First DUI Offense – Schiller Park, Cook County DUI Defense Lawyer

Service to Rolling Meadows, Schaumburg, Palatine, Arlington Heights, Hoffman Estates, and Buffalo Grove

As a first time DUI offender, you may wonder what you should do to prevent going to jail. There may be nothing you can do if an officer decides you are too drunk to drive. Regardless if this is your 1st DUI offense, the Statutory Summary Suspension will happen automatically once you are arrested for DUI. If you choose to do nothing to prevent license suspension before the 46th day after your DUI arrest, your license will remain suspended for 180 days.

At the Law Offices of Christopher M. Cosley, located in Arlington Heights, we are proactive in our representation of clients charged with a first DUI offense. Even though the penalties for a DUI 1st offense are less than the penalties for a 2nd DUI, 3rd DUI, or repeat DUI offender, we still have our work cut out for us to avoid conviction.
As a former prosecuting attorney, Christopher M. Cosley knows how to prepare sustainable defense strategies that will hold up in court. Our law firm has years of criminal DUI defense experience, and we have helped to defend clients in all DUI defense matters.

First DUI Offense Conviction and Penalties

Aside from automatic license suspension, after a DUI arrest, if you are found guilty and convicted of your first DUI offense, you will be charged with a Class A Misdemeanor: Additionally, you will have your license revoked for 1 year (2 years if you are under 21). You may be able to continue driving legally by installing a breath-alcohol ignition interlock device on your vehicle.

If you are convicted and committed a first DUI offense while driving in a car with a child under the age of 16, you could spend up to 6 months in jail, pay a mandatory minimum fine of $1,000, or complete 25 days of community service in a program benefiting children.

A fatal car crash resulting in injury to a child under 16 is considered aggravated DUI and is a Class 4 felony offense. At this point, the fines and penalties increase significantly.

Contact Our Cook County DUI Defense Lawyer

Contact the Law Offices of Christopher M. Cosley in Arlington Heights, Illinois if you were charged and arrested for DUI 1st offense. We represent clients in the cities of Arlington Heights, Rolling Meadows, Palatine, Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates, Barrington, South Barrington, Des Plaines, Hanover Park, Rosemont, Mount Prospect, Elk Grove, Streamwood, and Schiller Park. Call our 24 hour answering service, at 847-253-3100, today.