Noll Law Office

Free Consultation

217.414.8889

Springfield Illinois Driving Under the Influence (DUI) Defense Lawyers

Being arrested for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) is a scary experience. People wonder where to turn and what to know what options they have. The DUI defense lawyers at the Noll Law Office can explain the issues of your DUI arrest and help you understand what the consequences of a DUI charge may mean for you.

At first, it may seem like fighting your DUI is a lost cause. Many people simply walk into court and plead guilty without understanding the consequences pleading guilty to a DUI charge may have. However, there are many ways to fight a DUI and keep your driving privileges.

The lawyers at the Noll Law Office have successfully handled DUI cases for years in Springfield, Illinois. They aggressively defend their clients’ rights, protect their freedom and their driving privileges. Their attorneys are trained in challenging the field sobriety tests as well as the breathalyzer results. The Noll Law Office has a long history of favorable results in their driving under the influence cases.

The DUI defense lawyers at the Noll Law Office aggressively represent clients on all types of DUI charges in Sangamon County including:

  • Aggravated DUI
  • DUI Drugs – Many people assume that a person can be charged with drunk driving only for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol. That is not true. In fact, Illinois has tough laws regarding Driving Under the Influence of Drugs. The DUI Defense Lawyers at the Noll Law Office in Springfield, Illinois have handled Drug DUI cases for years. They are experienced in challenging blood tests, urine tests and fighting field sobriety tests. 
  • DUI Resulting in Death
  • DUI Resulting in Bodily Injury
  • First Time DUI Offenders – If you are charged or arrested with Driving Under the Influence for the first time, you are probably new to the criminal justice system. You are likely concerned about your ability to drive, potentially losing employment, and the penalties you are facing. Generally speaking, the first DUI arrest is a Class A misdemeanor which is punishable up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine. However, Illinois also has enacted a law, known as a Statutory Summary Suspension, which automatically suspends your license on the 46th days after your arrest. The Noll Law Office has a great track record of clients getting their driving privileges reinstated. If this is your first arrest, you will want a defense lawyer who has a detailed understanding of field sobriety tests, police procedures, and the sciences behind driving under the influence charges. DUI cases are a highly technical area of law. The lawyers at the Noll Law Office will aggressively fight to keep your driver’s license privileges, try and get reduced charges, or get your case dismissed. They offer free initial consultations so call today and see how they can help.
  • Multiple (Repeat and Felony) DUI Offenses

Penalties involving Driving Under the Influence 

Noll Law Office attorneys understand the fear and anxiety a DUI can produce and can answer your questions regarding:

Will my driver’s license be suspended or revoked because of my DUI?

In Illinois, it is likely that your driver’s license will be suspended or revoked if you have been arrested or charged with driving under the Influence. By law, your license is automatically suspended on the 46th day after your arrest. This is known as a statutory summary suspension. The length of your Statutory Summary Suspension varies based upon how many times you have been arrested for Driving Under the Influence and whether or not you consented to blood tests, breathalyzer tests, and urine tests.

After your first DUI arrest, your driver’s license could be suspended from 6 months up to a year. For a second arrest, your driver’s license is suspended for a minimum of 3 years. It only goes up from there.

Automatic driver’s license suspensions as a result of Driving Under the Influence (DUI) can cause a number of problems.

  • You can lose your job because you cannot drive.
  • It is expensive to have an ignition interlock device put into your vehicle
  • You can face additional charges if you are caught driving
  • Your vehicle can be taken and seized if you are caught driving on a Suspended License. 

The DUI defense lawyers at the Noll Law Office in Springfield, Illinois have handled countless DUI cases over the years. They have a great track record of getting people arrested of Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol or Driving Under the Influence of Drugs their driver’s license back. Their attorneys can explain your options to you and discuss how the facts of your case can relate the ultimate outcome of your case.

Ways Your DUI Defense Lawyers Can Fight a Driver’s License Suspension

After a DUI arrest, your driver’s license will be suspended in 46 days. There are only 90 days in which you can challenge your license suspension or license revocation. It is important to meet with an experienced and qualified DUI attorney as soon as possible so you don’t miss this opportunity.

The Noll Law Office Driving Under the Influence (DUI) lawyers have successfully kept clients driving privileges intact by challenging the probable cause of the traffic stop, the officer’s suspicion that the arrestee was under the influence of alcohol or drugs, procedural warnings were not given, and paperwork was improperly filled out. 

What are the field sobriety tests and how do they work?

The three most common field sobriety tests are:

Walk and Turn Field Sobriety Test

When officers administer the walk and turn test, they are look for 8 clues (indicators of intoxication). According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration, the Walk and Turn field sobriety test is only 68% accurate in determining whether a DUI suspect has a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .10 or higher. Sometimes, officers improperly administer this field sobriety test or improperly evaluate how the DUI suspect perform causing a greater amount of uncertainty regarding the validity of the test.

One Leg Stand Field Sobriety Test

The One-Leg Stand is a standard field sobriety test which has the least reliability of determining intoxication. According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration, the One-Leg Stand field sobriety test is only 65% accurate in determining whether a person arrested for DUI had a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .10 or higher.

Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) Field Sobriety Test

According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration, the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Field Sobriety Test is 77% reliable in determining whether a person suspected of Driving Under the Influence has a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .10 or higher. However, this is also the test which is frequently administered improperly by police officers.

Police officers are trained to administer standard field sobriety tests when they believe someone is Driving Under the Influence (DUI). Police officers are required to follow specific procedures when administering field sobriety tests. If the officer deviates from the accepted protocols, even slightly, the results of that test could be invalid and thrown out.

The criminal defense attorneys at the Noll Law Office have extensively studied and analyzed field sobriety tests in order to challenge the results to the benefit of their clients. When all is said and done, the standard field sobriety tests are subjective and are simply the officer’s opinion of how you did.

The Science of Driving Under the Influence (DUI)

Many factors can affect the results of a breathalyzer or blood test in a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) case. The DUI Defense lawyers at the Noll Law Office scrutinize all breath and blood tests to determine if those results were conduct improperly or can help your defense. Some factors that can affect a DUI breathalyzer are:

  • Carry Over: If a person accused of drunk driving blows into a breathalyzer numerous times, the Blood Alcohol Content readings can be skewed based upon residual alcohol left in the machine.
  • The breathalyzer was not working: Breathalyzer machines malfunction. If the machine was not functioning properly, its accuracy can be doubted.
  • Breath Temperature: Breathalyzers operate based upon average human body temperatures. If your body temperature was higher or lower than normal, it may invalidate the breath samples.

Blood and Urine Tests

More and more often, law enforcement officers are requesting blood and urine suspects from individuals who are suspected of Driving Under the Influence. The Noll Law Office carefully examines and scrutinizes all blood and urine tests There are several factors which can affect blood test and urine test results in a DUI case.  On occasion, when the police administer the blood test or urine test, the authorities fail to follow the applicable rules of testing, analysis, and preservation requirements.

In Driving Under the Influence (DUI) cases involving accident, injury or death, often blood tests and urine tests are conducted at hospitals. Hospital blood tests can overestimate a person’s true blood alcohol content by as much as 25% and are not statistically reliable in severely injured people.

Contact our DUI defense lawyers today at (217) 414-8889 so that they may answer your questions, alleviate your concerns, and discuss your rights.