Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Chicago DUI lawyer provides an update on the Beltway connected DUI arrests from last week

This Chicago DUI lawyer posted about Senator Kerry's daughter and Senator Lugar's wife being charged with DUI's last week. Now comes word that Senator Kerry's daughter, Alexandra, had her DUI charges dismissed.

John Kerry's daughter is free and clear this morning... because the L.A. City Attorney has decided not to prosecute her for DUI -- that's what law enforcement sources tell TMZ.

TMZ broke the story Alexandra Forbes Kerry was busted by the
LAPD early Thursday morning, but her blood alcohol level was .06 ... under the legal limit of .08.

The City Attorney typically doesn't prosecute cases with a .06 ... so the decision to reject the case is pretty routine.
She was lucky. Yes there are already those who believe the charges were dismissed because of her famous father, but in this particular case she also was not charged with any erratic driving nor was there an accident, unlike Senator Lugar's wife. Do I believe her background and associations may have played into the prosecutor's decision to dismiss the charges? Of course it did. As I've said each DUI is different. She probably has no other criminal background. She did not get stopped by law enforcement for driving poorly and if put before a jury of her peers, she would probably be found not guilty. The prosecutor made the right decision in this case. Yes, I would expect a Chicago prosecutor to make the same decision for a non-celebrity defendant if the facts were similar to Ms. Kerry's.

In Illinois, you can blow under the legal limit and just like Alexandra Kerry be charged with a DUI. Just like Alexandra Kerry your DUI would be subject to the prosecutor making the decision whether to go forward with the charge or not. In Illinois, one is deemed not under the influence of alcohol if the breath alcohol content is less than .05. In Illinois, like California, the legal limit is .08. Let me be clear, people are found guilty of DUI daily without breath alcohol testing. Each individual has to decide whether they should submit to chemical testing.


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