Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol (DUI) – LICENSE SUSPENSION REMOVED

The Cook County Sheriff’s Police Department stopped my client for speeding 81 mph in a 55 mph zone. When the officer approached my client in his vehicle, the officer detected a strong odor of alcohol on my client’s breath, red/watery eyes and slurred speech. When the officer asked my client for his driver’s license, my client just stared forward for 30 seconds. My client admitted to drinking and and told the officer that he was headed to another bar. When my client exited the vehicle, he used the door for support and had very poor balance when walking. The officer thought my client was going to fall so he had to be supported. My client refused the field sobriety tests and was arrested for DUI. My client subsequently refused the breathalyzer test so his license was to be suspended for 1 year. If filed a Petition to Rescind Statutory Summary Suspension in order to prevent his license from being suspended. I also immediately filed a subpoena to get the officer’s squad car video and the video of of the lock up area of the Sheriff’s Department. The subpoena I filed directed the Sheriff’s Department to provide me the videos on the first court date. When the first court date arrived, the Sheriff’s Department did not provide me with the videos that I requested. I argued to the judge that my client was prejudiced since we were not given the videos that I had requested with my subpoena. I argued that I should win the hearing for my client’s driver’s license suspension based upon the failure to provide me with the evidence I requested in a timely fashion. The judge agreed! The judge removed the 1 year license suspension.