUI Cases Handled by Our Chicago Criminal Defense Lawyers

These cases are examples of the work we have done in defending those who have been arrested for DUI in Illinois. Please be aware that every case is unique and every client has special circumstances. It is unethical for an attorney to guarantee any particular outcome.

• Charges Dismissed in Illinois DUI Case - Our Chicago criminal defense lawyers were able to get the charges dismissed for this Illinois DUI involving a defendant who lived out of state.
• Chicago DUI Attorney Gets DUI Charge Dismissed - Our client was accused of Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and Resisting Arrest. We got the Illinois DUI charges dismissed and got Supervision on the other charge.
• Avoiding a Driver's License Suspension in an Illinois DUI Case - Client was charged with Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol. We arrived at a negotiated plea agreement and were able to ensure that our client's driving license was not suspended.

We have a long history of defending people accused of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) and driving under the influence of drugs (DUID). Call us today at (312) 466-9466 to schedule an in-office consultation.