DUI Defense Attorneys in Edwardsville, Illinois
You've been pulled over by the police, or worse yet, you've been in an accident — and you've been drinking. You don't need us to tell you that you are probably in serious trouble. But we can tell you that the first thing you need to do is call a lawyer. If you have been stopped for drunk driving, you risk a hefty fine, suspension of your driver's license and maybe even jail time. If there is a fatality, you could also be looking at a charge of reckless homicide.
If you've been charged or arrested for a DUI/DWI, call the Polinske & Associates, P.C. at 618-505-4213 (877-632-3089 toll-free). We know the system and will work to keep your driving privileges intact and your record clean.
What to Do (and What Not to Do) If You Have Been Stopped
Never assume that because you've been arrested for a DUI that you can't fight it. Never think that just because you "failed" the breathalyzer test, the state has an ironclad case. We know better. And as your DUI attorneys, we fight aggressively on your behalf. If you've been stopped for a DUI:
- Don't allow yourself to be intimidated by the police
- Don't answer preliminary questions about where you've been and how much you have had to drink (you do have the right to remain silent)
- Do ask why you were stopped
- Don't submit to questioning without an attorney present
- Do call an attorney immediately
- Don't delay — you typically have only 90 days from the time you were arrested to request a hearing
- Don't submit to any field sobriety testing. You have an absolute right to refuse.
The Smart Defense
Having strong insight into how the other side works and thinks means that we can better test and challenge the prosecution's case against you. If the evidence is insufficient, we will know that. If there was no probably cause, we will request a suspension hearing. We will subpoena all the records, view police videos, challenge timelines, field sobriety results and breathalyzer accuracy. When it comes to helping you keep your license and your freedom, we leave no stone unturned.
What Are You Waiting For?
If you need skilled legal help with a misdemeanor or felony DUI from a veteran team of trial attorneys, contact us by e-mail or call us at 618-505-4213 (877-632-3089 toll-free). A free initial consultation is available when and where you need it.
January 2012 - My client was arrested for DUI. The odd thing about this case is that he had gone to sleep and had no recollection of drinking, having contact with the police, or being arrested for DUI. He had recently been prescribed Ambien a sleep prescription medicine with bizarre side effects. The FDA label clearly states the drug can cause "sleep driving". We successfully attacked his Statutory Summary Suspension.
January 2012 - The new year has kept us very busy defending clients charged with DUI. I have conducted four hearings in two weeks. I won half of those for my clients. One client was arrested by the Madison County Sheriff's Department after rolling his car in Godfrey. It was his second DUI. We were able to effectively cross examine the arresting officers and put enough doubt in the judge's mind about their credibility that he ruled in my client's favor. The judge rescinded the SSS due to lack of probable cause to arrest for the offense of DUI. Another client we prevailed on the SSS had been arrested by the Highland PD for allegedly disobeying a traffic control device. We forced the State to turn over all the dashcam and booking room evidence. After reviewing the video it was apparent the officer had embellished his report regarding physical indicators of intoxication displayed by my client. She had her SSS rescinded as well. Lastly, my client had been arrested by Edwardsville PD for touching the fog line. We reviewed the dashcam, booking room, and sally port videos and learned that my client had actually passed all the field sobriety tests, did not display any physical indicators of intoxication and maintained himself well throughout the remainder of the proceedings. All charges and the SSS were thrown out.
January 2012 - Montgomery County - My clients were arrested for felony Possession of a Stolen Vehicle and other lesser charges. I was able to convince the State to dismiss the felony charges.
December 2011 - Madison County - My client was arrested for a DUI. Not especially serious in and of itself. However it was his eighth DUI. We fought hard to have all but two of his priors excluded from evidence on legal technicalities. The State offered him 8 years in prison initially. He was sentenced by agreement to two years of probation. Our suppression work on his case resulted in him doing no time.
November 2011 - Madison County - Mr. Grace was arrested by Edwardsville Police Department for an alleged traffic lane violation. We obtained all dash cam video footage and discovered that not only did he most likely not commit a traffic lane violation, but he passed all the field sobriety tests administered to him by the officer. The officer claimed in his narrative police report that he had failed two of the three tests. We obtained a rescission of his Statutory Summary Suspension on the grounds that no probable cause existed for his original arrest. The next day we negotiated full dismissal of all charges against him.
November 2011 - Madison County - Mr. Beatty was arrested by Collinsville Police for DUI. We filed all the necessary pleadings for him and set the matter for hearing on his Petitino to Rescind the Statutory Summary Suspension. Before beginning the hearing he entered into an agreement whereby the DUI was dismissed.
September 2011 - Madison County - DUI - My client was arrested for a DUI. He was originally arrested by Edwardsville Police for possession a knife. He was arrested at gunpoint then taken to the police station where he was processed on a DUI arrest. We argued that the original arrest was invalid and unconstutional due to the fact it is not unlawful to possess a knife in your vehicle. The State agreed and the Statutory Summary Suspension was rescinded. The weapons charge was dismissed too.
September 2011- Madison County - DUI - My client was arrested by Alton Police for Improper Lane Useage. My client was not witnessed inside the vehicle however and the police officer arrived some time after he had allegedly been driving. We were able to convince the State to dismiss the DUI charge.
September 2011 - Madison County - My client was arrested for DUI after striking the outer wall of a tavern while parking. He claimed that he was not driving but that a female passenger who had a revoked license actually was operating. The Madison County Sheriff's Department officer arrested him nonetheless. We were able to negotiate a dismissal of the DUI against him. The DUI was his second arrest.
August 2011 - DUI/SSS - Our client was stopped by the police for a traffic violation that escalated into a DUI. Although the evidence appeared strong in the State's favor we were able to negotiate an "either or" deal with the State wherein my client was able to choose either a dismissal of the DUI or a rescission of the SSS. My client opted for the first choice.
August 2011 - DUI/SSS - Our client was arrested by the police after having struck a parked car so hard it knocked his own wheel completely off of the car. The arresting officer made some errors in processing him. We drew that to the attention of the prosecution and were able to negotiate a rescission of the SSS. This was important to my client as he holds a CDL. The rescission also caused the suspension of his CDL to be rescinded.
August 2011 - DUI/SSS - Our client was charged with a DUI after having been arrested by the police for DUI. Although her breath results were in excess of .08 we were able to obtain a rescission of her SSS. This in part was based upon poor quality videotape evidence from the police officer's dash cam.
July 2011 - Our client was arrested by police for his second DUI. He had hired another "DUI specialty" firm in Edwardsville who were unable to resolve his case satisfactorily. We took over as counsel and filed a motion to suppress the breath results (.14). We won the motion and ultimately obtained a full dismissal of the DUI and two companion charges.
June 2011 - My client was arrested by police for the offense of Driving While Under the Influence of alcohol. Although he submitted to a breath test and was well over the legal limit we were able to negotiate a rescission of his statutory summary suspension. The DUI was kept from his driving record also. The reason - a bad arrest for the DUI.
May 2011 - Our client was charged with her second DUI. We were able to obtain a rescission of the Statutory Summary Suspension and the DUI. The officer failed to appear for the initial setting on the suspension hearing. That resulted in the rescission. Her DUI charge was dismissed due to a lack of evidence. She did not have to pay a fine or suffer loss of license.
April 2011 - My client was charged with his 4th DUI. We were able to win both the Statutory Summary Suspension and the DUI based upon an improper initial traffic stop. He did not suffer the three year mandatory Summary Suspension period.
April 2011 - Our client was arrested for DUI by the police after a traffic crash occurred. Due to the failure of the arresting officer to properly collect a blood sample from my client his Statutory Summary Suspension was immediately rescinded.
April 2011 - Our client was cited for DUI after colliding into the back end of a gas tanker. He was injured and taken directly to the hospital in St. Louis for treatment. The State was unable to produce the blood test results against our client which ultimately resulted in a full dismissal of the DUI charge against him.
March 2011 - DUI repeat offender - Our client was arrested for DUI by the police. I obtained and reviewed all three videotapes relevant to his arrest. It became quickly obvious that there was a three minute gap in the videotaped coverage in the police department. I filed a motion to suppress the breath test evidence. The motion was granted by the Court. This means the breath results will not be used against my client at trial. As a side note we were not the first firm to represent him. In fact he hired another Edwardsville DUI firm prior to hiring us. The other law firm did not recognize the issue that we used to suppress the breath results.
January 2011. My client was arrested for DUI. We noticed the case up for the hearing. The officer was not able to convice the judge that there existed legitimate grounds to arrest my client. We were able to obtain a full rescission of her Statutory Summary Suspension.
January 2011. My client, an 8 time DUI arrestee was stopped for rolling a stop sign in Alton. The officer requested him to perform standardized field sobriety tests and submit to a breath test but my client refused. We conducted an evidentiary hearing and won on the grounds that no probable cause existed to arrest him. The DUI and Suspension were both dismissed. Our client plead to rolling the stop sign and received court supervision to avoid any points against his license.
January 2011. Our client was stopped by a police officer for allegedly reckless driving. She refused the field sobriety tests and the breath tests. Because the evidence that existed was scarce we were able to convince the State to dismiss the DUI.
January 2011. Our client was charged with another DUI from the same police department. Once again the evidence was lacking and the State was unable to prove the officer had probable cause to initially arrest my client. His charges were dismissed as was his Statutory Summary Suspension.
Misdemeanor DUI January 2011 - Our client was arrested for a cannabis based DUI. A blood and urine draw was completed resulting in positive cannabis metabolites. Although the facts were overwhelmingly against us we were able to negotiate a full dismissal of the DUI.
December 2010 - Our client was charged with DUI, Possession of Cannabis and other minor charges. I reviewed the dash cam tape and it was obvious that he passed all the field sobriety tests. After negotiations I was able to secure a dismissal of both the DUI and the Statutory Summary Suspension. Accordingly, our client did not lose his license.
December 2010 - was charged with three separate Driving While Revoked charges and his third DUI. He also had numerous companion charges. He was still on probation for his second DUI. Although he was felony eligible for the third DUI offense we were able to negotiate a dismissal of the DUI and two of the Driving While Revoked charges as well as all of the other companion charges. The reason is that his DUI arrest, although legally conducted, was conducted on private property. Further he had a very strong rationale to being inside his car while intoxicated. We used that to his advantage.
December 2010 - Our client was charged for DUI based upon a one car vehicle crash and prescription drugs she had taken. We demanded a rescission hearing for the Statutory Summary Suspension and were victorious. The suspension was completely dropped. She was able to negotiate the DUI and all companion charges were dismissed. By rescinding the SSS she saved approximately $1,000 in additional costs associated with the BAIID device and reinstatement fees.
November 2010 - Our client was accused by the arresting officer. I fully reviewed the dash cam evidence and it quickly became apparent that the police officer's version of his performance on the standard field sobriety tests was exaggerated. After negotiating with the State we were able to obtain a full dismissal of the DUI charge.
September 2010 - Madison County - People v. Webster - my client was a second time DUI offender. I was able to negotiate the dismissal of his DUI despite the fact that he ran over multiple barricades and showed obvious alcohol impairment in the arresting officer's presence.
September 2010 - This case was one that could have gone either for or against the State. I announced ready for trial and prepared my trial and witnesses. At the final pretrial setting the State advised they would be willing to dismiss the DUI. I convinced them the case was not one they were likely to win. This was not my client's first DUI charge.
September 2010 - My client was arrested by the Shiloh for DUI. The reason for the initial traffic stop was for a report that my client was operating her vehicle recklessly. The dash cam video clearly showed she was operating her vehicle in a proper manner. There was no erratic driving. After conducting a rescission hearing the Judge threw out the suspension. This would have been a three year suspension.
August 2010 - My client faced her second DUI charge. I had successfully defended her on the first incident. I analyzed the arresting officer's dash cam video and quickly came to the conclusion that she had not violated any law prior to her stop by officers. We won the DUI completely. All charges against her were dismissed too.
August 2010 - My client was stopped for driving without his headlights. The dash cam evidence strongly suggested that he passed all the field sobriety tests given by the arresting officer. My client blew over .08. However, we were able to negotiate a full dismissal of the DUI charge.
August 2010 - My client was accused of his 2nd DUI. We tried the case. It was apparent the State's police witness was unable to testify credibly under cross examination. This serious defect cost the State the case. My client has won his statutory summary suspension previously. The end result in this case was no suspension and no DUI conviction.
June 2010 - My client was able to avoid the statutory summary suspension after a careful review of the police officer's sworn report and the dash cam evidence it became apparent that the officer had not arrested him before requesting he submit to the breathalyzer. This was his second offense DUI. The DUI was also dismissed due to lack of evidence to proceed to a trial. My client was able to avoid the mandatory three year suspension and a DUI conviction.
July 2010 - My client was arrested by the police for DUI. We were able to negotiate a dismissal of the DUI charge. The officer misfiled the statutory summary suspension paperwork and we were able to help my client avoid the mandatory three year suspension. He paid no fines or costs either.
June 2010 - My client was arrested by Fairview Heights police department for DUI. We obtained the dash cam evidence which seriously case doubt upon the police officer's testimony and directly contradicted the facts stated in his narrative police report. The State agreed to dismiss the DUI and also to rescind the Statutory Summary Suspension.
June 2010 - Our client was arrested for very weak conditions. She seemed fine on the police video and did the standardized field sobriety testing just fine. The police officer's report was extremely inconsistent. These factors ultimately led to a complete dismissal of the charge and rescission of the Statutory Summary Suspension.
June 2010 - My client was arrested by the police. He was arrested for DUI and unfortunately took the breath test with a result of .19. By statute he was required to complete 100 hours community work service. We were able to negotiate a disposition whereby the DUI was dismissed from his record. Additionally, we were able to avoid the mandatory community work service for him.
A third-time DUI client who we tried before a jury and won.
A reckless homicide client who lost his jury trial (with another attorney). We appealed to the 4th District and won.
March 2010 - We successfully argued for a complete dismissal of the DUI and rescission of the Statutory Summary Suspension based upon the 26 year veteran police sgt.'s improper administration of the field sobriety tests. This was my client's second DUI arrest.
April 2010 - We successfully argued for a rescission of the Statutory Summary Suspension due to the veteran Illinois State Police trooper's improper administration of the breath alcohol test following a roadblock arrest. I anticipate the DUI will be dismissed on the same grounds at a later date.
April 2010 - We successfully argued for a complete dismissal of the DUI and rescission of the Statutory Summary Suspension based upon improper arrest for the DUI.
Many other older cases have been won with a jury. Many others won through negotiations.
May 2010. Our client was convicted of DUI a few years back. She was caught driving while revoked for DUI. If convicted of a felony DWLR she would lose her job. We were able to negotiate a dismissal of the felony DWLR and ultimately resolved the case for a non-moving violation disposition. She was able to keep her job and avoided a permanent felony conviction upon her record.
