When Mr. K came to me, he had been arrested for DUIs 5 times. He was facing a minimum of 3-7 years in prison if he was convicted of Aggravated Driving Under the Influence. In Illinois, if you have been arrested 3 or more times for DUI, it is elligible to be a felony. Mr. K was a businessman who had paid off his home in an afluent Chicago suburb and it was clear he could not go to jail. This was a case which had to be won.
Luckily for the client, there was video of his driving and his arrest. After hearing testimony from both arresting officers and watching the video over and over in my cross examination of the officers, the jury decided the officer's version of what happened was not what really happened. The jury did not believe Mr. K had been proven guilty of his drunken driving charge beyond a reasonable doubt. They also did not believe he was guilty of Aggravated Battery of a Police Officer or Weaving as the officers had charged him.
Saving Mr. K from prison is a strong reminder for the need for video taping all DUI arrests. Even when police officers know they are on video, sometimes they don't write in their reports what really happened. And what's worse, sometimes they charge my clients with crimes they didn't commit. Which is why I am happy to do what I do and I love fighting on behalf of my clients. And if a jury trial is what is required to save a client from jail, there's no question that is what I will do!