If you or your loved one has been arrested in Cook County, you need a Bridgeview DUI Attorney who will fight for you. We represent individuals throughout Bridgeview who have been arrested and charged with a DUI.
We believe that being proactive and avoiding situations that could lead to drunk driving charges should be the goal whenever possible but we understand that sometimes things happen that are beyond your control. As a result, we offer client focused, proactive, judgment free legal representation and are here to help you with your Bridgeview DUI.
Interacting with Police during a Bridgeview DUI Investigation
If you are stopped by Brideview Police for Drunk Driving (DUI), there are some things you should keep in mind.
- Make the officer feel safe – When you see the lights flashing behind you, pull off to a well-lit area on the right side of the road. Turn on the interior light in your vehicle (assuming there isn’t anything in the car you don’t want the officer to see), roll down the driver’s side window and place your hands on the steering wheel.
- Be respectful – Regardless for the reason for the stop, it is in your best interest to speak respectfully to the police officer. The officer has a right to ask you for your license as well as the vehicle registration. When the officer asks for those items, be sure to tell him or her where they are and ask for permission to reach into your purse, wallet or glove box for the items.
- Do not admit to anything – If an officer asks you whether or not you’ve been drinking, any little admission can be used to justify a further investigation, additionally a denial or lie can be used against you if you are in fact arrested. As a result, if the officer asks you if you have been drinking, a respectful neutral “what makes you ask that?” or “I don’t have a comment to make on that question” would be appropriate.
- Decline to perform field sobriety tests – The police officer may ask you to perform field sobriety tests to show that you are not intoxicated. You may politely refuse to perform these tests. While passing them may help you avoid a DUI arrest, even sober people routinely fail FSTs. As a result, these tests often hurt your case more than passing them might help.
- Carefully consider whether or not to submit to a chemical test – In Bridgeview, Illinois you are legally allowed to refuse to submit to a chemical test to measure your BAC, however, if you refuse to submit to the test you will be subject to a summary suspension of your license. Depending on whether or not you’ve been convicted of driving under the influence before, your license will be automatically suspended for anywhere from 12 – 36 months.
Common Defenses for Driving Under the Influence
If, even after following our recommendations about interacting with police, you are still arrested and charged with a DUI, there is plenty we can do to help you avoid a DUI conviction. Depending on the circumstances surrounding your arrest and charge our knowledgeable Bridgeview DUI attorneys can raise a number of defenses including:
- Illegal or unlawful police stops – When a police officer decides to make a traffic stop, they have to have a legal reason for doing so. If the stop was illegal, any evidence they gathered during the stop must be thrown out and cannot be used against you. Our Bridgeview DUI lawyers can help you by looking at the circumstances of the stop and raising any issues about the legality of the stop.
- Rising alcohol levels – In Bridgeview and throughout Illinois it is illegal to operate any motor vehicle with a BAC at or above .08. In some instances, when a driver consumes alcohol shortly before driving, he or she may not be intoxicated while operating the vehicle but may register a .08 BAC or high when a chemical test is administered. In certain situations, rising alcohol levels can be a defense to a DUI charge because we may be able to prove that you were not intoxicated at the time of your arrest.
- Improper Field Sobriety Tests (FSTs) – FSTs can be difficult to administer and police don’t always administer them properly. If your Bridgeview DUI attorney can prove the test was improperly administered, it can be thrown out. It may be that the police officer hasn’t had the proper training, has forgotten how to conduct a particular test or neglects to properly administer the test despite knowing how to do so. We will take a look at what happened, review any evidence documenting how the tests were administered and will raise any appropriate legal defenses.
If you or a loved one has been charged with a DUI in Bridgeview, we encourage you to contact our talented, compassionate Bridgeview DUI attorneys today. We are here to answer your questions and help you put this unfortunate situation in the rear-view mirror. Call us today, we can help!
