Can a DUI Charge Be Reduced or Dismissed in Illinois? Facing DUI charges in the state of Illinois? Combs Waterkotte attorney Joshua Boardman discusses whether a charge can be reduced or dismissed in Illinois.
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Interview Transcript
Scott Michael Dunn: Can a DUI be reduced or dismissed? Is that possible?
Joshua Boardman: It can. So speaking to dismissal first, that can be dismissed for poor investigation by law enforcement or they didn’t follow proper procedures as they were undergoing the stop. You can have equipment malfunctions. You can have other lacking areas of evidence, and so the state’s attorney can ultimately decide to dismiss a case. Illinois also, and this is primarily by negotiation, but Illinois has slang they’ll call basically wet reckless, which means that if you do not have a DUI on your record or your BAC is just barely over the legal limit, sometimes depending on a number of circumstances, a state’s attorney can amend the charge from a DUI charge to a reckless driving charge. And basically where you have acted in a willful and wanton manner, but you don’t necessarily have to admit any liability for operating a vehicle under the influence. That should not be expected, but it certainly can be amended down to that.
