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Common Myths Around Illinois DUI Traffic Violations
Getting arrested for a DUI traffic offense can be an anxious, overwhelming experience. Normal reactions include shame, fear around penalties, and desperation for the situation to disappear. These emotions allow myths and misconceptions to easily take root. Without accurate legal context, mistaken beliefs warp perspectives on how DUIs work. An Illinois defense lawyer can help you determine your best option.
Fiction: Refusing the Chemical BAC Test Prevents the DUI
Fact: Refusal triggers an automatic 6-month license suspension, providing no advantage.
Desperation often prompts some people to refuse breathalyzers to avoid generating potentially incriminating evidence. However, this automatic statutory summary suspension still inflicts six months of revoked driving privileges even without a DUI conviction. So refusal only backfires by giving prosecutors solid proof of consciousness of guilt plus ensuring long-term hardship from the suspended license.
Fiction: Delayed Testing Undermines DUI Evidence Validity
Fact: Thorough investigation of all evidence matters more than timing.
Many assume promptly administering chemical tests gives authorities an essential advantage in securing DUI convictions, while delays potentially weaken evidence value. Yet in practice, a lawyer will use thorough analysis of all protocols and results to identify issues questioning credibility, no matter how quickly tests occurred. Chain-of-custody gaps, inconsistent calibration records, and policy non-compliance represent just some examples of leverage points. Timing is far less relevant than thoroughness.
Fiction: The Fastest Plea Deal Delivers the Minimum Sentence
Fact: Reckless pleading forgoes better options that skilled negotiators can secure.
The instinct to plead guilty in exchange for getting penalties over with remains common but rarely strategically wise. Acting suddenly without alternative explorations too often surrenders to maximized consequences that more thoughtful navigations may mitigate or avoid. An attorney able to leverage procedural flaws or credibility issues might get charges dropped or reduced, dodging devastating DUI convictions. Patience is vital for this process.
Fiction: Arresting Officers Must Testify for DUIs to Proceed
Fact: Other evidence often substitutes when officers cannot appear.
If arresting officers get a call elsewhere and cannot testify at trial dates, some prosecutors do dismiss cases lacking adequate replacement evidence. However, material witness warrants or continuance requests until officer availability frequently enables proceedings without them. Since dash cam footage, breathalyzer readings, and eyewitness testimony represent legally substantial evidence, most cases still advance officers by incorporating alternate proofs.
Contact a DuPage County, IL DUI Lawyer
If you get a DUI charge, a Wheaton, IL DUI attorney is important to have on your side. There are several myths about DUI charges. Call Stephen A. Brundage at 630-260-9647 for a free consultation.
630-260-9647
From our office in Wheaton, Illinois, we serve clients throughout the Chicago area including but not limited to Winfield, Warrenville, West Chicago, Glen Ellyn, Naperville, Lisle, Downers Grove, Lombard, Oak Brook, DuPage County, Kane County, Will County, and Cook County.
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