How long does a DUI case take in Illinois court? Combs Waterkotte attorney Joshua Boardman 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: How long does a DUI case take in Illinois?
Joshua Boardman: It completely depends. And the factors that can control how long a case takes? What county was it charged in? Is it a more rural county where you don’t get as many criminal cases, so there’s not necessarily a backlog? It can depend on the complexity of the evidence. Is it something where there was a blood draw and you need to send that blood off and get lab testing to determine blood alcohol content based on that draw? Are there witnesses? Are there depositions that need to be taken of the law enforcement officer? So, it really just depends. I mean, I don’t know that I would say many of them are resolved in under 6 months. But, at the same time, I don’t know that I would represent that many are still pending after 3 or 4 years. I think a safe answer that I generally give clients is between 4 and 18 months, somewhere around there.
Dunn: Sounds like it’s very relevant to severity.
Boardman: Exactly. The more severe the allegations, or the more severe the charges are, meaning was it escalated from a misdemeanor to a felony, the longer it’s going to take. And that is controlled by three individuals: the defense counsel, the state’s attorney, and the judge.
