The DRE protocol is increasingly used by police anytime they arrest someone for a DUI in Illinois, but that person tests under the legal limit for per se alcohol intoxication, which is .08 BAC for persons over the age of 21. The way the DRE protocol has been set up, you must be under arrest before the DRE officer can perform the DRE examination on you. Illinois DUI attorney Brian Roberts wants you to know that you have the right to refuse to allow the officer to perform the DRE examination on you without facing any additional penalties.
The DRE protocol requires that the arresting officer administer the breathalyzer on you before he calls the DRE officer in to examine you. If you test .08 or higher BAC during that breath test, the DRE officer will not be called because the police and prosecutors can rely on the breath test results to obtain a conviction for DUI in Illinois.
If you test under .08 BAC, however, the police and prosecutors must often rely on much more evidence of impairment than a simple driving error and failed field sobriety tests. That is why the DRE protocol was established. It is designed to give the officers more evidence that may be used against you in a DUI prosecution.
Once you have been arrested for DUI in Illinois, you cannot be unarrested. The State may elect not to prosecute you, but they can no undo your arrest. In fact, if you do not have a wrongful arrest expunged, you may not be able to at a later date. Since the State has an extremely difficult time winning a conviction on someone who tests under .08 BAC they ask you to voluntarily submit to the DRE examination in hopes of gaining more evidence to convict you.
Illinois DUI law does not penalize you for refusing to submit to the DRE examination, nor does it reward you for “passing” the examination without showing signs of impairment. That is to say, you will not automatically be released and your record automatically expunged if the officer fails to gather enough evidence to establish probable cause you were under the influence of a substance. The only thing Illinois DUI law permits is for your punishment if you submit to the DRE examination and enough evidence is gathered against you to convict you of a DUI in Illinois. It makes no sense to submit to this examination.
If you get stopped and arrested for a DUI in Illinois and the officer asks you to submit to any physical examinations of your body you should immediately ask to call Illinois DUI attorney Brian Roberts, and not answer any questions or submit to any inspections or examinations of your body until you have spoken with Mr. Roberts. A DUI in Illinois conviction will have lifelong consequences for you. Call right now for a confidential case evaluation.