DUI

Naperville DUI Lawyer

If you have been arrested for DUI, you need to hire a local Naperville and DuPage County DUI attorney as soon as possible. Whether this is your first DUI or you have already received one, you are facing serious repercussions. Hiring an attorney from the Law Office of Ken Wang is the first step towards resolving this issue efficiently and with the least amount of hassle to you and those you love.  We may be located in Naperville, but we are willing to travel to Will and Kendall Counties.

What is DUI?

DUI stands for Driving Under the Influence. In Illinois, it is illegal to drive with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.08 or higher. If you are under 21 years old, any alcohol in your system is illegal, as Illinois is a “zero tolerance” state. You can also be convicted of DUI with a BAC lower than 0.08 if your driving was impaired or you are under the influence of other substances such as narcotics.  Source: 625 ILCS 5/11-501.

DUI Penalties in DuPage County, IL

The penalties for DUI depend on a number of factors including:

  • The age of the driver
  • Whether there were passengers in the car, and if so, their ages
  • Previous DUI convictions
  • Whether you failed the chemical sobriety test or chose not to take it

Depending on the circumstances surrounding your particular situation, you may face a range of possible penalties such as:

  • License suspension
  • License revocation
  • Jail sentence or sentence to the Illinois Department of Corrections
  • Community service
  • Fines up to $25,000
  • Court costs
  • Be required to complete an alcohol evaluation and complete all recommended treatment
  • Attend a Victim Impact Panel

Statutory Summary Suspension

If you have been arrested for DUI in Illinois including in DuPage County, the officer will usually confiscate your license and issue a statutory summary suspension. If you failed the chemical sobriety test, your license is automatically suspended for six months. If you choose not to take the chemical sobriety test, your license will be suspended for a full year. If this is not the first time that you have been subjected to an arrest for drunk driving, the penalties will be more severe and the length of suspension will be longer. If your license is suspended, it is important that you stay off the roads in order to avoid additional legal issues for driving with a suspended license. The Law Office of Ken Wang may be able to help you obtain a permit for limited driving privileges in some cases, and will assist you in getting your license reinstated after the suspension period has passed.

If you have been arrested for DUI in Naperville, contact the Law Office of Ken Wang to schedule an appointment with your Naperville DUI lawyer today. We can guide you through the necessary steps to resolve this situation. Our team is committed to providing the highest level of service to all of our clients in Naperville, Bolingbrook, Plainfield and along the I-55 corridor. We are available when and where you need us, with consultations at night and on the weekends by appointment.

DUI Cannabis

On July 29, 2016, Governor Bruce Rauner signed Senate Bill 2228 into law.  Part of SB 2228 changed how driving under the influence of Cannabis cases are prosecuted.  The new DUI cannabis provision reads:

625 ILCS 5/11-501(a) A person shall not drive or be in actual physical control of any vehicle within this State while:  (7) the person has, within 2 hours of driving or being in actual physical control of a vehicle, a tetrohydrocannabinol concentration in the person’s whole blood or other bodily substance as defined in paragraph 6 of subsection (a) of Section 11-501.2 of this Code. Subject to all other requirements and provisions under this Section, this paragraph (7) does not apply to the lawful consumption of cannabis by a qualifying patient licensed under the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act who is in possession of a valid registry card issued under that Act, unless that person is impaired by the use of cannabis.

The new Section 11-501.2 provision now reads: 6. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration means either 5 nanograms or more of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol per milliliter of whole blood or 10 nanograms or more of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol per milliliter of other bodily substance.

The two new most important parts is the new per-se limit for DUI cannabis, and the new time frame requirement.

Per-Se Limit:

Under the old case of People v. Martin, 2011 IL 109102 (2011), any amount of THC in the system was enough to prove a DUI.  The State did not have to prove impairment at all.  Under the new (a)(7) provision, the State must now show that the concentration of THC in the whole blood of a driver was equal to or over 5 ng/ml, or else show the THC concentration was equal to or greater than 10 ng/ml for any other bodily substance.  As a practical matter, the only currently available test in DuPage County is likely the whole blood test.

2 Hour Limit:

Under the old statute, so long as the State could prove you had marijuana in your system sometime prior to driving the vehicle, you were in violation of the law.  Under this new law, the State must test a driver within two hours of driving the vehicle.  They cannot hold a driver for longer than two hours without administering a test or else the State will be unable to prove the (a)(7).