Driving While License Revoked Leads to Felony Arrest in Illinois

Sat, 21 Feb 2009 18:26:18 EST

The night envelopes the car, and allows only two beams oflight as illumination.; Travelling at thespeed limit, the car runs through the night, like a cheetah through theunderbrush of the jungle.; You are thedriver.; You know your license issuspended. ;You do not even know thatyour license is suspended, but you realize that you have failed to pay certainparking tickets, failed to pay child support, and that you were in an accidenta couple of years ago without; insurance.;

However, you do notworry about this because you have got more things to worry about.; You have mounting bills that have continuedto keep you without sleep.; Sleepdeprivation has only increased the amount of incessant tension that permeatesyour every sense.; You feel that you needto be driving tonight.; But you do notrealize that this driving excursion could lead to a felony conviction whichcould not only take away your license for good but could put you in the StatePenitentiary.;

It is a punishable offense for anyone to drive or bein actual physical control of a motor vehicle on any highway of this State at atime when one's driver's license or permit or privilege to obtain a license orpermit is revoked or suspended, under Illinois law or the law of another state,except as may be specifically allowed by a monitoring device driving permit,family financial responsibility driving permit, probationary license to drive,or a restricted driving permit.”(West Publishing, 625 ILCS 5/6-303, 2009). ;The statute providing that one who drives whenthe license or permit or privilege to obtain a license or permit is revoked orsuspended shall be punished must be read in the disjunctive. People v. Suddoth, 52 Ill. App. 2d 355, 202 N.E.2d 120 (1stDist. 1964).

Inthis article, I will delve into Illinois law, because I am an IllinoisAttorney, and our law firm Cunningham & Associates, P.C. works in IllinoisLaw, particularly in the area of Driving Under the Influence, and other DrivingIssues.; Many people think that they geta yellow citation and treat it as a simple traffic ticket.”; They believe that they can handle itthemselves.; They believe that they canmiss court dates. They believe that they have control of the situation, andcontinue to drive.; In Illinois, if theyare convicted more than twice, they are then facing a very serious felony whichcan land them in the Illinois Department of Corrections.; The same is true with every single state inthe United States. ;Other states alsocommunicate with one another with regard to which driver’s are onsuspension.; The statute, whichspecifically includes suspensions under the law of another state,” allowsIllinois to impose criminal liability for driving in Illinois while a licensethat was issued by another state was revoked, even as a result of conduct thatwould not be illegal in Illinois. People v. Jett, 328 Ill. App. 3d 468, 262 Ill. Dec. 695, 766N.E.2d 315 (5th Dist. 2002).

Further,the Driving While License Suspended conviction may be enhanced to a felony, andalso used as a predicate felony” to enhance other felonies. Conviction for driving while licenserevoked (DWLR), which had been increased to a Class 4 felony based on a priorconviction for DWLR, could be used as a predicate felony for an armed violenceconviction. People v. Lucas, App. 3 Dist.2007, 310 Ill.Dec. 96, 372Ill.App.3d 279, 865 N.E.2d 420, appeal allowed 314 Ill.Dec. 832, 225 Ill.2d 657, 875 N.E.2d 11198. State sufficiently established atsentencing that at time of defendant's arrest, defendant's driver's license hadbeen revoked for driving under the influence of alcohol, as required to supportconvictions for class 2 felony driving under the influence of alcohol and class4 felony driving while license revoked; presentence report revealed thatdefendant had prior driving under the influence convictions. People v. DiPace, App. 2 Dist.2004, 288 Ill.Dec. 839, 354Ill.App.3d 104, 818 N.E.2d 774, modified on denial of rehearing,appeal denied 294 Ill.Dec. 5, 214 Ill.2d 539, 830N.E.2d 5.

Therefore, the DWLR can become the predicate felony to any other felony, andthat suggests increasing the Department of Corrections sentence.; Already, the person holding the yellowcitation their second DWLR should already be concerned about a potential felonysentence.;

Hence, when facing a potentialfelony charge, one should not think of this as an experience that may be easilyhandled.; One should seek the qualified,skillful professional services of an attorney who has been educated in theareas of Automobile Laws and that specific means Chapter 625 of the IllinoisCompiled Statutes if the Attorney is an Illinois Attorney.

The Second convictionof DWLR in Illinois comes as a result of a second conviction, even if the firstconviction is not enhanced. Understatute for driving while license suspended (DWLS), defendant was subject tofelony sentencing provisions for his second DWLS offense, even though hisoriginal suspension was not for an enhanced violation, where his second DWLSoffense occurred while his license was subject to statutory summary suspension.People v. Bloomberg, App. 3 Dist.2008, 317 Ill.Dec. 447, 378Ill.App.3d 686, 881 N.E.2d 615, appeal denied 321 Ill.Dec. 557, 228 Ill.2d 537, 889 N.E.2d 1117,appeal pending.; The statutory summarysuspension adds a major burden onto the license itself.; The Statutory Summary Suspension comes as aresult of a Driving under the Influence charge.; I specifically use the word charge” rather than conviction” becausethe DUI charge may result in a statutory summary suspension even if theunderlying DUI is discharged or if the defendant is found not guilty, thestatutory summary suspension may survive, and may still result in mandatorysentencing related to the statutory summary suspension.

I repeat that a mandatory sentencing exists for thecharge of Driving while License Suspended or Revoked (DWLR).; The mandatory sentencing exists whichprevents a negotiation between the Judge, the Defense Attorney, or theProsecuting Attorney. ;Therefore, thedefendant wants to make sure that they do not put themselves in a positionpredetermines their jail sentence. For example, adefendant charged with driving while license was suspended with respect to defendant who had eight prior convictions for driving while license was suspended or revoked wasClass 4; felony that subjected defendant to minimum 180days in jail. People v. Kennedy, App. 4 Dist.2007, 311 Ill.Dec. 168, 372Ill.App.3d 306, 867 N.E.2d 1154, appeal denied 312 Ill.Dec. 659, 224 Ill.2d 585, 871 N.E.2d 59.

The defendant and the client does not want to putthemselves in a position of mandatory sentencing with regard to DWLR.; How does the client prevent this fromhappening? The client or Defendant must get in touch with an attorney who hasworked comprehensively in the automobiles and licensing statutes of thatstate.; Specifically, the defendant orclient should allow the attorney to investigate other legal ways of drivingwhile under suspension. For example, one may petition for a license to drivefor business purposes, for educational purposes or for medical purposes.; These petitions have to be heard through ahearing within the judicial system, and are not just granted as a manner offixed mechanical form filling.; Theattorney in this type of work does much more than simply filling outforms.; The DUI, traffic Attorney mustmaster the art of courtroom persuasion, the art of careful, skillful artisticdocument drafting, and the art of ingenious, creative negotiations. The readerof this article can find this type of attorney at Cunningham & Associates,P.C.;

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Driving While License Revoked Leads to Felony Arrest in Illinois