DUI Attorneys in Bloomington & Normal, IL
Former Prosecutors Defending Clients Facing DUI Charges
The charges against you should not to be taken lightly. Contact our Normal & Bloomington DUI lawyers immediately to allow yourself a strong opportunity to defend yourself.
How To Defend Against Your DUI
There are defenses and ways to fight DUI charges. If field sobriety tests or preliminary breath tests (PBT) were administered roadside, we can challenge the validity and accuracy of the Breathalyzer tests. We will also challenge whether the traffic stop and law enforcement behavior were legal and whether your constitutional rights were protected. We can protect your driving privileges by helping you avoid suspension of your driver's license.
A highway patrol officer only has the legal ability to pull over a DUI suspect if the officer has reasonable suspicious they are intoxicated, or witnesses an actual criminal violation. There is plenty of gray area within this legal statute. Prosecutors may try to use the vagueness to their advantage. Our Bloomington DUI defense attorneys are prepared to challenge their arguments with facts that support your innocents, or that prove your traffic stop was unjustified. Any evidence collected after an unjust stop should be inadmissible in court.
Penalties for a DUI Conviction
In Illinois, you can be charged with drunk driving if your blood alcohol content (BAC) is above .08%, or if you are found to be an impaired driver under the influence of alcohol. Commercial drivers have a BAC limit of only 0.04%. Anyone under the legal drinking age of 21 is held to a zero tolerance BAC rule, meaning any amount detected over 0.00% is enough to constitute legal intoxication.
A conviction for a DUI can have a significant impact on your life, such as the following penalties:
- Losing your driver's license
- Jeopardizing future housing and employment
- Heavy fines
- Jail or prison sentence
- Installation of an ignition interlock device (IID)
Multiple convictions for DUI or felony DUI have even greater consequences. In Illinois, there is no lookback period expiration for DUI arrests or convictions on your record. No matter when you were previously arrested or convicted for a DUI in the state, the next incident will count as a subsequent DUI. For example, if you were convicted for a first-time DUI in 2000, you could still be charged with a second-time DUI if you were arrested next in 2015, 2020, or any future time period at all.
Schedule a Free Consultation with Our Normal, IL DUI Attorneys
You will want an attorney to represent you when the stakes are high. You risk losing your driver's license or jail time. Our criminal defense lawyers in Illinois can review your charges and help negotiate plea arrangements that can lessen the impact on you and may only restrict your driving privileges instead of suspending them outright. When you need to drive to work, school, or other important events, a loss of driving privileges will take away your freedom of mobility. We can also seek driver's license reinstatement if you have been arrested in Bloomington, Normal, or the surrounding area.
Schedule your free, no-obligation consultation with our firm today!
