Our client was charged in 2006 with Retail Theft and was sentenced to 5 months of Court Supervision and 2 days of Community Service. She never completed the community service, nor did she pay her court costs, and relocated to another State. A warrant was issued in the Bridgeview courthouse for her failure to complete her sentence. Later she sought to apply for a Green Card (legal permanent residency) but was denied when the warrant from Illinois was detected. This client called us to help Quash and Recall the Warrant and have the case terminated. Since she abandoned her case 7 years ago, it would be very difficult to get a Judge to not punish her with either the entry of a conviction and/or county jail time. We convinced the State’s Attorney to credit her for the 2 days of community service by using the day of her arrest back in 2006 to count as 2 days in custody. We had her court costs that were outstanding ready to pay that day and informed the Court that she will pay immediately. The original Court Supervision was terminated satisfactorily and the case closed that very day. No conviction appears on her record and she never had to do a single day of community service. She is now able to apply for her Legal Permanent Resident Card without any restrictions.
Our client was involved in a property damage accident where she struck a tree. An electrical issue resulted from the impact and her vehicle caught on fire. Our client was observed by an eyewitness shortly after the incident walking from the vicinity of the accident. A lackluster DUI investigation was conducted thereafter and the State had difficulty establishing that our client was the driver of the vehicle based upon weak hearsay testimony of an alleged eyewitness. After argument on the issue of “reasonable grounds” to arrest for DUI was made by Mr. LaScola and the Jude at the Skokie courthouse agreed. Suspension RESCINDED!!!!
Defendant was stopped by the DuPage County Sheriff’s Police after speeding 64 in a 45 mph zone. Defendant showed signs of impairment and failed to cooperate with the Officer as he tried to administer field sobriety tests. Mr. LaScola challenged the Suspension by filing the Petition to challenge it right away. The Officer failed to appear on the scheduled hearing date and Mr. LaScola was able to get the Suspension removed under People. Moreland. I then set the case for trial and was successful in proving that Defendant was not under the influence of alcohol beyond a reasonable doubt.
Our client was charged with DUI after being stopped for multiple traffic violations. He refused a breathlyzer test at the station, but did participate in Field Sobriety Testing. Mr. LaScola cross-examined the Officer regarding how he performed the Field Tests and vigorously challenged the administration of the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Test. After a convincing closing argument, Mr. LaScola established for the Court that the Village Prosecutors could not meet their burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
Our client, who was arrested for a DUI in Westchester, was on Supervision already for a Disorderly Conduct charge in DuPage County. The prosecutors in DuPage wasted no time in filing a Petition to Revoke his Supervision – seeking a conviction that would wind up on his public criminal record permanently. We set this case for trial in Maywood and when a favorable Judge was assigned to the courtroom, Mr. LaScola answered ready for a bench trial. At the close of the State’s evidence, Mr. LaScola made a motion for a directed finding that was granted!! A finding of NOT GUILTY was entered. When Mr. LaScola returned to DuPage to address the Violation, he was able to report to the Court that L.B. was found “not guilty” and the result was that the Petition to Revoke was withdrawn. Our client’s sentence remained Supervision and, therefore, kept his public criminal record clean.
Defendant was arrested by the Westchester Police Department after being found sleeping in his vehicle with the engine running. Defendant participated in and (in the officer’s opinion) failed all the field sobriety tests. Mr. LaScola set the case for trial and despite the participation and alleged failure of the field sobriety tests, convinced the Maywood Judge that the State failed to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. A ‘Not Guilty’ finding was made on all charges!!
Defendant had a prior DUI. He was involved in an auto accident and showed severe signs of impairment at the scene of the crash. Defendant was uncooperative with the arresting officer and the back-up units. After a bench trial at the Daley Center and a thorough cross-examination of the Officer, Defendant was found NOT GUILTY.
Our client was arrested by a Des Plaines Officer after having been pulled over for travelling 26 miles over the posted limit. Our client took all the Field Sobriety Tests offered to him, but refused the Breath Test back at the station. Mr. LaScola aggressively cross-examined the Des Plaines Officer and pointed out inconsistencies between the Officer’s testimony and the video recording of the DUI investigation. The Judge at the Skokie courthouse agreed with Mr. LaScola’s argument and made a finding of NOT GUILTY on the DUI. Our client was placed on Court Supervision on the speeding ticket and his insurance rates never went up. His record remained clean.
Our client was charged with DUI and affiliated traffic citations by the Skokie Police Department. Since he refused to take a breath test at the station, he was facing a 12-month suspension of his driving privileges. Shortly after Mr. LaScola was hired by this client, he immediately filed a challenge to the license suspension and served it on the State. When the first scheduled court date arrived, it was over 30 days from the date Mr. LaScola filed his challenge. In addition, the arresting officer failed to appear at the court date and the State could not ask the Court for a continuance due to Mr. LaScola’s early filing of the Petition to Rescind the license suspension. The Suspension of his license was rescinded. Next, Mr. LaScola set this case for a bench trial in the Skokie courthouse and argued that Defendant’s failure of the Field Sobriety Tests was due to being overweight as opposed to his impairment by alcohol. The Judge agreed and found our client NOT GUILTY!!!
Our client was charged with a DUI after striking another vehicle on the I-94 and was found by State Troopers on the shoulder of the expressway with an unsteady walk, slurred speech, and a strong odor of alcohol on her breath. She admitted to driving and causing the accident. The Trooper had video equipment that had malfunctioned and in addition to that problem, the Trooper made a scrivener’s error on official documentation relating to the Summary Suspension of her driving privileges. At the hearing on the Suspension, Mr. LaScola capitalized on this error achieving a RESCISSION of the Suspension. At trial, Mr. LaScola capitalized on the recording error and supressed its usage by the State at trial. This compromised the State’s ability to use this evidence at trial and ultimately their case as well. After a bench trial, the Court made a finding of NOT GUILTY on the DUI and the remaining traffic charges as well.
