Chicago DUI Defense Attorney
To pull over a driver, police officers must have probable cause to believe a driver is committing a crime or violating the law in some way. The truth is that officers sometimes stop a driver just on the chance he or she is drinking and driving, which is a violation of the driver’s Constitutional rights. This is common on holiday weekends, late at night, or around popular bars and nightclubs. If an unlawful police stop led to your DUI arrest, your lawyer must be able to recognize the problem, then apply the law to your case to your fullest advantage.
At Fagan, Fagan & Davis, we have handled many DUI cases in Cook County and throughout Illinois in which an officer pulled over a driver on suspicion of DUI without probable cause. In these types of cases, the officer is blatantly disregarding the law. If you feel an officer violated your rights by conducting an unlawful police stop, please don’t hesitate to contact our offices to speak with a skilled
Chicago DUI lawyer who has experience in these matters. We will do whatever we can to hold the officer to the highest standards required by the Constitution and to ensure that your rights are protected!
About Unlawful Police Stops
To pull you over, the officer must have witnessed you committing some act that gives him or her probable cause to believe you were driving under the influence. Acts that could provide probable cause to stop to investigate you for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs include:
- Hovering over two lanes
- Brake erratically
- Speeding up and then slowing down
- Making wide turns
- Swerving
- Reckless driving
- Driving too slow
- Running a red light or stop sign
- Failing to yield
- Driving without headlights in the dark
- Ignoring traffic signals or road signs
One exception to the requirement that an officer have probable cause for a traffic stop is a roadblock or so-called roadside safety check. A roadblock allows the police to stop and detain drivers briefly without probable cause. However, law requires that certain legal safeguards be in place to protect the public, and our law firm has successfully uncovered numerous occurrences in Cook County courts where DUI arrests were made illegally, without those safeguards in place.
Contact a Chicago DUI Lawyer
Unfortunately, many times an unlawful police stop will lead to a DUI arrest. If this has happened to you, you can trust that a skilled and experienced Chicago DUI attorney at Fagan, Fagan & Davis will find and use this fact as evidence in your favor during your DUI case, at trial, or at your summary suspension hearing. At our office, the lawyers have over 100 years of collective legal experience and are here to help you in the face of your DUI charges. Through our experience with drunk driving defense in Illinois, we know that unlawful police traffic stops do occur. We also understand what evidence to look for in DUI cases in order to prove it in court. We represent clients throughout Chicago and the surrounding areas in Illinois, and offer a free consultation to discuss your particular charges.
Thorough investigation and skillful cross-examination during criminal proceedings are very valuable in determining whether you were subject to an unlawful police traffic stop. There may be other witnesses who can corroborate your story that you were driving safely and were not violating any traffic laws. The credibility of the officer can be challenged because of the officer's record or because of a lack of evidence that supports the officer's account of the events that led to you being pulled over. By bringing the facts to light, the prosecution may be required to dismiss your charges or reduce them significantly. If you were illegally stopped, our number one priority is finding the necessary evidence to demonstrate the police violated your Constitutional rights, and then to use that evidence to help ensure you are ultimately cleared of your charges!
Contact a Chicago DUI lawyer at Fagan, Fagan & Davis today to learn how we can help!