What Are the Legal Defenses for First-Time DUI Offenders?

It’s frightening and humiliating to get arrested for a DUI, especially when it has never happened to you before. DUIs carry a burden of shame and career consequences, so you will be anxious to fight to clear your name. How can you defend yourself against a first DUI charge in Chicago or Lake County?

The first step is to speak to an Illinois DUI attorney who handles cases like this every day. Attorneys start by looking at the facts and the law—your situation when you were arrested and the charges that could apply to it.

DUI Arrests in Illinois

There are three legal reasons for an officer to pull you over:

  • Reasonable suspicion that you are doing something illegal (often triggered by erratic driving)
  • Probable cause to believe that you have already done something illegal (such as witnessing a traffic violation)
  • A DUI roadside check

Once the officer has stopped you, they will ask for your license, registration, and proof of insurance. They will observe your manner, including your appearance and any odors of alcohol or drugs in the car. 

If they suspect you of DUI, they will ask you to go through one or more field sobriety tests (FSTs). These include eye coordination or balance tests, such as standing on one leg. An officer may also have a roadside breathalyzer unit or cannabis test. Refusing FSTs is legal unless they are FSTs intended to show the use of cannabis, in which case refusal triggers the automatic suspension of your driver’s license. See 625 ILCS § 5/11-501.9. 

Failing FSTs will give the officer probable cause to arrest you for a DUI violation under § 5/11-501. Once you have been arrested, you must submit to chemical testing or else face a year’s suspension of your driver’s license. If the chemical test shows one of the following—

  • A BAC of at least 0.08%
  • Any BAC at all for a driver under 21
  • A THC level of at least 5 ng/ml of blood or 10 ng/ml of another bodily substance 
  • Any trace of another intoxicating substance

—your driver’s license is automatically suspended, and the officer will take it. You will, however, get a receipt allowing you to drive for the next 45 days. 

See the Illinois 2024 DUI Fact Book for these and further details.

Penalties for a First DUI

Several factors determine DUI penalties in Illinois:

  • The driver’s age, if under 21
  • How many previous DUI offenses the driver has had
  • Refusals of chemical testing, if any
  • The level of chemicals detected in testing
  • Aggravating circumstances, such as involvement in a crash

There are two types of penalties for DUIs:

  • Criminal (incarceration, court-ordered programs, and fines) issued through the court system
  • Administrative (loss of driver’s license privileges), handled through the Illinois Secretary of State’s office

Without any aggravating factors, a first-time DUI offender could face loss of driving privileges for one year—two years if they were under 21–as well as suspended vehicle registration. If the chemical tests show a BAC of 0.16% or more, the law provides a mandatory minimum fine of $500 and 25 hours of child-focused community service. 

Defenses to a DUI Arrest

It is crucial to speak to an Illinois DUI attorney as soon as you can. Experienced DUI attorneys will work to gather as much evidence as possible, including witness accounts, dash cams, surveillance footage, and officers’ body cams. This will allow them to review the entire situation to determine how strong your case really is. They will ask:

  • Did the officer have probable cause for a stop? Were you speeding, driving recklessly, or violating the law in some way? If not, the officer needed reasonable suspicion to pull you over.
  • Did the officer really have reasonable suspicion? Were you weaving, driving very slowly, or otherwise acting abnormally before the traffic stop? If not, the officer might have acted out of personal bias or desire to stay busy, which is not a lawful reason to stop someone.
  • Was the roadside safety check legal? If you were stopped at a DUI roadblock, that roadblock had to comply with Illinois laws and regulations. The police must announce roadblocks ahead of time; they must be identified and clearly marked. Officers must have a neutral plan for stopping cars, as they cannot select vehicles according to personal bias. When checkpoints do not follow the law, any arrests that follow may not be lawful. 
  • Were your FSTs fair to you? Officers use standardized FSTs all over the country, but studies have found they are not always reliable. Roadside breathalyzers, in particular, can provide problematic results. People who have balance, processing, or vision disorders may not be able to manage coordination tests while sober. What’s more, officers can be subjective and unfair in deciding the results of FSTs. When appropriate, a DUI defense attorney can challenge the results of the FSTs.
  • Was the chemical test accurate or meaningful? A person’s medical conditions or prior activities can create false positives on a breathalyzer test. Legal foods and medications, like mouthwash or cough syrup, can register on a breath test. Some health conditions, such as GERD, diabetes, or even low-carb dieting, can also confuse the machine.

Get Help ASAP

Attorney Jerald Novak has been fighting DUIs for decades. If you have a DUI charge in Lake County or the Chicago area, your future is at stake, and Attorney Novak knows how to help. Schedule a no-cost consultation with our DUI lawyer today at 847-238-9937. 

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