Highland Park police arrest man for DUI because they smell cannabis and he admits smoking it. Lewis Gainor gets case dismissed. Download the court records
Lewis Gainor successfully defended a young man who was arrested by the Highland Park Police Department on May 15, 2006. The man was driving up through Highland Park from Chicago with friends on that date, and got pulled over. They were going to a party on the North Shore, but never made it there. Instead, the young man got charged with driving under the influence of drugs and taken to the Lake County jail.
The officers pulled over the car for a traffic violation. However, the traffic stop quickly became a DUI investigation because they smelled the odor of burnt cannabis (i.e., marijuana smoke). Apparently, the group of friend had been smoking a marijuana cigarette (i.e., a joint) in the car during the drive.
The police officers administered a series of field sobriety tests, and the man failed. They determined that they had probable cause to arrest the man for DUI and placed him into custody. They took him to the station.
When the police reached the station in downtown Highland Park, they read the man his Miranda rights before questioning him. He agreed to talk to the police without the assistance of a lawyer. The man admitted that he had smoked marijuana in the car, and that he was under the influence of marijuana at the time he was operating the motor vehicle.
The Lake County State's Attorney approved charges of DUI and driving while license suspended, and the man got a court date. On his court date in Waukegan, attorney Lewis Gainor appeared with his client.
Waukegan DUI lawyer Lewis Gainor examined the evidence and decided to file a pretrial motion. In his motion, he argued that the judge should suppress the evidence because the Highland Park police officers had violated the man's rights.
The court set the matter for hearing, and on the date of hearing, the State's Attorney was unable to prove that the police had complied with the law. All charges were dismissed.
