How Many Drinks Will Get You A DUI? (Chart)

Defense Attorney December 27, 2012 at 05:38 pm

sorry left out a part
"The simple fact someone's BAC is under .08 does not mean charges will be dismissed"

Despiser of Obama December 27, 2012 at 06:13 pm

Unfortunately a majority of Police Dept's. that have a PBT are usually with the traffic officer/division and the rest of the Officers w/o them must rely on observation and FST for P.C. I didn't say 100% of DUI's under.08 are dismissed. The ones that usually don't get dismissed are do to extenuating circumstances such as a traffic accident with or without injuries , hit and run, fleeing and eluding or previous DUI convictions. But a majority with a clean or stellar driving/criminal record will get the charges dismissed if well below .08

Tim December 27, 2012 at 06:17 pm

You can be arrested for impaired driving if your BAC is 0.01.
If it is the testimony of the officer that you failed the field tests, you can still get a conviction if you are at 0.01 BAC. Just like if you pass all the field tests, and have a BAC of 0.09, you can still be arrested, absent of the 'probable cause' that you seem to think the field tests are conducted to obtain. BAC is just ONE aspect you can be convicted on, it is not the end-all-be-all like you seem to think it is, as there are many other methods that a DUI conviction can be secured. The judgement and testimony of the officer is all that is needed to secure a DUI conviction(if the offender has not secured a good lawyer). Why don't you test out your words? Drink an amount of alcohol that this 'chart' claims will keep you under the legal limit, and then go and get yourself pulled over for not using a turn signal. Let us know how that works out for you. I've seen hundreds of people just like you that 'think' they know the law. All of them have lost their licenses for 12 months.

Defense Attorney December 27, 2012 at 06:18 pm

Most cops wont write a blow below .08 unless there is something else going on, you are correct, an accident, priors, being an ass to the cop, etc. Depending on the County, they will generally go away with either a stipulated bench trial, reduced charges, etc. Unless the State is really gunning for someone and bring in an expert to do an extrapolation, and try to prove up the BAC at the time the person was behind the wheel, not an hour or so later when the test is actually given

Ernie Knight December 27, 2012 at 06:41 pm

Tim,
Not sure what state your law degree is from, but at .05 or less Illinois law presumes one is NOT under the influence. See 625 ILCS 5/11-501.2(b). Unless you are talking about a combination of drugs and alcohol.

Defense Attorney December 27, 2012 at 06:44 pm

Tim that is 100% not true, Illinois statute clearly states that a blow below .04 is presumed to be not under the influence of alcohol, whether you fail the fields or not, no one is going to be convicted of a DUI for blowing that low, unless they are under the influence of a controlled substance as defined by statute. You only lose your license for 12 months if you are a first offender (no dui's in the past 5 years) and refuse a breath test, other wise you are suspended for 6 months if you take the test. And with no prior DUI's you wont be convicted anyways. It's extremely rare to lose a DUI if you blow below a .08 whether you fail the field sobriety tests or not.

Despiser of Obama December 27, 2012 at 06:45 pm

Procedure in a DUI is PC for a stop, FST and observation. If there is the slightest PC , subject is arrested and taken to the P.D. for processing. The Officer than has to issue the proper citations , warning to motorist and keep proper observation of the arrestee until the breath test. The copy of the warning and citations are given to the arrestee and they are asked if they wish to take a BAC test or a blood test and if they refuse , they are given a summary suspension and booking is complete and released on a recog. or cash bond of 3,000/10%. If one does take the BAC test and it's under .08 the person is still processed and it's up to the court to dismiss all charges. Also FST on the street does not have to be preformed if the arrestee is incapable of performing the test due to safety concerns. I'm very aware of procedure.

Despiser of Obama December 27, 2012 at 06:51 pm

Agreed and true D.A. , refuse a DUI test and it's usually a twelve month suspension, but not ways the case and take the test it's a six month summary suspension.

Defense Attorney December 27, 2012 at 06:55 pm

and what the cops dont tell you is you can challenge the suspension, and have that thrown out, no fields no blow, and you greatly increase the chances of beating the suspension and even more so increase the chances of beating the DUI

Despiser of Obama December 27, 2012 at 07:02 pm

Thats way there's the good old traffic camera in the squad and a audio conversation. To see the actions of the person being stopped and how they talk and respond to the Officers questions and filed interrogation during FST. Can argue or dispute the camera.

Defense Attorney December 27, 2012 at 07:04 pm

Best thing ever to happen with DUI's is the squad camera, many a time all it takes is to show the judge the video and its a NG, and there are many times client professes how sober they were, and you show them the video, and it's a quick plea

Despiser of Obama December 27, 2012 at 07:06 pm

Ernie one can be convicted of DUI at .05 or less if there is extenuating circumstances. Like traffic accident with death or injury, hit and run, fleeing and eluding or previous convictions for DUI.

Defense Attorney December 27, 2012 at 07:25 pm

In 15 years I've never seen anyone found guilty of being below a .05 if it was alcohol alone. I've only seen one person even charged below a .05 and it was quickly thrown out, only reason he was charged was because he was a semi truck driver, and it had consequences for his CDL

Despiser of Obama December 27, 2012 at 07:27 pm

True, but if the camera shows the driver falling and stumbling and slurring his speech, then what? Guilty. Also anyone can challenge a DUI and summary suspension, but it also depends how well versed and articulate a Police Officer is in his FTS and report writing and observations. Then it's up to the expertise and knowledge of a prosecuting attorney or defense attorney or the actual stupidity of many judges that hear DUI cases and dismiss them.

Tim December 27, 2012 at 07:42 pm

Great, so drink yourself to .07, and go drive around until you get pulled over. Put your money where your mouth is.
.08 simply means legally intoxicated. It is a legal term, it has no bearing on impairment of not. It means you are AUTOMATICALLY charged(and lose your license) in the absence of any other evidence. There are plenty of cases where below .08 is charged with a DUI(and convicted) with other evidence being included. You can look through the existing cases in Will county right now, and take note of all the cases where there is a DUI change, without a corresponding .08 BAC charge. http://www.willcountycircuitcourt.com/schedule/public.htm There are cases scheduled right now, with a DUI charge, with no corresponding .08 BAC. You can see half a dozen of them right now in just the A-B section of the schedule. It is not 'extremely rare', just because you are unaware of how often it happens. Nowhere in the state statues is anything about .04(or anything else you claimed) even mentioned. http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp?DocName=062500050K11-501 Notice how I give you external direct sources to confirm what I am saying? Notice how you never do? The law is based on reality, not what you think it should be based on your own isolated mind.

Tim December 27, 2012 at 08:05 pm

D.A
A prostitute has never seen a scanning electron microscope. Does that mean they don't exist? Or is it more likely that their chosen circumstances restrict their chances of seeing such a thing? As an attorney, you should know that limited personal anecdotes from a single individual are not equal to the world as a whole. The current court schedules show quite clearly that this is not a 'rare' occurrence simply because you have not personally been exposed to it. When you move up in the ranks to the prosecuting attorney office(Or simply look outside of your sphere of personal experience), you will see more < .08 charges(and convictions).

Despiser of Obama December 27, 2012 at 08:07 pm

Now Tim is going to argue with a Lawyer about DUI law who has probably handled hundreds of DUI cases.

Defense Attorney December 27, 2012 at 08:07 pm

Here's your source Tim, its called the law in Illinois
625 ILCS 5/11-501.2(b) excuse me if I said .04 it's .05, I've seen it once in 15 years, sorry if I was off a little. How long have you been practicing law Tim, what courtroom experience do you have as a prosecutor or defense attorney? You knowledge of the law seems quite skewed: Straight from the Legislature: 1. If there was at that time an alcohol concentration of 0.05 or less, it shall be presumed that the person was not under the influence of alcohol. 2. If there was at that time an alcohol concentration in excess of 0.05 but less than 0.08, such facts shall not give rise to any presumption that the person was or was not under the influence of alcohol, but such fact may be considered with other competent evidence in determining whether the person was under the influence of alcohol.

Defense Attorney December 27, 2012 at 08:12 pm

I was a prosecutor for 5 years in DuPage county, one of the strictest counties in the State for DUI's I've defended DUIs for 10 years throughout the State, dui's below .08 probably make up less than 5 percent of the thousands of DUI's prosecuted in the greater chicago land area, and out side of an accident, are quickly dismissed at trial, if they even get that far

Tim December 27, 2012 at 08:27 pm

That states that you are not AUTOMATICALLY guilty of being charged with a DUI, it has no bearing whatsoever on whether you can be charged with impaired driving leading to a further charge of DUI.
That is exactly why the word 'presumed' us used in this statute. It establishes the baseline for further charges when using a chemical test for the presence of alcohol, for automatic charges(in the light of lack of further evidence). I can see why you are no longer an attorney in DuPage County. You wouldn't win very many cases with such a gross misunderstanding of state statutes. You would have been disbarred for trying to leave out section #4 of the very same statute, like you did here; 4. The foregoing provisions of this Section shall not be construed as limiting the introduction of any other relevant evidence bearing upon the question whether the person was under the influence of alcohol. You intentionally left out the section that disproves your entire point, and instead copy/pasted only the sections that supported it. The FACT, is that you can be charged with a DUI with a .01 BAC if the prosecutor can show you were impaired. It is the law, and it happens more than you seem to be aware of.

Despiser of Obama December 27, 2012 at 08:44 pm

Tim anyone charged and convicted with DUI with a BAC at .01 was either in a fatal traffic accident or has many many DUI convictions. The average Joe with a spotless record will never see a DUI conviction otherwise. I suggest you go and see a few DUI trials and see how they work out.

Despiser of Obama December 27, 2012 at 08:49 pm

As the old saying goes "how does a women hold her liquor?" Any guesses!

Despiser of Obama December 27, 2012 at 08:54 pm

And Tim if anyone is in fact convicted with DUI at .01 it's downgraded to reckless driving.

Despiser of Obama December 27, 2012 at 08:59 pm

D.A. don't argue with Tim! He's a poet, scholar, theologian, lawyer, doctor, Police Officer and a candle stick maker. On any typic he has the right answer and knows it all.

Defense Attorney December 27, 2012 at 09:08 pm

Ignore facts ignore the law, that's fine, you win the F. Lee Bailey award, you have a strong grasp of a presumption of sobriety and what that means, as well as the fact it's I believe the only place in the criminal code where a presumption of not having violated the law exists, outside of one's general presumption of innocence. I won't ask you to provide me the reams of case law that exists in your world of DUI convictions for people that by statute are presumed sober, but I'm sure you have it. Outside of Obama's example of a DUI fatality, where the defendant's blood was taken hours after the accident, and an expert can put together when alcohol was consumed, how much, what was eaten, and extrapolate those results to show the BAC was a .08 or higher at the time the defendant was behind the wheel, and that it was only .05 or lower at the time of the test due to the body having metabolized the alcohol, you won't ever see it.

Defense Attorney December 27, 2012 at 09:08 pm

Good thing Tim wasn't this guys attorney http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/6599485-418/glen-ellyn-man-sues-naperville-police-claims-false-dui-arrest.html

Despiser of Obama December 27, 2012 at 09:20 pm

Agreed.

Tim December 27, 2012 at 09:44 pm

Obviously, you did not look at the court schedule already posted for Will County.
There are MULTIPLE examples of what you claim does not exist. http://www.willcountycircuitcourt.com/schedule/PUBLIC/a.txt If it is still confusing to you; DRVG UNDER INFLU/BAC means = BAC > 0.08 DRVG UNDER INFLU means = BAC < 0.08 (that means LESS THAN, if it confuses you) Many times these appear together, because they are 2 different charges. However, as you can see by looking at the court documents, they are not ALWAYS together. Even a single instance of a DUI below .08(although there are many) disproves your claims. In the 'A' section alone, there are these exact cases that have already proceeded to trial(and beyond). Contrary to your limited personal experience of them being dismissed in DuPage county(however many years ago that was), the times have obviously changed. There are also multiple arraignments(meaning arrests, but not yet convicted). And you claim I am ignoring the facts and law? This is sourced straight from the Will County courthouse, and you are still trying to deny it exists? This is also an increasing tactic across the country; "Defense Lawyers Seeing More DUI Charges Under .08 in Washington" http://www.grahamlawyerblog.com/2011/10/13/defense-lawyers-dui-charges-under-08/ Note: No accident, or injury involved

Despiser of Obama December 27, 2012 at 11:58 pm

I bet a few guys here can get to .20 on only four drinks. Isn't that special!

Gina December 28, 2012 at 01:42 pm

Wow.