Man is arrested for DUI with blood alcohol content of 0.33 – more than four times the legal limit. Lewis Gainor gets case dismissed. Download the court records
The man was driving in the far northwestern part of Lake County, Illinois on July 24, 2004. Police officers from the Fox Lake Police Department where patrolling in the area. A citizen had dialed 911 to report an intoxicated motorist weaving across traffic lanes. The police officers got the notice from dispatch and took notes on the driver’s description. They set out to pull over any cars that matched the description provided by the caller.
When they saw Fox Lake DUI lawyer Lewis Gainor’s client, they immediately pulled him over. He matched the description of the driver. They took him out of the car, and arrested him for driving under the influence of alcohol.
When the police took him to the station for booking, they requested that he submit to a breath test to determine his blood alcohol level. The driver agreed. He stood in front of the machine and waited until it indicated for him to blow into the mouthpiece. He blew until the machine beeped and printed a receipt with the result.
The result was 0.33 – more than four times the legal limit in Illinois.
The man retained Fox Lake DUI attorney Lewis Gainor to represent him in the case. They appeared in court in late 2004. Lewis filed a motion to quash arrest and suppress evidence on behalf of his client. The issue was that the police officers did not have any reason to pull over the driver except for an anonymous tip. They did not see the driver weaving across traffic, or observe anything suggesting he was the impaired driver referenced in the tip.
The case came up for hearing on April 12, 2005. The prosecution was unable to prove that the police had complied with the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution governing traffic stops. The prosecution was forced to drop the charges.
