Success Stories

CLIENT WHO SCORED 0.22 ON BREATH TEST HAS CASE DISMISSED!

Because it was his second arrest for DUI, Richard S. was facing mandatory revocation of his license after being arrested following an automobile accident in Broadview , Illinois . The case looked bad for him because he had scored 0.22 on the breath test.

First, attorney Wallin successfully argued that Mr. S.’s summary suspension should be rescinded because of a procedural violation.

Next, attorney Wallin challenged the legal basis for the arrest. He argued to a Cook County judge that, at the time of the arrest, the officer had insufficient facts to believe that Mr. S. was intoxicated. Mr. Wallin got the officer to admit that when he first arrived at the scene, he spoke to Mr. S. and directed him to move his car. Mr. S. drove around the block and parked his car, without incident. This showed that (a) there was nothing unusual about Mr. S’s demeanor; and (b) he was able to safely operate a motor vehicle. The officer admitted that he arrested Mr. S. for DUI because Mr. S. had admitted that he had just come from a tavern. Instead of performing field sobriety tests to gauge his suspicions, the officer instead arrested Mr. S. No sobriety tests were performed until after Mr. S. was in custody.

The judge agreed that the officer had “jumped the gun” and had charged Mr. S. with a DUI before he had all his facts. Therefore, the arrest and the subsequent field tests and breath test were inadmissible as evidence against Mr. S. at trial. After reviewing this decision, the State’s Attorney decided to drop all charges.