Reckless Driving Defense Lawyer | Lake County IL Traffic Attorney

Do you need an attorney to defend you against a reckless driving charge in Lake County, Illinois traffic court? I have over twenty years of experience with Lake County reckless driving cases. I'm ready to get to work in your defense.

I'm a former Lake County Assistant State's Attorney and former Lake County traffic court prosecutor. I offer a free consultation on every case.

I defend drivers against reckless driving charges at all the Lake County courts. Those courthouses include the main Lake County criminal courthouse in Waukegan, as well as the traffic branch courts in Mundelein, Park City and Round Lake Beach.

You can contact me today to talk about your case.


A ticket for reckless driving alleges a serious offense. In Illinois, reckless driving is a class A misdemeanor charge. A class A misdemeanor is punishable by up to 364 days in jail and up to a $2500 fine.

To put this in perspective, many Illinois traffic tickets are charged as petty offenses. Illinois petty offense traffic tickets do not carry potential jail sentences. Illinois misdemeanor tickets do.

Illinois has three levels of misdemeanor traffic tickets: class C, class B and class A. Class A misdemeanor traffic tickets carry the greatest possible penalty of all three classes of misdemeanors.

If you're charged with reckless driving in Lake County, your case requires a court appearance.

A reckless driving ticket, being a class A misdemeanor allegation, does not permit you to resolve the matter with a request for court supervision and traffic school by mail.

What are Lake County reckless driving cases often about? The Illinois reckless driving statute, found in the Illinois Vehicle Code, sheds light on this question.

Under Illinois law, "A person commits reckless driving if he or she drives any vehicle with a willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property." See, 625 ILCS 5/11-503(a)(1).

Countless Illinois drivers are charged with speeding, including misdemeanor-level speeding, yet at the same time are not charged with reckless driving.

This is because exceeding the applicable speed limit all by itself may be insufficient to show reckless driving occurred without some additional evidence demonstrating a willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property.

In my more than two decades of courtroom experience, Lake County reckless driving cases very often, if not the overwhelming majority of the time, are, indeed, based in part on alleged excessive speeds-- but also are based on some other alleged act of "bad driving."

For instance, a police officer might charge reckless driving where he or she claims to have observed speeding and improper lane changes, speeding and striking or nearly striking a person or another vehicle, or speeding and the commission of other moving violations.

Lake County Illinois reckless driving ticket defense attorney

For this reason, when the police issue a reckless driving ticket, frequently it is charged in conjunction with other traffic citations, such as speeding, improper lane use, failure to signal a change of lanes, fleeing or eluding a police officer, disobeying a traffic control device, running a red light, not stopping at a stop sign, driving the wrong way or failing to yield the right-of-way.

It is, alternatively, entirely possible to be charged with reckless driving where an act of speeding is not alleged.

It is recalled that reckless driving may be charged for allegedly driving in a manner that willfully or wantonly disregards the safety of persons or property-- that is a highly general statement. Within that statement, however, there is no formal requirement of any showing that the applicable speed limit was violated.

As a lawyer who's been handling Lake County reckless driving cases since 1999, I understand and have worked with these issues many times.

I'm always ready to analyze the facts of a reckless driving case, review a driving record, and to seek favorable outcomes for my clients in reckless driving cases.

If you're dealing with a Lake County reckless driving ticket at any of the courthouses located in Waukegan, Mundelein, Park City or Round Lake Beach, I'm ready to talk with you about your situation.

It should be noted that there is another, even more serious type of reckless driving charge in Illinois law. This more serious version of reckless driving is called "aggravated reckless driving."

Aggravated reckless driving is a felony-level offense. Lake County felony reckless driving charges are assigned to the main criminal courthouse in Waukegan and are not resolved in the traffic branch courts of Park City, Mundelein or Round Lake Beach.

Aggravated reckless driving may be charged when reckless driving is alleged in addition to other specific, statutorily-enumerated factors.

These other factors include causing bodily harm, great bodily harm or permanent disability or disfigurement to a child or school crossing guard performing official duties, or causing great bodily harm or permanent disability or disfigurement to anyone. See, 625 ILCS 5/11-503(b-1), (c) and (d).

There are situations where a reckless driving ticket could lead to a suspension or revocation of your Illinois driver's license.

Drivers under the age of 21 who are convicted of only two moving violations that occurred in a single two-year period are subject to license suspensions by the Office of the Illinois Secretary of State. See, 625 ILCS 5/6-206(a)(36).

Drivers age 21 and over who are convicted of three moving violations that occurred in a single one-year period are subject to license suspensions on those grounds. See, 625 ILCS 5/6-206(a)(2). Some people call this Illinois' "three strikes law."

An Illinois driver will suffer the outright revocation of her or his driver's license based on a third conviction for reckless driving committed within 12 months. See, 625 ILCS 5/6-205(a)(6).

Another portion of the Illinois reckless driving law addresses and outlaws a very specific type of driving.

This section of the Illinois reckless driving statute deems it reckless driving if a person "knowingly drives a vehicle and uses an incline in a roadway, such as a railroad crossing, bridge approach, or hill, to cause the vehicle to become airborne." See, 625 ILCS 5/11-503(a)(2).

So, that Illinois driver who is proven beyond a reasonable doubt to have knowingly employed a ramp in the roadway to have launched his or her vehicle airborne in direct defiance of the earthly bonds of gravity is guilty of reckless driving, it appears, per se.

If you are charged with this form of reckless driving infraction in Lake County, and are seeking an experienced traffic court attorney to be your legal advocate, you may call me and we can talk about a smart and grounded defense.

If you are charged with reckless driving, you have the right to a trial. At trial, the burden of proof is on the prosecution.

The prosecution is required to prove the allegation beyond a reasonable doubt. Any lesser form of proof in a reckless driving trial should lead to a not-guilty verdict and an acquittal of the charge.

Another way of resolving a reckless driving ticket is through negotiation. You may be eligible for court supervision, a disposition that does not result in a conviction for the offense. Other types of negotiations may lead to a dismissal or amendment of the charge to something else.

Lake County Reckless Driving Ticket FACTS


lake county misdemeanor reckless driving violation lawyer

Class A Misdemeanor

Illinois reckless driving is a class A misdemeanor offense, punishable by up to a $2500 fine and 364 days in jail.

License Suspension Possible

Depending on your driving record, a reckless driving conviction could cause a suspension of your Illinois driver's license.

Supervision May Be Allowed

You may be eligible for court supervision, which is one way of avoiding a conviction for a reckless driving charge.

Court Appearance Required

Your Lake County reckless driving ticket requires a court appearance and may not be resolved by mail.

Supervision Possible

Depending on your driving record and the facts of your case, you may be eligible for court supervision on your reckless driving ticket.

Reduced Charge

In certain circumstances, it may be possible to convince the prosecution to lower a misdemeanor to a petty offense.


When I defend you in a reckless driving case, I am dedicated to seeking the best possible outcome of your charges and to keeping your driving record as clean as possible.

~Attorney Matt Hoffman, the HoffmanLaw Office



Driving any Vehicle

With a Willful or Wanton Disregard

For the Safety of Persons or Property


attorney analysis of lake county reckless driving ticket charges

Analysis.

The HoffmanLaw Office always is focused on the presumption of innocence. Building on this presumption, the HoffmanLaw Office performs a systematic and searching ANALYSIS of the facts alleged in your Lake County reckless driving case. This intensive analysis exposes weakness in the prosecution's evidence and develops powerful defense arguments and strategies.

attorney preparation of lake county illinois reckless driving tickets

Preparation.

The HoffmanLaw Office strives to know completely the facts and law of your case. In traffic court, good results do not often emerge by chance. They come through intense PREPARATION that lays the groundwork for success. When you select the HoffmanLaw Office as your legal advocate, you team yourself with a philosophy of extreme preparation.

attorney producing effective results lake county traffic court on reckless driving ticket cases

Results.

The HoffmanLaw Office views every time it appears in court with you as an opportunity to achieve RESULTS. Whether it is negotiating during a pretrial conference, cross-examining a witness, or delivering a closing argument at trial, the HoffmanLaw Office strives to be your best advocate at all times.

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Facing a Lake County Illinois Reckless Driving Ticket?



HoffmanLaw Office 25980 North Diamond Lake Road Suite 112 Mundelein Illinois 60060

Experienced Traffic Ticket Defense Attorney Defending Reckless Driving Charges from all Lake County Illinois Police Departments

Antioch, Bannockburn, Barrington, Barrington Hills, Beach Park, Buffalo Grove, Deer Park, Deerfield, Fox Lake, Fox River Grove, Grayslake, Green Oaks, Gurnee, Hainesville, Hawthorn Woods, Highland Park, Highwood, IL State Police Dist. 2, IL State Police Dist. 15, Island Lake, Kildeer, Lake Barrington, Lake Bluff, Lake County Sheriff, Lake Forest, Lakemoor, Lake Villa, Lake Zurich, Libertyville, Lincolnshire, Lindenhurst, Long Grove, Mettawa, Mundelein, North Barrington, North Chicago, Old Mill Creek, Park City, Port Barrington, Riverwoods, Round Lake, Round Lake Beach, Round Lake Heights, Round Lake Park, Third Lake, Tower Lakes, Vernon Hills, Volo, Wadsworth, Wauconda, Waukegan, Wheeling, Winthrop Harbor, and Zion.

Here to Defend You Every Step of the Way


HoffmanLaw Office 25980 North Diamond Lake Road Suite 112 Mundelein Illinois 60060

Office Location

25980 North Diamond Lake Road Suite 112

Mundelein Illinois 60060


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