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Top Ten Ways to Beat a Drunk Driving Charge

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1.  Retain Michael T. Norris, Ltd., and John W. Callahan, Ltd., immediately.  

• If you had a heart problem, would you perform your own surgery?  You need a specialist.  Michael T. Norris and John W. Callahan specialize in criminal defense and DUI in Illinois.  The sooner you contact our office, the sooner we can help you.  Call 1-888-384-4514 to speak with an attorney in seconds!

2.  File a motion to fight the suspension right away.

• Sometimes you have to take lemons and make lemonade.  You have to file the right motions immediately.  A clock starts ticking on the day of your DUI arrest.  46 days after the arrest your license will be suspended if you sit and wait.  Michael T. Norris and John W. Callahan file a Petition to Rescind your suspension typically on the same day you retain them.  This starts a 30 day clock that works for you and against the State.  If the 30 day timeframe elapses after the first court date, case law says that the State of Illinois cannot suspend your driver's license.

3.  Paint the State into a corner with an aggressive defense.

• You can't beat the case if you don't try.  Rather, than beg the State for mercy on a case.  We have found that the best way to help our clients is with an aggressive defense.  We use every technique we can from issuing subpoenas to killer cross examination at trial to give our clients the best effort to fight their case.

4.  Order the dispatch tapes and computerized dispatch records.

• So many times our clients have told us that a police officer has lied in the police reports.  The use of our subpoena power to request audio dispatch as well as computer aided dispatch reports can put the officer at a completely different location from where he says he was when the incident happened - which can only help our client at hearing.

5.  Invalidate the police reports.

• Police reports can be completely inaccurate compared to what actually happened.  We have won cases where the officer testified that the driver went over the white lines in the road.  When we went to the scene and took pictures of the street with no white lines, the judge threw out the suspension and dui of our client on the spot. 

6.  Cross examine the video.

• We have found the the video tape helps our clients more than 80% of the time.  Police officers constantly exaggerate how bad a driver does on the field sobriety tests in Illinois.  When we cross examine the video compared to the officer's testimony, it often works wonders for our clients.  If the officer is caught exaggerating, it makes the judge take a second look and question his truthfulness.

7.  Destroy the officer's credibility.

• By filing motions and going to hearing on those motions, Michael T. Norris and John W. Callahan are often able to lock down an officer under oath when they order the transcripts of those hearings.  When the officer testifies inconsistent to what is in the transcript, his believability is attacked and this results in great success for our clients.

8.  Invalidate the Field Sobriety Tests.

• The NHTSA manual defines the methods and procedures the Illinois police must follow when giving the field tests to a DUI defendant.  The manual states that if the tests are given the wrong way, they are not valid.  By memorizing the Standardized Field Testing Manual and using it to cross examine the police officer on the stand, we have won dozens of DUI cases in Illinois.

9.  Attack the Breath Alcohol Device.

• If a client blew greater than a .08 at the police station, he can still win the case.  Michael T. Norris and John W. Callahan have the experience and expertise to work with experts who attack the computer settings and calibration methods used in the breath machine.  This can invalidate the blow and set the stage for a win on the DUI charge.

10.  Win the case at trial. 

• The bottom line is that you should hire an attorney who can fight your case.  Michael T. Norris and John W. Callahan have won hundreds of trials and represented scores of clients on DUI alone.  You need to hire an attorney who will fight for you at trial and not back down.  Call us today at 1-888-384-4514, watch some of our video to the right, or fill in the submit information box to the left.  We will contact you right away and begin the process representing you.