Chicago DUI lawyer comments on a paroled DUI offender

This Chicago DUI lawyer has posted here and here about the harsh and ever increasing penalties for those guilty of DUI. DUI offenders tend to be non-violent offenders with no other criminal background. Can you imagine going to prison for a DUI? This man just got out and still his debt isn’t over.

March 31, Aledo, IL

A Mercer County man with a history of drunk driving convictions has been paroled.

According to the Illinois Department of Corrections, Bruce Fish was released from Thomson Correctional Center on Monday of this week.

Fish served less than half of his latest ten year sentence. He was sent to prison most recently in 2006 after police stopped him for drunk driving in Cable, Illinois.

Fish still owes nearly 10-thousand dollars in court fees and restitution. He will be on parole for another year.

Well he hasn’t worked in over four years so my guess is the $10,000 in court fees and restitution will not be paid any time soon.

Chicago DUI lawyer comments on court watchers

This Chicago DUI lawyer got a compliment… she thinks. As I checked in with the clerk in the court house I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder. It was a dapperly dressed gentleman that I recognized instantly. He said, "I’ve been watching you and you are a very good attorney.” I thanked him.

I see him in the court rooms now more than ever before this year, or so it seems. He’s not the only one I see. There’s the sweet faced little lady with strawberry blonde curls; she usually, nods or waves at me. So why do I recognize these two? They are volunteers. They sit in court most days and watch. They don’t have cases nor do they have family charged with offenses. They wear these official looking little name tags that identify them as court watchers for AAIM. Some lawyers I know despise them. They feel that there very officious presence does nothing more than bully judges and prosecutors, I’m certain there’s no prosecutor or judge who would ever admit to feeling some sort of pressure from the court watchers.

I often wonder what these folks think while they sit in court. Perhaps I should ask them if they think everyone there is guilty. I wonder if they think the system wouldn’t be better served if we just eliminated prosecutors, defense lawyers, and judges and just rely on the word of the police. There’s one problem with that vision, they wouldn’t get to be court watchers.

Chicago DUI lawyer comments on Chicago Cops' reluctance to keep the cameras rolling

This Chicago DUI lawyer has posted here and here about the need for video to be installed in police cars. Yes, it is a boon to defense lawyers, but it should also protect law enforcement. Unfortunately, I’m not surprised that some officers don’t want to abide by the rules and keep the camera running.

March 29, Chicago, IL

In the 1960s, Chicago cops initially griped about having to wear radios on their belts.
In the last decade, some fretted about having to communicate for the first time through laptop computers in their cars.

Now some officers have been resisting the latest police technology: video cameras installed in 340 vehicles.

"For an organization of this size, this is a fundamental change, and it will take a while to be accepted," said Jonathan Lewin, commander of the Information Technology Section.

Privately, some cops told the Chicago Sun-Times they were ignoring the rule to turn on camera systems because they're worried their words and actions will come back to haunt them. They explained they sometimes must use harsh language to establish control over people they stop.

As a taxpayer, I’m not particularly worried about words coming back to haunt a police officer, assuming the words are profane and not a threat or a lie, but I wonder what actions they are concerned would come back to haunt them?

Chicago DUI lawyer comments on Illinois State Rep's DUI

This Chicago DUI lawyer has posted here and here about politicians being charged with DUI. Usually, these arrest aren't here in the Land of Lincoln but looks like that has changed.

March 17, Decatur, IL

State Rep. Ron Stephens is facing a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol after he was found using the wrong lane by Decatur Police and admitted having several Jack and Cokes at dinner.

Stephens, 62, was ticketed Monday night by Decatur Police for improper lane usage and driving under the influence. The ticket states his breath alcohol level was 0.101. The limit in Illinois is 0.08, the equivalent of about three drinks for an adult male.

Stephens issued this statement on Tuesday: “Early on Monday evening, I was stopped by the Macon County Sheriff’s police and received citations for improper lane usage and driving under the influence. I cooperated fully with the police officers, was ticketed and released later that evening. "I exercised poor judgment that evening, and I am truly sorry for my actions. I also regret having disappointed my family, friends, and those I represent. I take full responsibility and stand ready to face the consequences of my actions.”

I wonder if he intends to plead guilty? I also wonder if he has any idea what the consequences of his actions are?

Chicago DUI lawyer comments on not 1, not 2, but 3 DUI charges for a Cop

Whoa! This Chicago DUI lawyer has posted here, here, and here about cops with DUI arrests. That said she’s never heard of a cop with 3 separate pending DUI arrests. Where’s MADD when you need them?

March 24, Santa Ana, CA

An Anaheim police officer resigned Tuesday amid a department investigation and after being charged with driving under the influence of a cocktail of prescription drugs for the third time in less than a year.

The officer, who hasn't been to work since late 2008 but remained on paid administrative leave, has pleaded not guilty in one case of driving under the influence from an incident last March. The two latest charges were filed last week and Tuesday.

Kevin Noel Schlueter, 37, of Costa Mesa, is charged in three separate cases with one misdemeanor count of driving under the influence of drugs for each case.
Schlueter's three DUI arrests were first revealed earlier this month by the Register.

If convicted in all three cases, Schlueter faces up to two years and six months behind bars. Schlueter is scheduled to appear in court Friday.

Schlueter had been on leave since November 2008 for what department spokesman Sgt. Rick Martinez said was "a variety of reasons." Personnel rules prohibit him from giving specifics, Martinez said.

Schlueter's leave had been unpaid at first. But then in November 2009, months after Schlueter's first DUI arrest, Anaheim officials put him on paid administrative leave.
After Schlueter's arrests were publicized by the Register, Anaheim police issued a statement saying:

"The Anaheim Police Department is cooperating with the OC District Attorney's office in its prosecution of these cases and we have contacted the Department of Motor Vehicles regarding the officer's future driving privileges. We are also expediting our internal investigation into this matter in order to reach a decision concerning the officer's employment as soon as possible."

It’s clear that the nature of the job can cause some law enforcement officers to need additional support in order to avoid a tragic ending, like this one to employment, not to mention the little matter of three separate criminal charges for DUI.

Chicago DUI lawyer comments on extradition and DUI

Chicago DUI lawyer has posted here, here, and here about DUI’s outside of the U.S. A closer connection puts a Chicago man on the international stage for extradition because of an old DUI.

March 26, Chicago, IL

A man accused in the drunken-driving deaths of two 17-year-old girls in Poland escaped from a hospital there after the 1994 crash, fled his homeland and hid for nearly 15 years in Chicago.

The past caught up to Andrezej Piotrowicz, 35, in November 2009, when U.S. marshals arrested him. They were tipped off by Polish authorities who tracked him to a brick home in Chicago's Belmont Heights neighborhood, where he was living with his sister and elderly mother.

An extradition hearing was held in January, and a federal judge is expected to rule soon on Poland's request. The ultimate decision will be made by the U.S. State Department.

Blood drawn at the hospital showed Piotrowicz had a blood-alcohol level of 1.23, six times the country's legal threshold, according to court records. The figure is 15 times the legal threshold in Illinois.

It was unclear how Piotrowicz, who had suffered a concussion, was able to flee the country.

Piotrowicz first appears in Chicago-area public records in 1995, when he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, court records show. On May 31, 1996, he got an Illinois driver's license, according to the secretary of state's office.

Piotrowicz bought his Belmont Heights home in 1999, records show. The brick home with a basketball hoop on the backyard garage has his name on the mailbox.

Are you surprised at how far reaching DUI laws can be? I suspect the judge will rule that Mr. Piotrowicz must be extradited to Poland to face the charges.

Chicago DUI lawyer says you can be found not guilty of a DUI and still have your license suspended for a DUI

This Chicago DUI lawyer has posted here, here, and here about Statutory Summary Suspensions. By law, your license is suspended just for being charged with a DUI. In Illinois, even if you are found not guilty of the DUI or the charges are dismissed your license is still suspended unless you have a successful Statutory Summary Suspension hearing. I just talked about this a few hours ago. Even the powerful and famous can be thwarted by this suspension.

March 25, New York, NY

A Manhattan jury acquitted Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV on Thursday of drunken driving but found him guilty of a lesser charge, driving while ability impaired.

Because that charge is only a violation, akin to a speeding ticket, Mr. Powell, 47, will not have a criminal record.

Judge Larry Stephen, who presided over the case in Manhattan Criminal Court, fined Mr. Powell $300, suspended his license for 90 days and required him to participate in an educational program.

“I respect the verdict, but I do disagree,” Mr. Powell said outside the courthouse.

One juror, who declined to give his name, said a video of Mr. Powell’s behavior at the police station after his arrest, which was introduced by the prosecution, helped the jurors reach their decision.

“He was not drunk, absolutely not,” the juror said.

I know it doesn’t make any sense. Either you are drunk driving or you aren’t. It’s disturbing that you can be found not guilty of DUI and still have your license suspended just like Assemblyman Powell.