Client arrested by the Skokie Police Department & charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Defendant had a prior DUI & other serious traffic offenses. Mr. LaScola urged the State to extend a deferred prosecution so that this new offense would not go on our client’s record. The State agreed and our client only has to perform 40 hours of community service at a charitable or non-profit organization and the case will be dismissed upon return to court in 2 months.
Mr. LaScola (in addition to filing a Petition to Rescind the Statutory Summary Suspension “SSS”) filed a Motion to Dismiss the SSS, because the Forest Park Arresting Officer filled out a defective law enforcement sworn report and later corrected the error without serving our client with notice of the correction. The Maywood Judge researched the issue, and on 2-18-14 returned a ruling GRANTING the Motion in Defendant’s favor. As a result of this favorable ruling, the 1-year license suspension of our client is RESCINDED and will be removed from the driving abstract of our client.
Defendant charged with Retail Theft by way of a village ordinance violation. Mr. LaScola secured a deferred sentence whereupon our client only had to complete 20 hrs of Community Service and return to court. We returned to court and showed proof & all charges against our client were dismissed.
Lake County DUI matter. Local resident (and decorated public servant) charged with DUI by the Waukegan Police Dept. Defendant participated in one field test, started the second test and stopped, and refused the remaining tests. Mr. LaScola cross-examined the Arresting Officer thoroughly and effectively. Video of the Defendant at the scene of the arrest and at the station-house after his arrest was entered into evidence at trial to demonstrate my client’s fine motor skills abilities. After a 2-day Jury Trial in Lake County, the jury returned a verdict of Not Guilty on the DUI and Defendant was released from bond and he was able to keep his job. This victory meant a saved career in public service!!!
Case was scheduled for hearing on the suspension of my client’s license. Mr. LaScola noticed that the Officer served our client with an incomplete form. Later, the Officer completed the form and sent it to the Court and the Secretary of State without mailing our client the corrected form. Since this issue was not a standard challenge to a summary suspension, Mr. LaScola prepared and filed a Motion to Dismiss the Suspension, and conducted an evidentiary hearing presenting to the Court the defective form and highlighting that it was improper not to notify the client/Defendant of these changes before sending the document to the Clerk of Court and Secretary of State. The Third District Judge agreed and the Statutory Summary Suspension was RESCINDED!!!
Our client was arrested by Illinois State Troopers on the 90/94 after having been involved in a motor vehicle crash. The Trooper responded to the scene of the crash (where my client struck a concrete median wall) and observed our client with extreme balance issues. Mr. LaScola pointed out that these alleged balance issues were not captured on video…but even if they were, the fact that when the camera did capture our client on film, the same level of “alleged intoxication and balance issues” somehow don’t seem to be present a mere 15 mins later. Mr. LaScola cross-examined the Trooper thoroughly on these points and also pointed out the Trooper’s lack of memory as to specifics regarding how our client failed these field sobriety tests. Not surprisingly, the Judge at the Daley Center agreed and Defendant was found NOT GUILTY of all charges. Furthermore, at a previous court date the 3-Year license suspension that had been pending in the case was RESCINDED due to the State not being prepared for a hearing due primarily to Mr. LaScola’s aggressive early filing of the Petition to Rescind the Statutory Summary Suspension. This client is also facing a pending Violation of Supervision in another county and this complete win should allow that violation to be withdrawn. Defendant will likely be spared of a 5-year license revocation if he had been found guilty of this DUI because he would have been convicted of this one and the Violation would have caused the Supervision in the other county to have turned into a conviction.
Our client was charged with his second DUI and was alleged to have operated his vehicle while under the influence of Marijuana. The arresting officer from the Chicago Police Dept. claimed that he pulled my client over after having committed a minor traffic violation. When the Officer approached my client, he said that my client’s breath smelled of burnt cannabis. Furthermore, my client admitted to having smoked marijuana earlier in the day. At trial, Mr. LaScola thoroughly cross-examined the Officer regarding his administration of “drug-recognition field tests” and pointed out many serious missteps to the Court. The Daley Center Judge agreed with Mr. LaScola and found the Defendant NOT GUILTY of his 2nd DUI!!! Defendant will not be revoked and his driving privileges will remain intact.
Our client is facing DUI charges in Joliet and was dealing with a 1-year Supension of his license. The State in Will County will not rescind summary suspensions – so if we want to beat these suspensions, we need to fight them out at a contested hearing. Mr. LaScola, in preparing for hearing, noticed that the Will County Sheriff’s Police Officer used forms that were 4 years out of date when processing our client’s summary suspension paperwork. Mr. LaScola quickly pointed this out to the Judge and after a lenghty, involved legal argument, the Court agreed with Mr. LaScola and RESCINDED the Statutory Summary Suspension. The case is now set for Trial & hoping to win the DUI as well!!
Our client was charged with DUI and a failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident after a major collision on the 94 Eastbound. Mr. LaScola (before trial) was able to successfully rescind the Statutory Summary Suspension when necessary witness failed to appear at the hearing date. A few months later, Mr. LaScola conducted a bench trial and proved to the Court (in the Skokie courthouse) that the State did not meet their burden of proof on the DUI. Our client received Court Supervision on the accompanying traffic citation, but was found NOT GUILTY on the DUI. Our client had a prior DUI less than 5 years ago, and his license would have been revoked if he were found guilty. 3-Year Suspension RESCINDED and NOT GUILTY on the DUI that would have revoked his license!!
After Mr. LaScola beat this client’s Possession of Cannabis and Drug Paraphernalia charges on 8/31/11 in Rolling Meadows, and beat a Lake County case with the same charges later that year – our client wanted to expunge her record, which consisted of arrests and Supervision sentences in 2003 and 2006. Mr. LaScola filed an expungement petition on all 3 Cook County cases on January 29, 2013. At a difficult hearing (scheduled 4 months later) before the Chief Judge of District 3 – Rolling Meadows, the Court granted all 3 Petitions for Expungement. Our client will soon be retaining my Office to take on the Lake County dismissal – for an Expungement of that record as well. If the Lake County Expungement Petition is a success, our client’s record will be completely wiped free of all criminal arrests & dispositions – despite having been arrested on 4 separate occasions.
