How Are DUIs Handled By Noll Law Offices In Illinois? Part 2 of 2
By Dan Noll on January 8th, 2014 in Criminal Defense Lawyer, DUI Law, Traffic Attorney
Dan Stratford: Can they give you that breathalyzer without first having you run through some other tests?
Daniel Noll: They can. The standard they have to meet is reasonable suspicion. What that means is would the court believe that the officer had a reasonable belief to think the person was under the influence of alcohol. It doesn’t mean they were under the influence of alcohol, it doesn’t mean they weren’t under the influence of alcohol. But that the officer had a reason to believe they were. That’s a fairly low standard to give. The general process through which the officers operate is to give the first three Field Sobriety Tests and then the breathalyzer.
The reason they do that is to justify giving the portable breath test in the first place. Also an attempt to get drivers to incriminate themselves on the Field Sobriety Test. The reality of it is that the Field Sobriety Tests aren’t given for people to exonerate themselves and let the officers let them go. They’re given to give the Prosecutor more evidence to convict somebody.
Dan Stratford: Gotcha, okay. Under what circumstances in Illinois may someone be arrested for a DUI?
Daniel Noll: A person may be arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol when the officer has probable cause to believe that the crime has been committed. That is through Illinois courts has been synonymous with a reasonable articulable suspicion. They’re one in the same thing. It should be noted that just because you’re arrested for DUI doesn’t mean you’re guilty of DUI. There are certain things, evidentiary issues that need to be examined.
I’ve often told my clients that we practice a wide array of areas of criminal law. DUIs in my opinion are the most complex difficult cases to handle. I say that because there’s a lot of science that is involved. The laws are constantly changing and you need to hire an attorney who stays up to date on those issues.