Recently in DUI Cases Category

Although Kathie LaFond claims that police negligently failed to stop her intoxicated boyfriend from driving her 5-year-old son home after she was arrested for driving without a license, the Southtown Star reported that police records suggest otherwise. 

Her boyfriend, Cecil Conner Jr., lost control of the car and wrapped it around a tree, which resulted in her son's death. He was cited for an aggravated DUI.

He's not an Illinois DUI lawyer, but personal injury attorney Timothy Winfield probably knew enough about drunk-driving laws to expect a harsher sentence this time. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail and must wear an alcohol-monitoring ankle bracelet after his fifth DUI arrest, as reported by the American Bar Association Journal.

While this was only his second actual conviction for a DUI, the first was in 1991, the November 2005 accident resulted in the serious injuries of another motorist and could have led to a much stiffer sentence.

More than three years after 26-year-old Sandra Vasquez allegedly drove several teenagers home from a party while drunk, resulting in the Oswego crash that killed five, she will be cross-examined in the courtroom, according to the Chicago Daily Herald.

The woman has a tough act to follow, though. Members of the Kendall County jury heard testimony from still-mourning parents and from the surviving teenage passengers.

Sandra Vasquez's Illinois DUI attorney claims her blood-alcohol content reading, recorded at 0.124 percent, was skewed by vomiting before the test. Instead of intoxication, her attorney insists the crash was caused by one of the teenagers grabbing the steering wheel or kicking the back of her seat.

New Trier High School student Erin Hughes, who was arrested after accidentally striking and severely injuring 16-year-old Sarah Goone on May 14, has just been charged with two misdemeanor DUI charges, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. 

She wasn't drinking before the daytime incident but admitted to police that she had smoked marijuana the night before. Her blood was drawn after her arrest and Cook County prosecutors said on Monday that her blood showed traces of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.

But if her Chicago DUI lawyer understands the key differences between alcohol and marijuana, primarily the time it takes for the body to process the substances, he or she may be able to put up a strong defense. 

Cook County prosecutors dropped felony aggravated DUI and reckless homicide charges against off-duty Chicago officer John Ardelean, the Chicago Tribune reported. Two people in their early 20s were killed in the 2007 incident.

Nancy Flores, whose brother and his friend both lost their lives after John Ardelean's vehicle hit their car with his SUV at more than 60 m.p.h., did not attend the hearing and said she is angry with how prosecutors handled the deadly DUI:

"I am completely disappointed with the state's attorney's office, and I'm completely and utterly disgusted with the Chicago Police Department."

As was widely expected after her arrest on March 9, former Mount Prospect school bus driver Betty Burden entered a plea of "not guilty" to felony DUI charges, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. Not guilty pleas are rare for DUI cases, which usually rest on the evidence obtained by breathalyzer tests.

Police say her blood-alcohol level topped out at a staggering 0.226 percent (nearly three times the legal limit). But her Illinois DUI lawyer, Ernest Blomquist, said he plans to challenge those results, according to comments he made to NBC Chicago reporters:

"We're going to fight this... She's got an absolutely clear driving record. She's been an exemplary employee."

In what Kane County Judge Timothy Sheldon called "one of the toughest cases I've ever had to decide," convicted drunk driver Onofrio "Josh" Lorusso was sentenced to a 180-day jail sentence, the Chicago Tribune reported. The drunk driver killed his friend.

The Chicago Daily Herald reported that 19-year-old Onofrio Lorusso could have served up to 14 years in state prison for the DUI-triggered accident that claimed the life of his good friend Cameron Godee, just 17 years old.

The convicted DUI offender's Chicago DUI attorney was not cited by either article, but probably deserves a mention for helping his client secure such a favorable sentence, given the seriousness of the crime.

As we wrote about yesterday, a 5-year-old boy was killed when Chicago Heights police arrested his mother for driving with a suspended license and handed the keys to her intoxicated passenger.

Mother Kathy LaFond and the deceased boy's uncle, Martin LaFond, said they plan to file separate lawsuits against the Chicago Heights Police Dept., according to WBBM Chicago. It's not clear whether they are filing wrongful death suits or some other legal action.

But the suits are expected to put a spotlight on the officer who cleared 22-year-old DUI suspect Cecil Conner to drive 5-year-old Michael Langford Jr. and himself home. Cecil Conner and Kathy LaFond had been dating for about a year, according to family members.

Lake County Judge David Hall is back in the news again, just a couple months after a Kane County judge barred key evidence of his DUI arrest, as covered by The Chicago DUI Blog. Now David Hall has filed a federal lawsuit for what he calls "excessive force" related to the use of pepper spray to subdue him, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

His Illinois DUI lawyers, who were able to block the use of their client's BAC reading taken by a physician after the arrest, were not cited in the recent article.

David Hall was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol on April 26, 2008. He allegedly began to roll up his window after police approached his car, after which one of the officers used pepper spray. The embattled judge, who remains on the bench, claims that he "posed no threat to anyone" during the stop, according to his complaint.

Two young men were killed when the car belonging to off-duty Chicago police officer John Ardelean collided with them on Thanksgiving Day in 2007, a Chicago Tribune article explains. The now 36-year-old officer was charged with reckless homicide and an aggravated DUI.   

But now it looks like his case is in limbo and the fatal DUI charges may be dropped by prosecutors.

Cook County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Gainer ruled that John Ardelean was arrested and held without probable cause, thereby tossing out the arrest. Prosecutors could refile, but they likely lack any new evidence.