A Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs (DUI) arrest has a nearly immediate effect on your driver’s license, and the ability to legally drive. This is because of the Statutory Summary Suspension imposed following a DUI arrest. In fact, some would say the Statutory Summary Suspension part of the DUI case is more important than the criminal case. It is important to retain an experienced DUI attorney like Steven Herzberg when fighting a DUI and a Statutory Summary Suspension. Steven Herzberg has years of experience successfully fighting Statutory Summary Suspensions and DUIs.
The Statutory Summary Suspension typically begins on the 46th day after the arrest at 12:01 a.m. The Statutory Summary Suspension will last for a minimum of six months to a minimum of three years depending on whether a person is considered a first offender and whether a breath, blood or urine testing was administered with a positive result or whether testing was refused. License reinstatement is not automatic at the end of the Statutory Summary Suspension. The Statutory Summary Suspension will not end until a driver has driving privileges reinstated by the Illinois Secretary of State.
Drivers are afforded an opportunity to have a hearing before a judge to try to have the Statutory Summary Suspension rescinded or overturned. Typically, a Petition to Rescind Statutory Summary Suspension must be filed within 90 days of arrest. The Statutory Summary Suspension will begin on the 46th day after arrest at 12:01 a.m., even if a Petition to Rescind Statutory Summary Suspension is filed.
The State must afford a petitioner an opportunity for a meaningful hearing within 30 days of filing the Petition to Rescind Statutory Summary Suspension or on the first court date, whichever is later. Failure to provide discovery deprives the petitioner of a meaningful hearing. This is a Due Process violation. A judge should grant rescission if the State fails to provide a meaningful hearing within those timeframes. Prompt and strategic filing of the Petition to Rescind Statutory Summary Suspension gives the best chance to win rescission based on a Due Process violation rather than the facts of the case.
There are limited grounds available to try to overturn the Statutory Summary Suspension based on the facts of the case. It is the driver’s burden at the Statutory Summary Suspension hearing to show by a preponderance of the evidence that the police officer did something wrong or failed to do something required related to your stop or arrest, surrounding the warning of your right to submit to or to refuse breath, blood, or urine testing, or the validity of the result of breath, blood, or urine testing.
Typically, a police officer who effectuates the arrest will testify at the Statutory Summary Suspension hearing and the dash camera or station video will be played. Skilled examination of the arresting officer is needed to succeed at a hearing to contest a Statutory Summary Suspension.
If the police officer fails to appear, the State may proceed by using the police officer’s reports. The driver may have to testify at the hearing to meet his or her burden if the State decides to proceed using the police officer’s reports. Again, an experienced and knowledgeable attorney can guide you through the hearing process and prepare you to testify at the Statutory Summary Suspension hearing.
Steven Herzberg has the skills to prepare his client for testimony and examine police witnesses enabling him to win Statutory Summary Suspension hearings in the Chicago area including Cook and surrounding counties. Call or email Steven Herzberg today if you are facing a Statutory Summary Suspension and DUI charges in Illinois.