Chicago Criminal Lawyer Blog

When hiring a Chicago attorney, Chicago drunk driving attorney or Chicago criminal defense attorney, price alone does not indicate whether the attorney will be a good fit for you and your case. The cost of hiring a Chicago criminal defense attorney depends a great deal on the nature and severity of the charges, the complexity of the case, the lawyer’s years of experience and the size of the law firm, among other factors. Fees can also vary by city and Illinois county. Choose a Chicago attorney with the appropriate qualifications for your case and one you feel comfortable working with.

Putting a Price on a Chicago Attorney

Keep in mind that a high-priced Chicago attorney usually has a reason for charging more than other attorneys. When you consider how crucial a Chicago drunk driving attorney or Chicago criminal defense attorney is to securing your freedom, reputation, job and family, can you really put a price on your life? Your Chicago criminal defense attorney is your advocate through the Illinois legal system and the one defending and fighting for you! You need to decide if you’re willing to sacrifice your freedom, and possibly all that you have, to save a few dollars.

Interviewer: Could one ever argue that the weather condition contributed to the performance of an individual as far as maybe the roads were wet and maybe it was a pretty windy day, could that ever be argued?

Fred Dry:  The instruction for the police officer that is conducting these tests is that it needs to be done on a flat and level, dry surface. I’ve seen it where the video recording shows the ground is wet with puddles.  We always make the argument that this is not what the test is supposed to look like. At best, when you have that kind of condition, the performance is going to be less than perfect. The wet conditions under which you are being asked to do it is not what the training manuals tell the police officer to do.

A Wet or Slippery Surface Cannot be Considered a Good Location for Field Sobriety Test Procedures. 

The 2010 Illinois DUI Fact Book states that a driver is legally considered to be under the influence if they have a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or more, have used any illegal substance, or are impaired by medication. If charged with Chicago drunk driving or DUI/DWI in Illinois, you need to speak with an Illinois DUI lawyer.

Illinois DUI Lawyer Identifies: Penalties and Fines for First Illinois DUI Offense

You could be facing serious consequences! Contact an Illinois DUI Lawyer for help. If convicted of a DUI in the State of Illinois, the first offense will result in a minimum one year Illinois driver’s license suspension, possible imprisonment for up to one year, a maximum fine of $2,500 and suspension of vehicle registration.

In the case of Rodriguez v. United States, Mr. Rodriguez was validly stopped by the police for a traffic violation, after being observed swerving on the highway. However, after writing the traffic citation, the officer kept Rodriguez by the side of the road for several minutes awaiting the arrival of a drug-sniffing dog. Once the dog arrived, it found meth for which Rodriguez was charged and convicted.

Justice Ginsburg writing the majority U.S. Supreme Court opinion ruled that the officer did not initially have probable cause to search the vehicle, and that by delaying long enough for the dog to arrive and make the sniff which provided probable cause, he violated the constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.

The minority opinion dissented on the grounds that this type of stop “is hardly out of the ordinary for a traffic stop by a single police officer of a vehicle containing multiple occupants even when no dog sniff is involved”. Obviously, the majority must have been aware of the circumstances and determined that it is inappropriate regardless of the frequency of this type of occurrence. Their ruling essentially says that traffic stops, without some indication of additional wrongdoing, should not be used for general searches to find drugs.

License Reinstatement Issues in Cook County

One of the most frustrating consequences of being accused of a driving under the influence (DUI) is the fact that your license will be suspended for a period of time. The state of Illinois is an implied consent state, which means that if you refuse a breath or blood test after an arrest, your license will automatically be suspended, even if you were sober at the time of the stop. If you submit to the breath or blood test and you blow a 0.08% blood alcohol concentration or higher on your test, then you will be detained and your license suspended.

This is a huge concern for most individuals faced with a DUI, and it is important that you retain the counsel of a trusted attorney after an arrest. By working with Fred Mark Dry, you may be able to have your license reinstated and preserve your driving privileges.

Help from a Cook County Criminal Defense Attorney

After being stopped by a law enforcement officer who suspects you of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol (DUI), you will likely be asked to participate in field sobriety tests. These are tests that are usually used to evaluate your physical and cognitive state. There are three types of field sobriety tests that can be used-the walk-and-turn test, the one-leg-stand test and the horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) test. While these tests have long been used as evidence against those accused of drunk driving and drug-impaired driving, they can render inaccurate results. A capable attorney will be able to help you explore the weaknesses of these tests and craft a compelling defense.

If you live in Chicago, Illinois or any other part of Cook County, you can turn to Cook County Criminal Attorney Fred Mark Dry for step-by-step legal guidance. With more than three decades of experience in criminal law, Attorney Dry has the knowledge and resources you need for effectively handling your DUI case.

Ensure the Strongest Case With a Chicago Defense Attorney

Interviewer: What are some of the most common client mistakes detrimental to their case?

Fred Dry: They try to talk the police officer out of arresting them, by confessing. In effect, they talk themselves into something by saying too much.

Interviewer: Why would a police officer administer the DUI field sobriety test to an obviously intoxicated driver?

Fred Dry: Because this is a standardized way of making a judgment.  After you’ve administered, performed, or witnessed the performance of these tests a significant number of times, you can see the differences in how people perform and it just gives you a context within which to judge it. If you just had a video of somebody walking between their own car and the police car it might not be as persuasive as if you put it in a certain context. The DUI field sobriety test, in a sense, is like a yardstick. It’s hard to exactly judge 3 feet, but if you have a yardstick, you can easily judge 3 feet. That’s what the field sobriety tests do. They put this conduct into a context that people are familiar with. They have a reference by which to judge it. They generally favor the prosecution because some people cannot do the exercises even when sober.

The DUI Field Sobriety Test Actually Resembles a Checklist Which Provides Clues to the Extent of Impairment

Advantages of a Defense Attorney in a Criminal Case

Interviewer: How would you compare someone representing themselves versus getting a public defender versus hiring a private attorney?

Fred Dry: The one major advantage a criminal defense lawyer has is that prosecutors have more cases than time. Private defense lawyers rarely have as many cases as a prosecutor will have. In a misdemeanor court you might have two prosecutors and 100 cases a day every day. The public defender is going to have a fair share of those, but any given defense lawyer isn’t going to have more than a couple, three clients, a day, for whom he has to appear. Big difference in workload.

What Misdemeanors and Felonies Mean For You

Interviewer: What’s the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony?

Fred Dry: The definition of a felony is any crime for which you can be sent for a year or more in jail.