What you thought would be a few drinks with friends has turned your life upside down. Now you are facing driving under the influence (DUI) charges and have lost your driving privileges. 

 At Issa Law, LLC, we understand that a license suspension can impact your peace of mind and your family’s well-being. Our experienced DUI attorneys will fight your driver's license suspension so that you can continue driving.

A Restricted Driving Permit Can Get You Back on the Road

New rules in Illinois went into effect this year, allowing you to drive 12 hours a day, six days a week, and up to 200 miles on a Restricted Driving Permit (RDP) without having to prove extreme hardship in certain cases. That would enable you to drive to work, take your children to school, or attend a medical appointment.

One of the most ubiquitous myths about police officers is the rumor that police must identify themselves as law enforcement officers. On the hit television show Breaking Bad, a methamphetamine dealer suspects that an alleged buyer is really an undercover police officer. The alleged buyer says, “If you ask a cop if he is a cop, he is obligated to tell you.”  Unfortunately, the methamphetamine dealer falls for this trick, sells the drugs to the undercover officer, and is promptly arrested.

Many people wonder whether police officers are allowed to lie to criminal suspects. The answer is undoubtedly, yes. This is one reason it is so crucial for individuals accused of criminal activity to retain a skilled criminal defense lawyer.  

Sting Operations and Entrapment

Police often use undercover operations or “sting operations” to catch criminals in the act. Police may lie about their identity and intentions to apprehend criminals. For example, a police officer may pose as an underage girl online or pretend to be interested in buying illicit drugs to catch people breaking the law. Sting operations are perfectly legal. However, entrapment is not legal. The difference between entrapment and a sting operation is that entrapment involves coercing or forcing someone to break the law, while a sting operation merely provides an opportunity for someone to break the law.

While forging a signature may be the most common and well-known form of forgery, the crime actually includes a wide variety of actions meant to defraud a person, business, or organization. In our digital world, new forms of forgery are increasingly possible, but the standard definition still provides a wide umbrella under which forgery can be charged. Under Illinois law, the crime of forgery is when an individual intends to defraud another person or institution, and then knowingly commits the prohibited act. This is further defined as making or altering a false document, presenting or possessing a false document, or unlawfully creating or using a digital signature, including a PIN.

Common Types of Forgery

While methods may change from year to year, deceiving another party for financial gain remains against the law. Here are some of the most common types of forgery:

• Counterfeiting – This is the most common type of forgery, including forging someone else’s signature. This can include on a check, a driver’s license, or other official documents.

  ...

In Illinois, you can be charged with arson if you used fire or explosives to damage someone else’s property or if you are suspected of intentionally damaging any building, including your own, with fire or explosives to commit insurance fraud. Depending on the circumstances of the case and the type of building that is alleged to be the target, you may be facing different varieties of arson charges. Make no mistake though, any arson charge is a serious one. You need to retain a criminal defense attorney who can aggressively fight the charges against you.

Types of Arson in Illinois

Whether it started as a prank or something more sinister, arson charges are serious. To be charged with arson under the above definition, the property damage must be $150 or more. That means even minor fires can lead to major charges. Here are the types of arson under Illinois law:

• A basic arson charge is a Class 2 felony, and you are facing three to seven years in prison and up to $25,000 in fines.

  ...

In Illinois, the legal limit for blood alcohol content (BAC) is 0.08 percent. Police officers use many different means of determining a suspect’s level of intoxication. Field sobriety tests do not measure the exact level of intoxication, but they can be used to detect signs of intoxication like lack of coordination and balance. Chemical blood alcohol tests including breath tests and blood tests can be used to determine a person’s actual blood alcohol content after a drunk driving arrest. However, these tests are not always accurate or reliable. In some cases, evidence in a DUI case is inadmissible and must be thrown out.

Problems with DUI Evidence Can Make Them Unusable

Driving under the influence of alcohol is punishable by license revocation, steep fines, and even jail time in certain circumstances. However, the prosecution must have sufficient evidence to secure a conviction for DUI. Many different issues can make DUI evidence unreliable, including:

• Improper storage of blood tests – Blood testing is considered one of the most accurate ways to determine BAC. However, improper storage of a blood sample allows the sample to decompose, increasing the alcohol content in the sample.

  ...