I got arrested for DUI in Illinois. What is a summary suspension?

A DUI arrest results in a driver's license suspension and misdemeanor charge.

If you get arrested for driving under the influence in Illinois, you are looking at two separate and equally important issues:

1. Your driver's license will be suspended.
2. DUI is a misdemeanor offense.

Generally, you should tackle these problems in that order. Priority number one is your driver's license, and priority number two is the criminal offense.

The Secretary of State will impose a summary suspension of your driver's license after an arrest for DUI. The suspension is summary because it occurs without a hearing in court. Seems fair, right? That's the law. 

The police officer who made the arrest will send paperwork to the Secretary, and upon receiving it, the Secretary will automatically suspend your license and send you a notice in the mail.

For nearly all DUI arrests, the summary suspension takes effect 46 days after the arrest. However, under certain situations, it may be later.

The law says the summary suspension takes effect 46 days after the date that you received notice of the summary suspension (i.e., the paper that says Notice of Summary Suspension handed to you by the police officer). If you submitted to a blood or urine test and the results are not immediately available, the police officer will mail the Notice of Summary Suspension to you and the Secretary when the results come back. The summary suspension will start 46 days after that. This process can take months.

Nonetheless, most DUI arrests involve a breathalyzer test and the officer giving you the Notice of Summary Suspension at the station.

DUIs involving a substance other than alcohol (e.g., marijuana, cocaine, heroin, etc.) are rather rare. For purposes of this article, we'll assume a scenario involving alcohol.

The length of the summary suspension depends on two factors:

1. Whether you've had a DUI in the last five years.
2. Whether you submitted to testing or refused.

If you've had no prior DUIs or summary suspensions in the last five years, the law says you are a first offender for purposes of the summary suspension. This could be your second DUI arrest, but as long as it has been at least five years, you are a first offender.

The minimum driver's license suspension for DUI in Illinois is as follows:

1. If you are a first offender and the breathalyzer result is 0.08 or more, your license is suspended for 6 months.
2. If you are a first offender and you refuse to take the breath test, the summary suspension lasts for 12 months.  

The summary suspension for a non-first offender is much more serious:

1. A test result showing a blood alcohol content of 0.08 or more results in a 12-month suspension.
2. Refusing to blow will result in a 36-month suspension.

So what can you do about it? Actually, a lot.

You have a right to challenge the suspension in court. On the back of your Notice of Summary Suspension are instructions on how to do so.

Most police departments use a standard Notice of Summary Suspension which says you can file a petition for judicial review in the county circuit court. Lawyers and judges call it a petition to rescind statutory summary suspension, but we're all talking about the same thing.

It's got to be filed in 90 days, but most importantly, once it is filed and a request for hearing is made, you have an absolute right to a hearing within 30 days.

Do the math. The 30 days comes before the 46th day on which the summary suspension goes into effect. Therefore it is imperative to file the petition to rescind as soon as possible.

If your court date is beyond 30 days from the date you file your petition to rescind, the law makes an exception and says you are not deprived of your right to a hearing if the hearing takes place on the first court date indicated on the ticket.

But if the officer is not present on that date for hearing, you win your license back just by showing up.

Also, supposing the officer does show up for court, you may not get your hearing because the court doesn't have time, or the paperwork is not in the court file. Either way, that's their problem. Not yours.

So go get that petition to rescind on file as soon as possible.

Attorney Lewis Gainor is the author of this blog. His law practice is dedicated almost exclusively to the defense of driving under the influence. If you were arrested for a DUI, call him immediately at (224) 688-9118 for a free consultation.