Lake Zurich police pull over driver for tail light and arrest him for DUI. Lewis Gainor gets case dismissed. Download the court records
Waukegan defense attorney Lewis Gainor recently won a case for a man who was pulled over by the Lake Zurich Police Department near the Edens Expressway (I-94) on July 3, 2004. The man was driving without a tail light. That is considered to be a valid reason for the police to stop a car.
The Lake Zurich police officer pulled him over to issue a traffic citation. But the traffic stop went even further. The police officer noticed a smell of liquor coming from the car and asked the driver to step out of the car.
The police officer had the man submit to a series of roadside tests to determine his sobriety. He asked the driver how much he'd drank, and the man admitted to drinking alcoholic beverages.
Because of this, the Lake Zurich police officer determined that the had probable cause to arrest the man for driving under the influence. He cuffed him and placed him in the squad and towed his car.
When the officer was writing the tickets, he also issued a ticket for driving without a valid drivers' license. The man was lucky, because an arrest that is accompanied with a ticket for driving without a valid license, or driving on an expired license, is grounds for a Class 4 felony charge of aggravated driving under the influence. In this case, because it was only 2004, the man avoided a felony charge.
Lake County lawyer Lewis Gainor appeared in court for the man on December 6, 2004. He set the matter for jury trial, asking the judge to require the State to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt to a jury of twelve people. He knew that the prosecution could not carry its burden of proof.
As expected, the prosecution dropped the charges.
