Chicago DUI lawyer hopes love can conquer a DUI

This Chicago DUI lawyer thought she had seen and heard just about everything. Now comes news that a pair of newlyweds are unable to see each other because of a DUI conviction, and no neither of them are in jail.

September 29, Blaine, WA

When the strain of separation becomes too much and they need to hold one another, David Williams and his wife, Janeane Ardiel, meet in a sort of no man's land here at Peace Arch International Park, just feet from a concrete boundary marker separating Canada from the U.S.

Married for five months, the couple -- he American, she Canadian -- are stranded on either side of the border, unable to cross into the other's country.

Williams, 45, who lives in Bellingham, Wash., can't travel into Canada because a 6-year-old DUI conviction makes him inadmissible.

And his wife, also 45, was denied entry to the U.S. in July after border officers in Blaine noticed her almost-weekly trips and told her they believed her intent was to live in the U.S., not just visit.

"It is like being severed from my lifeline," Ardiel said.

The couple have filed paperwork to resolve her legal status in the U.S., where they hope to eventually settle.

In the meantime, they have discovered a quiet place where they can meet -- a metal picnic table in the shadow of this beautiful park's looming white arch.

The site is a common meet-up spot for separated Canadians and Americans who may visit the park without officially leaving their respective countries.

Len Saunders, the couple's Immigration attorney, who first told them about the picnic table, said clients use it because it's the most neutral spot within the park, almost on top of the boundary line.

"It's a sort of no man's land," he said. "I'm sure there are cameras everywhere, but I've never seen an officer out there."

Williams and Ardiel recently met here for the second time since her July 22 ban from the U.S.

As she reached him and they hugged, Ardiel broke down in sobs.

So here's a non-violent offender who can't enter Canada to see his wife because of an old DUI offense. His wife can't keep coming over her because it made immigration officials suspicious so they just banned her entry into the U.S. for six months. I wonder if the Hollywood Stars will line up for these star-crossed lovers the way they have for Roman Polanski's freedom?