Traffic Laws & Courts

The newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on Traffic Laws & Courts

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2013 Articles

2013 changes to Article 36: Seizures and forfeitures By Anthony A. Bruno September 2013 As of January 1, 2013 the Illinois legislature is making it easier for the State to take your car.
Alex, I’ll take ‘How state’s attorneys can avoid jeopardy after a jury is sworn in’ under People v. Martinez for 500 By J. Brick Van Der Snick June 2013 An exploration of the Illinois Supreme Court’s ruling in People v. Martinez to see why Illinois has decided to deviate from the long-established rule that jeopardy attaches to a defendant upon the swearing in of a jury.
Case note: License plates, Trailer ball hitches, and the Illinois Vehicle Code—According to the Fourth District Appellate Court, section 3-413(b) of the Vehicle Code does not prohibit trailer ball hitches obstructing the visibility of a vehicle’s registra By Rob Shumaker September 2013 A summary of the Fourth District Appellate Court's decision in People v. Gaytan.
Chasing zero: The NTSB recommendation to lower BAC limits from .08 to .05 By J. Brick Van Der Snick September 2013 With the release of its “Reaching Zero” report, the NTSB has urged all states to lower the per se BAC limit to .05 or lower.
City of Highland Park v. Kane, 2013 IL App (2d) 120788; 2013 Ill. App. LEXIS 228 By David B. Franks June 2013 In analyzing whether a stop is proper, a Court is not limited to bases cited by the Officer for effectuating the stop.
Defending a person charged with driving while revoked who has obtained a license issued in error or through fraud after revocation By Larry A. Davis June 2013 A summary of the recent case of People v. Jackson.
Objects under the rearview mirror may be more of a material obstruction than they appear By Rob Shumaker March 2013 Objects dangling from the rearview mirror may justify a traffic stop but only if they constitute a material obstruction. The author addresses the case law on this issue and offers practice tips to determine whether an object materially obstructs a driver’s view of the road.
Obtaining court supervision in downstate Illinois DUI cases By Anthony A. Bruno March 2013 For those of us who practice in more than one county, figuring out what it takes to get a disposition of court supervision in a DUI case can be a tricky endeavor.
2 comments (Most recent March 20, 2013)
Six tips for assisting the commercial driver with a traffic ticket By Jeremy J. Richey March 2013 Some helpful advice for the practitioner to consider when accepting the commercial driver as a client.
To expunge or seal, what do you do? By Lisa L. Dunn September 2013 It is your job to inform your client that in many instances the case should be expunged or sealed. First, you need to understand the difference between expunging a record and sealing a record. Second, you need to know where to look in the statute to determine if your client’s record can be expunged or if not expunged, then sealed.
Warrantless blood draws discussed by U.S. Supreme Court By Ava George Stewart June 2013 The case of Missouri v. McNeeley now puts the government on notice that where there is a blood draw, without a warrant, the government should be prepared to lay out the reasoning to support the exigent circumstances exception to the Fourth Amendment.