Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Kane County DUI Attorney

In Illinois, “Driving Under the Influence” is defined as operating a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol, other drugs or intoxicating compounds and methamphetamine. A driver is legally considered to be under the influence if he has a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher, has used any illegal substance, or is impaired by medication. A driver’s BAC is based on the ratio of alcohol to blood or alcohol to breath. However, an individual with a BAC between .05 and .08 may be convicted of DUI if additional evidence determines that the driver was impaired. In 1997, the Illinois General Assembly passed legislation to lower the illegal BAC limit from .10 to .08. Illinois was the 15th state to impose such a change. All 50 States now impose such limitations.

The effect of alcohol on an individual is determined primarily by two factors: the amount of alcohol consumed and the rate at which the alcohol is absorbed by the body. There are many other contributing factors including the gender, body weight, alcohol tolerance, mood, environment and the amount of food consumed by the individual. When you consume your first drink of alcohol, the alcohol affects coordination and judgment. BAC below the legal threshold of.08 can cause a person’s reaction time to slow. The risk of being in a crash rises with a BAC between .04 and .05 and increases rapidly thereafter. By the time a driver reaches a BAC of .06, the driver is twice as likely to be involved in a fatal crash as a non-drinking driver. Studies have shown that by the time a driver reaches a BAC of .08, he is 11 times more likely to be killed in a single-vehicle crash than a non-drinking driver. There is no magic formula to eliminate the alcohol from your system. The body eliminates the alcohol at a specific rate. The only way to rid the body of alcohol is time. Fresh air, coffee, a shower and food does not make a person sober. The standard time is it takes around one hour for the body to metabolize one drink and eliminate it from your system. Each of the following has a comparable amount of alcohol and counts as one drink: one 12-ounce mug of beer, one 5-ounce glass of wine or one 1.5-ounce shot of hard liquor. Contact your Kane County DUI Attorney.

Kane County DUI Attorney

The effect of alcohol on an individual is determined primarily by two factors: the amount of alcohol consumed and the rate at which it is absorbed by the body. Other contributing factors include gender, body weight, alcohol tolerance, mood, environment and the amount of food consumed. From the first drink, alcohol affects coordination and judgment. Even with a BAC well below .08, a person’s reaction time slows. The risk of being in a crash begins to climb with a BAC between .04 and .05 and increases rapidly thereafter. By the time a driver reaches a BAC of .06, he/she is twice as likely to be involved in a fatal crash as a non-drinking driver. By the time a driver reaches a BAC of .08, he/she is 11 times more likely to be killed in a single-vehicle crash than a non-drinking driver. The only way to rid the body of alcohol is time. Fresh air, coffee, a shower and food cannot help a person become sober. It takes about one hour for the body to metabolize one drink. Each of the following has a comparable amount of alcohol and counts as one drink: one 12-ounce mug of beer, one 5-ounce glass of wine or one 1.5-ounce shot of hard liquor. (The amount of alcohol in a poured/mixed drink is dependent on the type of drink and the person who pours it.) If you were arrested for a DUI In Kane County, contact your Kane County DUI Attorney or your Kane County DUI Lawyer.

Friday, August 12, 2011

Illinois DUI Attorney

Illinois DUI Attorney

If you have been recently arrested for a DUI Illinois, we have DUI lawyer offices throughout Illinois to assist you. We are the Premier Illinois DUI Law Firm. The Police Officer will confiscate your driver’s license and give you a statutory summary suspension notice that will serve as your driver’s license. On that form you will see that your driving privileges will be suspended on the 46th day from your arrest date. You must file a Petition to Rescind the Statutory Summary Suspension in an attempt to prevent your license from being suspended. Our attorneys are quite successful at representing our clients and eliminating the driver license suspension. You may be eligible for a BAIID so you can drive during the suspension period. Our Illinois DUI Defense Firm would be happy to assist you to ensure your ability to drive. Please call us immediately at (630)-925-7188.

Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and/or Drugs

When you are arrested for a DUI you may ask yourself, "Why me? I only had a few drinks." You may experience emotions ranging from embarrassment and fright to frustration and anger. You probably have been in trouble with the police and never arrested before. You may have received a ticket or two but usually not a misdemeanor crime. It is important to realize that this offense does not require any specific intent to commit the crime. If you are driving a vehicle with a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) that is over the current limit (0.08) and you are arrested then you may be guilty, or you may not be guilty. The police routinely arrest individuals whose BAC is under 0.08. The police officer’s decision to arrest is dependent on your performance on the field sobriety tests ("FST's") and the driving. A Police Officer can arrest you for simply being under the influence of alcohol without any reference to the blood alcohol level at all. The consequences of a DUI conviction are severe in Illinois. The conviction is on your record. And a conviction for a DUI requires the State to revoke your license for a minimum of 1 year. There can be jail and large fines.

However, you may not be guilty of the DUI charges! These charges are based upon the Police Officer’s subjective guess as to whether you are "drunk. There are numerous defenses to challenge the DUI arrest and all the FSTs the officer may have administered at the scene. There are legal challenges that may be available against the breath results.

DUI Defenses

However, there is a considerable amount of research that an Illinois DUI Attorney can do to defend a DUI case in court and in a driver license suspension hearing. If someone takes a breath test, the machine maintenance and calibration records as well as the officer's radio logs should be requested to see if the machine is working properly and whether the officer spent the required 20 minutes of observation time prior to the breath test. If someone takes a blood test, then their attorney should request to have the sample sent to an independent lab for testing for preservative and to confirm the blood alcohol level. If it has only been a short time since the last drink was, then some of the recently consumed alcohol may still be in the stomach and not yet even been digested or absorbed in to your system. However, when a blood sample is taken an hour or so after driving that alcohol reading is actually higher than it really was at the time of driving. This is called a "Rising Blood Alcohol Defense" and is very persuasive in low blood alcohol level cases. There may be many more defenses that may apply to your case.

Free Consultation

At the Law Offices of Peter Buh, we are ready and able to defend against your DUI charge. We offer Free Consultations and have reasonable rates. We have enjoyed
much success defending DUI cases throughout the State of Illinois. Contact us at
630-925-7188. We are your Illinois DUI Attorney.

Monday, August 8, 2011

DUI Attorney

How We Challenge DUI Charges

When you face a DUI charge, it is important to have a Kane County DUI Attorney who understands both the consequences for your future and how to challenge the charges in court. At The Law Offices of Peter Buh, he will fight to preserve your future and your freedom.

Former Prosecutor Who Knows How to Fight DUI Charges

Peter Buh is a former prosecutor who understands how the police work when developing a DUI charge. We know where to look to identify weaknesses in the prosecution's case. In short, we make the prosecution work hard to prove its case, rather than offering an immediate guilty plea on behalf of our client.

Free Consultation • Major Credit Cards

Although the facts of each case are different, DUI Attorney Peter Buh has found that certain defense strategies are often successful:

• We make sure that the police had reason for the drunk driving stop. We may employ investigators to identify road and weather conditions that may have affected our client's driving.

• We make sure that the arrest was justified and that the officer had legitimate reasons to administer field sobriety tests or portable breath tests.

• We make sure that the blood draw was properly performed at the police station, that the blood was labeled and stored according to established protocols and that the results of the blood analysis were correctly interpreted.

• We look at the sequence of events. For example, if a driver was involved in an accident near his or her home, called the police and went inside the house to get a beer while waiting for the police, he or she would probably register a blood alcohol level that could lead to an arrest and charge.

We make sure that issues such as these are brought forward when defending a client against a DUI charge.

Contact our office today to learn how Kane County DUI Attorney Peter Buh challenges DUI charges in court. We accept major credit cards.

DUI Attorney

How We Challenge DUI Charges

When you face a DUI charge, it is important to have a Kane County DUI Attorney who understands both the consequences for your future and how to challenge the charges in court. At The Law Offices of Peter Buh, he will fight to preserve your future and your freedom.

Former Prosecutor Who Knows How to Fight DUI Charges

Peter Buh is a former prosecutor who understands how the police work when developing a DUI charge. We know where to look to identify weaknesses in the prosecution's case. In short, we make the prosecution work hard to prove its case, rather than offering an immediate guilty plea on behalf of our client.

Free Consultation • Major Credit Cards

Although the facts of each case are different, DUI Attorney Peter Buh has found that certain defense strategies are often successful:

• We make sure that the police had reason for the drunk driving stop. We may employ investigators to identify road and weather conditions that may have affected our client's driving.

• We make sure that the arrest was justified and that the officer had legitimate reasons to administer field sobriety tests or portable breath tests.

• We make sure that the blood draw was properly performed at the police station, that the blood was labeled and stored according to established protocols and that the results of the blood analysis were correctly interpreted.

• We look at the sequence of events. For example, if a driver was involved in an accident near his or her home, called the police and went inside the house to get a beer while waiting for the police, he or she would probably register a blood alcohol level that could lead to an arrest and charge.

We make sure that issues such as these are brought forward when defending a client against a DUI charge.

Contact our office today to learn how Kane County DUI Attorney Peter Buh challenges DUI charges in court. We accept major credit cards.

Ottawa DUI Attorney

Ottawa DUI Attorney

Without a qualified DUI defense attorney to represent your rights, you are likely to have the maximum penalty for DUI thrown at you. This can include jail time, license suspension, high fines and skyrocketing insurance premiums. It is worth it to retain the legal counsel of experienced lawyers such as those at the Law Firm of Johnson & Buh.


Former Prosecutor and Public Defender Knowledgeable of Both Sides of the System

Peter Buh served as an Assistant State Attorney and Chief of Felony. He prosecuted traffic, misdemeanor, and felony cases during his employment with the State Attorney's office. This includes DUI cases, both felony and misdemeanor. Kenneth Johnson was the former Public Defender of DeKalb County. Together, they have the experience to protect your rights.

They Fight and Win Cases Involving Drunk Driving Charges

We know the tactics that prosecutors use to convict the accused. We also know how to find the loopholes in the prosecution's case. We thoroughly investigate your driving while intoxicated charge and all the facts leading up to your arrest.

We question every aspect of the police record. You would be surprised at what is left out of the record and what is included that may not be the full truth. We question whether the stop was lawful and whether the sobriety test was too subjective. In short, depending on your specific situation, we will seek every potential avenue to your case dismissal.

We encourage you to call The Law Offices of Johnson & Buh to discuss your DUI charges and your legal concerns. In a free consultation you can learn about legal strategies and legal options for seeking a successful resolution. Contact your local LaSalle County DUI Attorney or your Ottawa DUI Attorney.