Getting Driving Relief After a DUI Conviction in Illinois
If convicted of drunk driving in Illinois, you face severe penalties, thus when deciding whether to retain an attorney to assist you in a license-reinstatement matter, ask about the attorney's experiences at reinstatement hearings.


June 10, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Getting Driving Relief After a DUI Conviction in Illinois

Article provided by Jerald Novak
Visit us at http://www.iwindui.com

If you are convicted of driving under the influence (DUI) in Illinois your driver's license and driving privileges will be revoked. For many individuals, obtaining driving relief in the form of a restricted driving permit or full reinstatement of your driver's license is crucial. In order to obtain driving relief, you will have to appear at a hearing before the Illinois Secretary of State. Your success at this type of hearing depends in large part on how much you and your attorney prepare.

Severe Penalties for DUI Conviction

If convicted of drunk driving in Illinois, you face severe penalties. For the 1st DUI conviction, your driver's license will be revoked for at least one year. A 2nd DUI conviction will revoke your driver's license for 5 years. A 3rd DUI conviction will revoke your driver's license for 10 years and a 4th DUI conviction will revoke your driver's license for LIFE! At the end of your revocation period you do not automatically get your driver's license reinstated. Depending upon your driving record you will need to have either an Informal or Formal Hearing before the Secretary of State.

Preparation is Key

Most petitioners believe that everyone loses at their first reinstatement hearing. If you and your attorney do not prepare for the hearing and do not know what you are getting into, it is highly likely that you will be unsuccessful. However, with the proper treatment, document review, careful attention to detail and full preparation of your testimony prior to your hearing, it is possible to win at your very 1st hearing and obtain driving relief -- a Restricted Driving Permit or FULL REINSTATEMENT of your driver's license!

In preparing for your reinstatement hearing, your attorney should thoroughly review documents prepared by the treatment provider, including the DUI evaluation, treatment plan, treatment verification, after-care plan, discharge summary, continuing-care status report, lifetime drinking and drug-use history and treatment needs assessment. Any inconsistencies in these documents must be identified and corrected prior to your hearing. These documents must be prepared consistently with the surrounding facts and circumstances of your DUI arrests. Failure to do so will result in a denial decision by the Secretary of State.

It is also crucial for you, the petitioner, to have a good working knowledge of the concepts and definitions that you learned in treatment. The Secretary of State wants to see that you understand how alcohol affects the body, your balance, judgment, reaction time and decision-making ability. The Secretary of State will also want to know how you plan to drink more responsibly in the future. A good attorney will go over these concepts with you before the hearing.

Consistency, Consistency, Consistency

It is extremely important to have consistency in your hearing documents. These documents must match your testimony at the hearing. Any inconsistency in the documents that you submit at your hearing or any inconsistency in your testimony is a common reason that the Secretary of State will use to deny you driving relief.

A good example of some fatal inconsistencies would be a simple comparison of information gathered by the arresting officer, compared with what you told the treatment provider (as shown on your treatment documents) and again compared to your testimony at your hearing. Many times the objective information from the arresting officer's report (such as time, date, the police officer's observations and breath-test score) does not match what you tell the alcohol-treatment provider. For example, if a breath test showed a BAC (blood alcohol content) of .20, but you told the treatment provider that you only drank two beers before you were arrested ... well that just doesn't match up. There are many reasons for this. Sometimes you just may not remember. Sometimes you may be afraid to be accurate. Sometimes you just don't know. Thus, at the hearing, there will be one version of the case from the police, a different version from the treatment provider and still a third version from you, the petitioner. In that situation, driving relief will be denied because of the conflicting information. Without consistent arrest information, consistent treatment documentation and consistent testimony, driving relief will be denied.

Your attorney must prepare you by explaining the questions that will be asked at your hearing and work with your treatment provider to make sure your tickets, treatment and testimony are all consistent. In this case driving relief is extremely likely.

Before this your attorney must obtain all arrest records in order to review them, identify any inconsistencies in the information and work to correct them. If your attorney can show that three different and independent people (the police officer, the treatment provider and petitioner) all testify to the same facts, there is a strong case and an excellent chance of obtaining driving relief.

Talk to an Experienced Lawyer

When deciding whether to retain an attorney to assist you in a license-reinstatement matter, ask about the attorney's experiences at reinstatement hearings. Since all Secretary of State hearing decisions are public records and are written decisions ask the attorney if you can see other successful hearing decisions. Do this before you retain their services. Also ask if you can speak with other clients he or she has helped. Having the assistance of a lawyer who has experience in DUI and driver's license reinstatement hearings, who will thoroughly prepare you for testifying at the hearing and who has a history of success in reinstatement hearings can make a big difference in the outcome of your case. When you have an experienced attorney coupled with a motivated petitioner, thorough preparation and the delivery of the testimony in a genuine and sincere manner almost always results in driving relief.

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