The Illinois Supreme Court ruled recently in People ex rel. Glasgow v. Kinney that prior misdemeanor DUI convictions – even if the defendant was unrepresented – can be used to bump a later DUI charge to a felony, Adam W. Lasker explained in the July IBJ.

"DUI defense attorney Donald J. Ramsell said Illinois used to prohibit any and all use of uncounseled misdemeanor convictions for enhancement purposes, but that policy changed after the [U.S. Supreme Court's] Nichols decision in 1994," Lasker wrote. "As such, it did not surprise Ramsell" that the Illinois high court lowered the bar in Kinney. Find out more.