Court Supervision for a DUI in Will County

How court supervision works

Supervision is a type of sentence. The judge sets aside a conviction for now and puts you on a short list of conditions. If you meet them all by the end date, the case ends and a conviction is never entered.

The Unified Code of Corrections says a judge may order it after a plea of guilty, an agreed set of facts, or a finding of guilt. The judge must weigh the facts of the stop, your history and your character. The judge has to believe three things: you are not likely to commit more crimes, you and the public are better served if you do not get a criminal record, and supervision fits the interests of justice better than another sentence (730 ILCS 5/5-6-1(c)).

Nothing forces a judge to say yes. Supervision is a choice the court makes, not a right.

Who the law keeps out

Section 5-6-1(d) lists the people who cannot get supervision on a DUI charge. You are barred if you were ever:

• Convicted of DUI in Illinois, or of a similar offense in another state or under a local ordinance.
• Given supervision for DUI in Illinois, or for a similar offense anywhere else.
• Convicted of reckless driving after a plea deal, where the plea or agreed facts came out of a negotiated agreement (the statute names Section 11-503).

The statute sets no time limit on those three. A DUI from many years ago still counts. A felony charge also rules supervision out under the same section, so a felony DUI cannot end in supervision.

Drivers under 21 face added rules in other parts of Section 5-6-1. Jeff checks those when the driver is young.

Two different look back periods

People mix up two rules that sound alike. They work differently.

So you can be a first offender for the license suspension and still be barred from supervision. The reverse is not true. If supervision is barred by an old case, the five year clock does not help.

What supervision does and does not do

Supervision still asks a lot of you. Before the judge enters the order, you must get an alcohol and drug evaluation from a licensed program and pay for it. The court can also send you to a victim impact panel (625 ILCS 5/11-501.01(a), (b)). Any treatment the evaluation calls for is added to the sentence and is never the only sentence.

It also leaves some things untouched:

• The statutory summary suspension is a separate track under Section 11-501.1. A supervision order does not cancel it. See the suspension page.
• Supervision for a DUI is not a conviction if you complete it. If it ends badly, such as a violation of a condition, the law treats it as a conviction (20 ILCS 2630/5.2(a)(1)(C)).
• A DUI supervision can be used against you later. It blocks supervision on a future DUI, as the list above shows.
• The record is not erased. See sealing and expungement for what the law allows.

What happens next

1. You or Jeff gets the police reports and the ticket details so the plea talk starts from real facts.
2. Your driving record and any older case anywhere are checked against the three bars above.
3. You get the alcohol and drug evaluation done before the judge rules on supervision.
4. Jeff talks with the prosecutor, and the court asks for the prosecutor's statement.
5. The judge decides. If supervision is entered, you get a written list of conditions and an end date.
6. You finish each condition, file proof, and the case ends without a conviction.

Your case is heard where the arrest happened, which for most Lockport and Joliet area drivers is the Will County Courthouse at 100 W Jefferson St in Joliet.

Why the case facts still matter

If supervision is the likely result, some drivers think the facts of the stop no longer matter. They do. A weak stop, a flawed breath test or a problem with the field tests can change what the prosecutor offers. The evidence can change what the prosecutor offers. Each outcome has its own record and license effects, and supervision is only one of them.

Because supervision can be used only once, it is worth deciding whether to spend it. Before you use supervision, Jeff reviews whether the evidence supports another resolution. No outcome is promised.

How Jeff helps

• Checks your full record, including old cases in other states, against the supervision bars before any offer is discussed.
• Reads the police report and test results to see whether the evidence supports a different resolution than supervision.
• Speaks with the prosecutor about the facts the judge will hear.
• Helps you line up the evaluation and any classes so nothing is late.
• Tracks your end date and filing deadlines so a missed form does not turn supervision into a conviction.
• Explains the license side, since the summary suspension runs on its own timeline.

Reviewed by Jeff McCarthy, Attorney, Inspired Law Group, 136 E 9th St, Lockport, IL 60441.