Ex- Lake County Chief Judge Cleared of DUI Charges

 Posted on July 24, 2012 in DUI/DWI

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that former Lake County Chief Judge David Hall was found not guilty of DUI charges that arose from his April 2008 arrest in Vernon Hills. However, Hall, who now suffers from Lou Gehrig’s disease, which caused his retirement earlier this month, was found guilty of resisting arrest in a manner that caused the arresting office to spray him with pepper spray. Hall received the minimum sentence of 100 hours of community service, 18 months of conditional discharge, which is a form of probation, a $1,000 fine, and court costs.

In this case, Hall was taken to the hospital following the 2008 traffic stop when he complained of chest pains after being pepper-sprayed. A doctor who examined him at the hospital testified that he appeared intoxicated at the time of the incident. However, a blood sample that was drawn at the time of the incident was thrown out of evidence by the court on allegations that the sample had been mishandled. Therefore, this case contained no blood alcohol content test levels, which is usually standard evidence in a DUI case.

To further complicate matters, the arresting officer, who also witnessed Hall’s alleged actions in resisting arrest and sprayed him with pepper spray, passed away only a few weeks after the incident occurred in 2008. The officer’s death left the prosecution with a lack of testimony from a crucial witness to their case.

This case illustrates that even what seems to be a routine DUI case or resisting arrest charge may not be as straightforward as it initially appears. When important evidence is mishandled by law enforcement officials or medical personnel, or when significant witnesses become unavailable for any reason, the state’s case can be greatly weakened, as was the case here. With the help of a seasoned criminal defense attorney in Arlington Heights, Illinois, you can expect a thorough investigation of the circumstances surrounding your case, as well as the development of a strategy and defense designed to minimize the consequences of any criminal penalties that you might face.