I had heard rumblings about a crack down on aggravated speeders when I was in court earlier this week for a client who had been arrested for driving 57 mph over the speed limit on LSD. When in court, a former colleague had mentioned that someone had recently read about this very issue in one of the Chicago papers. The State’s Attorney confirmed that they were directed by higher ups not to reduce these charges (charged as Class A Misdemeanors instead of the usual minor driving infraction) and that the only way to resolution was through the Defendant going to trial or pleading guilty to the charges.
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Chicago Tribune
“…A Tribune analysis of state police tickets, license data and court records shows that since 2006, Chicagoland courts have given supervision to nearly two-thirds of those found guilty of driving 100 mph or faster.
For hundreds of motorists caught driving that fast every year, court supervision helps keep their insurance rates low while stopping officials from using the tickets as a reason to suspend their licenses.
Judges across the area defended supervision as a helpful alternative to conviction, but some were surprised at how often their peers handed it out. Also surprised was the state’s keeper of driving records: Secretary of State Jesse White. Citing the Tribune’s findings, White now wants to ban supervision for extreme speeders…”
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It used to be that the ASA in court would amend the agg speeder to speeding if the driver had a clean driving history. This not only protected the drivers record but also lowered fines, costs and the inevitable bump in their insurance premiums. It appears that those days are to become a distant memory. Or at least will be for the next few months until the hype dies down.
Let’s hope that no major changes are made to the traffic laws that would mandate a conviction rather than allow for the option of supervision, and that would otherwise destroy the Prosecutorial discretion that has been enjoyed by Prosecutors for years. That is, for the few remaining ASA’s who still exercise their discretion despite a recent and seemingly office wide attempt at silencing it.
As a fellow driver on IL roadways, this Chicago Attorney can understand the need to deter those who speed excessively from doing so in an effort to protect the general public, motorcyclists, bike riders and pedestrians. As an Attorney, however, I also understand that not every driver who gets arrested for aggravated speeding is a habitual speeder. Perhaps a middle ground, something along the lines of giving the driver supervision and a reducer for their first offense, but mandating that the original arrest/citation remain on their records as evidence of a prior offense so that they don’t get supervision again, is in order? Just a thought.
You can read the full article here.
If you do find that you have been arrested for aggravated speeding, or any other traffic or criminal violation, then call me at 312.672.9628 for a free consultation. A plea of guilty is not the only option.
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To learn more about Tatiana Czaplicki, and the services her office provides, please visit the web page of the Law Office of Tatiana D. Czaplicki, PC, or contact Tatiana directly at 312.672.9628.