Being charged with a crime is disorienting in a way that is hard to explain to anyone who has not been through it. You are handed paperwork you cannot read properly and a date that feels too soon.
What you do in the first week usually matters more than what happens at the courthouse months later.
All three of our attorneys are former Illinois prosecutors. We spent years deciding which cases to charge and how hard to push them. If you are facing a DUI, that is the single most common case we handle.
In Illinois, a misdemeanor carries up to 364 days in county jail. A felony carries a year or more in state prison and cannot be resolved with supervision in most cases. Which one you face is set by the charge on your paperwork, not by how serious the situation feels. That classification is the first thing an attorney should check, because it decides everything that follows.
Can Criminal Charges Be Dropped After an Arrest?
What We Defend
Every one of these has its own page with the detail that matters for that charge.
DUI defense. First offenses, repeat charges, aggravated DUI, and the license suspension that runs alongside the case.
First DUI. Court supervision, the 46-day suspension clock, and how to keep driving.
Cases are rarely won with a single dramatic moment. They are won by finding the point where the State’s version stops holding together.
The stop or the search. If police had no lawful basis, the evidence that followed can be challenged.
What you said. Statements taken without proper warnings, or after you asked for a lawyer, may be suppressed.
The witness. Accounts change. We compare the first report against everything said afterward.
The body camera. It often shows something different from the written report. We watch all of it.
The forensics. Testing, chain of custody, and lab procedure are all documented and all reviewable.
The charge itself. Sometimes the facts do not support the class of offense charged.
What to Do After an Arrest in Cook County
These five steps protect the arguments your attorney will need later.
Stop talking about the caseYou can decline to answer questions without a lawyer present. Declining is not an admission and cannot be used against you.
Write down everything while it is freshTimes, locations, what officers said, who was present, and what you were told. Memory fades faster than you expect.
Do not post about itSocial media posts and messages are routinely pulled into prosecutions. Assume anything you write becomes evidence.
Keep every documentBond paperwork, the citation, any notice of suspension, and anything with a date on it. Deadlines hide in that paperwork.
Call an attorney before your first court dateSuppression arguments and license petitions run on the court's schedule. Starting early is what preserves them.
Case Results
These came from our own files. Names and identifying details have been left out.
Not Guilty After Bench Trial
Not Guilty
Alexander KtenasAttorney at Law
Charge
Third DUI
What Was at Stake
Jail and a multi-year revocation
Turning Point
No witness could place the keys in the ignition
Our client was found asleep in his car in a parking lot. A bystander had taken the keys and handed them to an officer before police made contact.
Reviewing the body camera and reports, we saw the State had nobody who could testify our client was in actual physical control. At trial the arresting officer confirmed he never saw the keys in the vehicle and did not know whether our client had driven.
The judge found him not guilty. He kept the license his job depended on.
License Suspension Rescinded
Suspension Rescinded
Lauren KtenasAttorney at Law
Charge
DUI
What Was at Stake
One year suspension
Turning Point
The stop was extended without reasonable suspicion
Body camera footage showed a 20 minute stop for a minor traffic violation. The officer had already handed over the citation and explained the court process, which signalled our client was free to go, before he started asking whether she had been drinking.
We filed a petition to rescind on reasonable suspicion grounds. The court granted it.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case depends on its own facts.
Why Clients Choose Us
We have sat in the prosecutor’s chair. We know how a file is assessed, what gets escalated, and where a case is genuinely vulnerable rather than just inconvenient.
You also deal with the attorneys directly. Your calls come to us, not to someone relaying messages.
And we are candid. If your case has a real problem, you will hear it from us early, while there is still time to do something about it.
Where We Appear
Your case is heard where the arrest happened, and practice varies between courthouses more than most people expect.
We also appear in DuPage, Will, and Lake counties. Our Cook County court districts guide sorts it by address.
Frequently Asked Questions
A misdemeanor still carries up to 364 days in jail and a record that follows you. Employers and landlords see it. The stakes are lower than a felony, not low.
They can. Charges are dropped when evidence is suppressed, when a witness will not hold up, or when the State concludes it cannot prove the case. That usually happens because someone found the problem and put it in front of the prosecutor.
A misdemeanor carries up to 364 days in county jail. A felony carries a year or more in state prison and is harder to clear from your record. The class on your charging paperwork determines which.
Not before someone has reviewed the evidence. A first offer is made before the defense has tested anything, and it is rarely the best available outcome.
Usually an arraignment, where the charge is read and a plea entered. It is short, but it sets the schedule for everything after it. Having a lawyer there means someone is already working on motions and deadlines.
Some records can be sealed or expunged, and some cannot. DUI convictions cannot. Eligibility depends on the offense and how the case ended, which is one more reason the disposition matters as much as the sentence.
Misdemeanors often resolve in a few months. Felonies commonly take longer, sometimes considerably. Cases that go to trial take longest, and that is sometimes the right call.
Talk to a lawyer now rather than waiting. The window before charges are filed is the one point where a case can sometimes be stopped before it starts.
Talk to Us Before Your Court Date
Evidence is easiest to obtain early. Body camera footage, dispatch logs, and records all become harder to secure as time passes, and some deadlines simply close.
Tell us what you are charged with and when you have to appear. We will explain what the State has to prove and where your case is arguable.
This page is general information about Illinois law and is not legal advice. Outcomes depend on the charge, your record, and the facts. Speak with an attorney about your situation.
Lauren is a dedicated criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor who brings years of courtroom experience and inside knowledge of the State's Attorney's Office to her defense practice. She combines her prosecutorial insight with a disciplined, client-focused defense approach, whether negotiating resolutions or taking cases to trial.
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Alexander Ktenas Attorney at Law
