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Tuesday, September 17, 2019 -
Underage Drinking and Fake ID concerns…What you should know.
Long gone are the days when the police would just confiscate your fake ID or pour out your alcohol and tell you to go home. Now there are pretty serious ramifications for those under 21 with fake ID's or alcohol and for those over 21 that are a party to it.
Is having a fake ID that bad?
If you fraudulently obtain, distribute, use or possess a fraudulent state ID or driver's license you can lose your driving privileges for up to a year.
If you are over 21 and lend your ID to someone younger (like a sibling) you can be charged with a misdemeanor which is punishable by up to 364 days in jail.
Pretending someone else's ID or driver's license is yours is also a misdemeanor.
Using any identifying documentation (real or fake) for the purpose of obtaining a fictitious ID or driver's license is also a misdemeanor.
Being charged with a misdemeanor means being arrested, fingerprinted, mugshot, and having to appear in court. These are not tickets that can be paid. These are treated as criminal acts.
What about underage drinking?
To possess, consume, or purchase alcohol if you are under 21 is a minimum 3-month suspension of your driver's license.
If you are the driver of a car where there is alcohol and you are under 21, your license will be suspended for one year.
Parents, if you knowingly allow underage drinking to occur at your residence you are facing a $500 fine and up to 364 days in jail. If serious injury or death occurs as a result you will be charged with a Class 4 felony which is punishable by up to 3 years in prison.
For questions on this or any other legal issue please contact Lynn Palac. With 20 years' experience including 10 years as a prosecutor she is the attorney you need.
lynn@ltplawfirm.com or 847-404-9311
Wednesday, September 25, 2019 -
DUI and Your Driving Privileges
If you are charged with DUI in the state of Illinois, you are then subject to an AUTOMATIC statutory suspension of your driving privileges by the Secretary of State independent of what happens with the criminal DUI charge. The police who arrested you will send a report to the Secretary of State on each DUI charge. Depending on whether or not you submit to chemical testing determines how long your suspension is for. For a first-time offender who refuses chemical testing the license is suspended for 6 months. For a first-time offender who submits to chemical testing the license is suspended for 3 months. If it is a subsequent offense within 5 years, the license is suspended for 12 months if you submit to chemical testing and 36 months if you refuse.
You are given the opportunity to drive on a permit with the installation of a BAIID, which is a breathalyzer device that attaches to your vehicle and you blow into each time you start your vehicle and at random times throughout the drive. The Secretary of State will send you paperwork informing you that you may obtain this permit and BAIID and begin using it after 45 days of your license being suspended.
There are ways to fight the suspension by filing a petition in court to have it rescinded. There needs to be a basis for the petition such as inaccurate test result, a claim that you really did not refuse testing, not being properly read the warning to motorist, no probable cause for stopping your vehicle, and/or no reasonable grounds for charging you. The burden for the state on these is less than it is for your criminal case so these are more difficult to win in court but not impossible.
It is possible to win your DUI case but still have your license suspended and vice versa. These are two different matters you are dealing with in court; the charge for DUI and the suspension of your driver's license. Your attorney needs to navigate both for you. For questions and help on these matters contact Lynn Palac today.
lynn@ltplawfirm.com or 847-404-9311
Tuesday, November 12, 2019 -
Illinois Expungements and Cannabis cases in 2020...big changes coming!
Beginning on January 1, 2020, if you are 21 years or older and an Illinois resident it will be legal for you to possess 30 grams of marijuana, 5 grams of cannabis concentrate, or edibles containing up to 500 milligrams of THC. If you are not a resident, you may only possess half of these amounts while visiting Illinois. Keep in mind these substances can only legally be purchased from a licensed seller. Unlawfully selling any of these substances will still be a criminal offense.
The impact of this goes beyond any new cases and will allow for MANY prior cannabis cases to be removed from your record. Any cases for possession of cannabis less than 30 grams will be wiped clean from your record by a Gubernatorial Pardon. That is where the Governor essentially “forgives” the charges and they basically disappear from your record. These records are already being compiled by the Illinois State Police and sent to the Illinois Prisoner Review board to be dismissed.
For those that are not pardoned, the new law will allow you to have the charges expunged where possession is 30g to 500g. In most counties you will need to file a petition for expungement and go through the usual process to have this done. In Cook County, however, the State’s Attorney’s Office is going to do it for you and will be pulling all of these cases and having them vacated. You will be sent notice once this has been done. Vacated means that it is like it never happened. Expunged is where it is removed from your record and public view but law enforcement may find it with a court order (which is extremely rare).
The process will be quite long, however. Cases with dispositions from Jan 1, 2013 to present will happen by Jan. 1, 2021. Cases from Jan 1, 2000 to Jan 1, 2012 will happen by Jan 1, 2023 and cases prior to 2000 will not be completed until January 1, 2025. You can expedite the process by filing a petition for expungement and following the usual process.
If a possession of cannabis case is joined with another case those will need to be petitioned to the court for expungement. An example would be you were arrested for retail theft and then found to be in possession of cannabis and charged with both offenses. This will be especially true if your possession case occurred with any violent offense.
Also, if you were convicted of selling cannabis or possession with intent to sell/distribute you will not have your case pardoned, vacated, or expunged unless you file a petition to do so. Please contact me with questions on this or any other legal issue.
lynn@ltplawfirm.com or 847-404-9311