DUI Attorney in Chicago Area

The cost of fighting a DUI charge in the Chicago area for the first time with a lawyer can start from $2,000. The cost can climb up to $25,000 depending on circumstances. The cost depends on the professional fees of the lawyer and the nature of the criminal charges. At Venditti Law Group, we offer free consultations and provide you a quote thereafter.

It’s not easy to defend yourself against a DUI charge without an attorney. Your liberty could be at stake, and you could face tough situations you don’t need to face. One of the first things a DUI lawyer can do when representing your case is to keep you quiet. Your lawyer will have to defend you on your behalf. But your legal counsel should have experience in defending you before judges in local courts. That’s why you shouldn’t hire just any lawyer. Hire someone who knows local court rules.

One of the important things that DUI attorneys do is to work with local prosecutors to bring about plea bargains for their clients facing DUI cases. Only experienced lawyers have a knack in negotiating with tough prosecutors, who will never negotiate with defendants representing themselves.

DUI lawyers also work to prevent conviction, which has a dire impact on your reputation. Remember, it’s hard to obtain a loan or get a job if you have been convicted of drunk driving.

Perhaps, people overlook how lawyers extract evidence in your favor, save you from the legal paperwork, and uphold your rights. Let’s be honest. If you’ve been apprehended for DUI, all you may be able to think of is argue with cops, and that’s not going to keep them from arresting you.

First DUI offense is often considered a misdemeanor, but that doesn’t mean there are no real consequences. The State of Illinois may suspend your driver’s license, and you shall be prosecuted for the criminal offense. You may also serve a jail time of up to 12 months and be fined as much as $2,500. Fines can increase if your BAC is over 0.16 or if you have a child in the car. If your drunk driving resulted in injuries or death, the charges against you can be felony, which entails bigger penalties.

If you think you’ve been unfairly charged, you can contest the charges or enter a plea bargain. In this case, you’re better off hiring a criminal defense lawyer. And if you’re going to a trial, you should get an attorney if you want your rights, welfare, and best interests protected during the trial. Even if there’s strong evidence against you, your DUI lawyer can still find ways to defend you before the jury, have your case dismissed, or reduce your penalties.

There are ways where a lawyer can have your case dismissed. For example, if the evidence against you was collected in a manner that violated your rights, that evidence cannot be used in court. Your lawyer can file a motion to suppress the evidence to keep the prosecutor from proving your guilt. If the court grants the motion to suppress evidence and the remaining evidence can no longer support the case against you, your lawyer can now ask the court to dismiss charges because going to a trial is already pointless by then.

The process of getting a DUI dropped is difficult. You need strong evidence and arguments in your favor. Your lawyer will have to find a legal loophole. The first thing your lawyer can do is see if your DUI charge is valid in the first place. Where you actually intoxicated while driving? If you are honestly sure that you were not, you have every right to challenge the charges and have them dropped. For instance, an equipment malfunction or a misunderstanding can occasionally lead to charging people with DUI by mistake.

However, if you were under the influence of alcohol or drugs, you can still have the charges against you dropped if your rights were violated while you were being pulled over. Officers should have a valid reason to pull you over, and they cannot force you take a roadside breath analyzer test.

If there were irregularities during your stop or arrest, you can use them as a basis for reducing your penalties or dropping the charges altogether. Were you tried fairly? Were you allowed access to a criminal defense attorney? Anything that deviates from a normal trial process can be used to nullify charges.

Some people think they’re saving themselves from unnecessary expenses by simply defending themselves in court. If you think you can defend yourself and win your case, by all means don’t hire a criminal defense lawyer. However, you’re missing out on legal expertise that only a lawyer can provide. Your chances of winning your case alone are honestly quite unimpressive. If you think not hiring a lawyer can save you a few thousand dollars, think of the amount of money you can save by hiring a competent lawyer who can dismiss your case, reduce your charges, or save you thousands of dollars in fines, insurance, DUI counselling, and drug and alcohol awareness classes.

Just because you’re guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, it doesn’t mean you can skip on legal services. You still have the right to have a lawyer defend your case in court. A DUI lawyer can present facts that provide the judge a true picture of what actually took place when you were apprehended. He or she can also tell the court whether the police officer made a proper sobriety test. Even if you plead guilty, the court still needs to uphold your rights. That includes making sure you’re getting a punishment equivalent to the offense committed.

When you enter a guilty plea, you’re effectively giving up some, but not all, of your constitutional rights. You still have the right to remain silent. You still have the right to have witnesses against you cross-examined. You still deserve a just trial.

Pleading guilty may result in court supervision, probation, or conviction. If you receive a supervision, the state will suspend your driver’s license for a certain period of time. But if you receive a conviction, your driver’s license will be revoked.

Some states have laws against driving while intoxicated or impaired (DWI), which is a smaller offense than DUI is. In Illinois, DWI offenses are tried as DUI, since there’s no distinction between them in the state. Note that if you’re convicted of DWI in another state, your Illinois license shall be revoked for at least a year.

No, you will receive a notice of suspension usually on the day you are arrested. The state then suspends your license 46 days thereafter.