Can Body Cam or Dash Cam Footage Help a DUI Defense? 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.
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Interview Transcript
Scott Michael Dunn: Can a body camera or dash cam aid in the defense of an Illinois DUI?
Joshua Boardman: It certainly can. I’ve seen many cases where what occurred either through demonstration of a dash cam footage or body cam footage completely deviate from what the police report states. And that may not be a malicious deviation. It may just be an inconsistency. So, for example, I’ve had cases where the reason for the stop is that the law enforcement officer alleges that somebody crossed a center line. Well, we subpoena or we request as part of the discovery process the video from the dash cam footage. And it’ll demonstrate maybe there wasn’t a crossing of the line that necessitated a stop. So, at that point in time, what evidence does the officer have or were they able to generate reasonable suspicion if that is taken away from them? And then also, too, we’ve had folks that have their own recording devices in their vehicles present questions that may not have been asked in the right way by the law enforcement officer. Or the circumstances alleged in the police report weren’t quite as accurate maybe they had anticipated. So, video can be good and bad. But it is helpful to always request any video that’s available and square that against the police report that was issued.
