DUI ticket, but 0.00% BAC

Gus Philpott
Woodstock Advocate
June 30, 2013

You say it can't happen? Really?

Recently I wrote about Woodstock's vehicle impoundment law and the opportunity for police to ticket a driver and impound his car. If the ticket is dismissed, the driver is still out the $500 for his impoundment fine, the tow charge and the storage fees.

Why? Because of the legal advice from the City's law firm, Zukowski Rogers Flood & McArdle, of Crystal Lake. ZRFM either wrote or approved the ordinance that became Woodstock's law.

There is a way, one way, for you to get your $500 back. You have to go to trial AND be found Not Guilty. If a judge dismissed your ticket or the State's Attorney abandons prosecution, you are still out your $500. Is this fair?

Here's the story of Jessie Thornton, 64, a retired firefighter, who was ticketed by the Surprise (Arizona) PD for DUI. Now get this: his BAC was 0.00% and a drug recognition expert cleared his as sober, but Surprise's "Finest" ticketed him, anyway.

The DUI charges have since been dropped, and Thornton is suing the Surprise PD in Federal court. Go get 'em...

Could this happen here? You betcha.

The City of Woodstock needs to re-visit its ordinance immediately and remove the unfair requirement of a trial and Not Guilty finding for a driver to recover his $500 impoundment fee.

Agree? Call City Manager Roscoe Stelford and Mayor Brian Sager tomorrow. City Hall: 815.338.4300.