Kane County “No Breath Test Refusal” DUI Weekend Patrols in Jeopardy
In a show of legal sanity, some law enforcement agencies in Kane County are not willing to go along with “no refusal” weekend DUI enforcement programs pushed by prosecutors.The Chigago Tribune reports on police departments in Kane County rejecting these aggressive tactics in DUI arrests.
How they work is when a person is arrested on suspicion of DUI in Illinois, a prosecutor is notified and immediately gets a motion to a judge on call to compel the production of evidence.
Then, typically blood is forcibly removed from the defendant shortly after the arrested, and tested for Blood Alcohol Content (BAC).
These tactics have been more commonly used in Texas, and are popular with those interested in extremely aggressive DUI prosecution tactics.
Defense lawyer, civil libertarians and many normal citizens are taken aback by this kind of overreaching government intrusion. The right of a citizen against self-incrimination is one of the cornerstones of the Bill of Rights.
Prosecutors say that it can be more difficult to get a conviction without breath test evidence establishing that a person is over the legal limit of .08% BAC.
But if a person must be forced to submit to these procedures for the government to get a conviction, exactly how dangerous could they be? If someone is seriously drunk and visibly impaired, and the police officers think the person is a great danger on the road, how is it that they can’t actually prove the person is intoxicated without this one piece of evidence? You would think the circumstances of the arrest, and the officers testimony would be more than enough proof for a jury to convict.
These “No Refusal” DUI deals are extreme, dangerous, and not necessary. It is nice to see that many police officers agree.
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If you are accused of a DUI in Illinois, please contact us to get some free legal advice on your charges. We will offer our help and suggest how we may be able to beat your case in court.
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