Can a DUI Be Dismissed if the Traffic Stop Was Illegal? Attorney Joshua Boardman from Combs Waterkotte discusses everything you need to know about Illinois DUI criminal charges, including first-time DUI, second DUI, Illinois DUI laws, DUI defense strategies, CDL DUI charges, and more.
Combs Waterkotte is a leading DUI defense law firm serving Illinois and Missouri. Our Illinois defense attorneys will fight for your freedom and rights. If you are facing DUI charges in Chicago or anywhere else in Illinois, we can help. Call us at (312) 500-HELP 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Interview Transcript
Scott Michael Dunn: Can a DUI be dismissed if the traffic stop was illegal in Illinois?
Joshua Boardman: Yes. Oftentimes, the evaluation there is a search and seizure evaluation. Did the law enforcement officer that was conducting that stop, did they follow all the necessary steps that they have to abide by under the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution as far as reasonable suspicion or probable cause or requirements after the stop was conducted regarding Miranda rights, custody versus arresting? All of those sort of buzzwords that fall within the category of the search and seizure or evaluation of the stop. We evaluate all of those factors whenever we get a DUI case in the door, and if there are issues that are presented that we believe to be in violation of the laws on the books regarding what conduct or what rules the law enforcement officer must play by, then we have the opportunity to file a motion to suppress that evidence. And if that evidence is successfully suppressed, then the state often times does not have the ability to prove up their case at trial and meet their burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. So cases can be dismissed through that legal mechanism.
