Yesterday, I appeared for a client who was charged with his 3rd DUI.  The case could have been upgraded to a felony but I was able to prevent it by the way I approached the case with the prosecutor.  Specifically, I let the state’s attorney know right away that we were simply going to watch the video of the arrest (including the reason why my client was pulled over) and plead guilty if everything in the police report was also in the video.

This reasonable approach the state’s attorney appreciated and gave me the opportunity to watch the video with my client before any upgrade of the DUI charge.

I watched the video with my client and we both agreed that he was clearly driving very badly and that the police had a reason to stop him and once stopped, there was more than enough reason to arrest him for DUI.

The Judge wanted my client to serve some jail time in the Cook County Jail.  However, I was able to convince the Judge that although the some jail time was required, that my client should not have to serve any jail time because he has taken responsibility for his actions.  The Judge agreed and my client received a sentence without having to serve any time in jail.