Chicago DUI attorney thinks you shouldn't take your free legal advice from the judge or prosecutor hearing your case

This Chicago DUI attorney saw it happen again today.  The judge and prosecutor tried to be helpful by telling the defendant what he needed to do to clear the suspension of his driving privileges.  Argh! 

Six weeks later when the defendant returns and hasn’t done anything (because he didn’t understand the instructions and neither the kindly prosecutor nor the judge can tell him what he has to do) the judge and prosecutor (usually a different judge and prosecutor than the one’s who were so helpful) aren’t as kind.  The defendant is then offered a low fine and he pleads guilty because he can’t afford to miss work for “traffic court”. 

Fast forward a few years and a few more offenses.  Now the accused is told he needs to come back with a lawyer.  The accused is confused.  Isn’t this just “Traffic Court”?  No, it isn’t.  In Traffic Court the worse thing that can happen to the accused, excluding collateral consequences, is a fine.  There is no chance that jail will be a part of the punishment for a traffic offense in Illinois.  The accused has made perfectly logical assumptions based on the following: 1) the police are rarely in the courtrooms where Major traffic matters are held and 2) all that ever happened to them before was they were told to pay a “little” fine and then the case was over.

It’s true all defendants who are found guilty or plea have to sign a jury waiver and they are admonished, but earnestly a great many have no idea that they are pleading guilty to a jailable offense.  They have no idea that pleading guilty to the offense of Driving While License is Suspended/Revoked is just as serious as a DUI.  In Illinois, it’s in the same class of offense as a DUI and carries the same maximum penalty as a DUI. 

It’s too bad the judges and prosecutors don’t start off by telling the accused they need to have a lawyer represent them.