What is a DUI in Illinois? Part 1 of 2
By Dan Noll on April 6th, 2015 in
What is a DUI in Illinois? DUI stands for driving under the influence. That could involve driving under the influence of alcohol which is the most common form of DUI in Illinois or it could be driving under the influence of drugs or a combination of alcohol and drugs. In order for the state to prove a person guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol, they need to show two things. First that the person was driving or was in actual physical control of the vehicle. The second thing the state has to prove beyond reasonable doubt is that the individual was under the influence of alcohol.
Most ways the state tries to prove a person guilty of being under the influence of alcohol is by through police officer testimony and normally stating that there was a erratic driving, they were speeding or swerving or did some sort of improper lane usage. Followed up by the officer will approach and say that they smelled a strong odor of alcohol and blood shot and glassy eyes. They have the person exit the vehicle, administer the standardized field sobriety test and the officers generally will say the person failed all of them. They may offer after that a portable breath test or a PBT and that is a breathalyzer machine that will give a read out. Eventually the officer will make a decision to arrest the person, take them back to the county jail and have them do a breathalyzer at the jail for evidentiary purposes.