Traffic Laws & Courts

The newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on Traffic Laws & Courts

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2018 Articles

Appellate court affirms denial of Petition to Rescind the Statutory Summary Suspension By J. Brick VanDerSnick March 2018 People v. Durden gives the Illinois trial courts some specific guidelines about a defendant who submits to a breath test with a result less than 0.08 and whether an officer can request additional tests and under what conditions
Appellate court affirms finding of guilty after stipulated bench trial By J. Brick Van Der Snick June 2018 In People v. Beck, the appellate court affirmed the lower court's finding that the testimony pertaining to retrograde extrapolation met the Frye standard.
Appellate court finds that admission of evidence related to defendant’s blood draw was not in error By J. Brick Van Der Snick December 2018 A summary of People v. Turner, in which the defendant appealed his conviction and sentencing for two counts of aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol. 
Appellate court finds that blood in defendant’s mouth invalidated blood test By J. Brick Van Der Snick October 2018 A summary of People v. Ernsting, in which the appellate court affirmed the trial court's granting of the defendant's motion to suppress and petition to rescind.
Blood suppression requires proof of blood draw in Brooks By Lisa L. Dunn March 2018 This article reviews the Brooks case and offers tips for prosecutors and defense lawyers about how to successfully present their case.
The current state of DUI warrantless blood and urine draws By Anisa Jordan June 2018 A case-by-case, totality of the circumstances approach should be employed when blood and/or urine has been taken from a defendant without a warrant in a DUI case.
Driver’s license and DUI-related implications for medical cannabis patients in Illinois By Jennifer Wirth June 2018 The emergence of medical cannabis in Illinois creates complex legal issues in many areas of practice, including administrative, civil, and criminal proceedings.
Low-speed bicycles and driving while revoked/suspended By Ted Harvatin October 2018 The Illinois General Assembly, recognizing the growing popularity of power-assisted bicycles and the lack of clarity regarding regulatory oversight of them, recently enacted legislation to address these uncertainties.
Mitigating civil liability in traffic court By Stephen Monroe March 2018 This article offers guidance to the lawyer without traffic court experience on how to mitigate a client’s civil liability when ticketed for causing an accident with personal injuries.
5 comments (Most recent May 16, 2018)
The new DUI crime laboratory discovery rules By Donald J. Ramsell December 2018 In Illinois, the defendant’s right to obtain full discovery of crime laboratory data, mistakes, and misconduct in DUI cases has been a long and arduous road
Probable cause in your DUI case By Hon. Joel Berg October 2018 An at-a-glance reference for the next time you have a summary suspension or motion to suppress hearing in a DUI case.
Recent cases of interest By Thomas M. Moran October 2018 Summaries of recent traffic law cases in the areas of proximate cause, non-consensual blood draws, private property, margin of error, state action, and agency and state action.
Should courtroom-provided petitions to rescind summary suspension go up in smoke? By Kal Issa December 2018 An overview of the procedural issues that arise as the result of new substantive criminal offenses in Illinois.
Statutory summary suspension affirmed where petitioner failed to present some evidence that parking lot did not constitute a public highway By David Franks December 2018 A summary of People v. Relwani, in which the defendant was arrested for driving under the influence after being found sleeping in the driver's seat of his vehicle with the ignition on and engine running.