Charged with possession of marijuana, possession of a marijuana pipe, unlawful possession of alcohol by a minor-DISMISSED B.W. was charged with unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of cannabis and unlawful possession of alcohol by a minor. The car he was driving was pulled over because neither B.W. or his passenger were wearing seatbelts. The arresting officer smelled cannabis and ordered both out of the car. The officer then searched the car and found drug paraphernalia in the center console, cannabis in a backpack in the backseat and alcohol in a plastic container behind the back seat. Harter & Schottland challenged the State's ability to prove that B.W. possessed any of the contraband, arguing it could have belonged to the passenger. On the day of trial Harter & Schottland convinced the prosecutor the search was illegal and had all the criminal charges dismissed. Our client plead guilty to the seatbelt ticket.

Arrested for heroin possession-DISMISSED L.S. was a passenger in a car that was pulled over for a simple equipment violation. The arresting officer believed the driver was acting suspiciously and ordered her out of the car. The officer requested permission to search the car and the driver consented to the search. L.S. was asked to get out of her car. However, she left her purse sitting on the seat. The officer searched the car, including the purse, where he found 23 heroin capsules. Harter & Schottland conducted a preliminary hearing in anticipation of a challenge to the search. A court reporter recorded the hearing. Harter & Schottland later filed a motion to suppress, asking the court to throw out the evidence as a result of an unlawful search. On the day of hearing, armed with the transcript of the hearing and the results of legal research, Harter & Schottland was successful in having the case dismissed completely.

Charged with DUI- drugs found in urine- suspension and DUI both DISMISSED The police found our client at an accident scene after he lost control of his car. The police investigation included field sobriety testing. After failing the field sobriety tests our client admitted that he had been using drugs before the accident. He was arrested and later gave both blood and urine samples. Laboratory testing of the bodily fluids revealed that drugs were in our client’s urine. Consequently he was charged with DUI for having drugs in his system. Our client was worried about having a DUI on his record. However, after extensive pretrial negotiations Harter & Schottland was successful in having the suspension thrown out and the DUI dismissed. Our client walked away with supervision on a traffic ticket for reckless driving.

Charged with DUI- failed field tests- NOT GUILTY at trial Our client was pulled over for speeding. When talking to our client the police officer noted a strong odor of alcohol on our client’s breath, red and bloodshot, glassy eyes, and slurred speech. The officer had our client get out of his car to perform field sobriety tests. At trial the officer testified that our client failed the field sobriety tests. However, through vigorous cross examination Harter & Schottland demonstrated that the client did not, in fact, fail the field tests. Our attorney revealed that the officer instructed and scored the field sobriety tests improperly and that our client could not be faulted for the failure. Harter & Schottland also attacked the reliability of the remaining evidence and obtained a verdict of NOT GUILTY.

Charged with DUI- blood alcohol content nearly three times the legal limit- 2^nd DUI AND SUSPENSION DISMISSED Our client was pulled over for disobeying a traffic control device and speeding. Once stopped the officer noticed an odor of alcohol and our client became argumentative. The officer had our client get out of his car to perform field sobriety tests, which he failed. He was arrested and taken to the police station were he took a breathalyzer test revealing a blood-alcohol content nearly three times the legal limit. Our client was facing a three year automatic suspension and revocation of his license if found guilty of DUI. Harter & Schottland challenged the basis for pulling our client’s car over and convinced the judge that our client was pulled over illegally. Consequently, the DUI charge, his second, as well as the suspension were both DISMISSED.

Arrested for DUI, possession of marijuana, possession of a marijuana pipe, underage consumption of alcohol, underage possession of alcohol, driving while license suspended, no insurance- NOT GUILTY ALL CHARGES. The police found our 20 year old client passed out in his car while it was running. The car was parked diagonally to a parking space. The windshield wipers were running and the headlights were left on. Our client registered a .170 blood alcohol content on the breathalyzer machine (more than twice the legal limit). During his arrest the police found marijuana, a marijuana pipe and alcohol in his car. Harter & Schottland excluded certain evidence at trial and cast doubt on critical testimony. The jury found our client not guilty of every single charge.

Arrested for Theft. Witness present at trial- DISMISSED. Our Client was charged with theft. He was still in possession of the allegedly stolen property and a witness was willing to testify against him. Harter & Schottland successfully convinced the prosecutor to voluntarily dismiss all charges.

Charged with DUI. Blood alcohol content .156- DISMISSED Our client was charged with DUI and Improper Lane Usage. A breath test revealed a B.A.C. of .156, almost twice the legal limit. Harter & Schottland filed a Motion to Suppress Evidence based on the police officer's violation of our client's 4^th Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches. The judge agreed that our client's car was stopped without cause and as a result, all charges were dismissed and the driver's license suspension was removed.

Caught smoking marijuana in car and charged with DUI (drugs) and possession of marijuana- NOT GUILTY R.T. was pulled over for expired license plates. Upon approaching the car the police officer noticed a thick cloud of smoke that smelled like marijuana. Our client admitted he smoking the marijuana in the car immediately before being pulled over and the officer found it in the car. Harter & Schottland obtained a video of the arrest and fought the case at trial. The officer testified that our client was driving under the influence of marijuana because our client admitted smoking it and failed field sobriety testing. Using the video, Harter & Schottland convinced the judge that the officer used the field sobriety testing incorrectly and R.T. actually passed all testing despite the admission to smoking marijuana in the car. After a trial our client was found not guilty of DUI and Possession of Marijuana.

Client caught on video taking merchandise out of a store without paying and charged with Retail Theft- NOT GUILTY Our client was shopping and took an item out of a department store without paying for it. The entire event was caught of video. Our client had bought other items and went through two separate checkout lines before leaving the store. He insisted that he forgot to pay for one item. Harter & Schottland refused to plead guilty because our client insisted he should not be punished for making a mistake. Harter & Schottland went to trial. Putting on a carefully crafted case, Harter & Schottland made the judge understand our client's side of the story, as well as how and why he made the mistake. Our client was found not guilty of Retail Theft.

Arrested for Driving While License Revoked for DUI- Evidence Suppressed- CASE DISMISSED While driving around looking for his runaway dog, our client stopped his car and asked some neighborhood kids if they had seen the dog. A neighbor saw this, and thinking it was suspicious, called the police. The police were dispatched to the neighborhood where they found our client driving his car. The police pulled our client over and discovered his driving privileges were revoked for DUI- not only a jailable offense, but one that can be charged as a felony. Harter & Schottland filed a Motion to Suppress Evidence, arguing to the court that our client was stopped illegally and in violation of his Constitutional rights. Harter & Schottland won the motion hearing and all the evidence was suppressed, including our client's identity and the fact that his driving privileges were revoked. Without any evidence left, the prosecutor was forced to dismiss the case.

People of the State of Illinois vs. R.G- NOT GUILTY When our client came to us he was already on probation for a felony charge of theft. While on probation he was arrested for Aggravated Battery with a Deadly Weapon. Harter & Schottland's first victory in this case was getting the new battery charge dismissed. However, R.G. still faced a probation violation for committing the Aggravated Battery and his failure to complete community service hours.. A hearing was held on the petition to revoke. At the hearing our attorney cross examined the State's witness and challenged whether the new office of Aggravated Battery even occured. Ultimately, the court held that it was doubtful whether the new offense actually happened- Harter & Schottland's second victory in the case. Since R.G. did not actually complete his public service hours as ordered, the court revoked his probation. However, Harter & Schottland put on a carefully crafted sentencing hearing outlinging all the ways that our client was deserving of a second chance. Our final victory in the case was convincing the judge to resentence our client to another term of probation (even though he already violated his first sentence of probation) and keeping R.G. out of prison.not guilty .

People of the State of Illinois vs. D.P- NOT GUILTY D.P was sitting in his car waiting for a friend. Somebody in the area called the police reporting a similar car in the area driving recklessly. Police responded to the area and found our client sitting in his car. The arresting officer testified that she questioned D.P. because his car matched the description of the dispatch of reckless driving and because there had been multiple burglaries in the area recently. During the police questioning of our client she found drugs and arrested him. Harter & Schottland filed a motion challening the seizure of our client. Our attorney won the hearing and the drugs were suppressed from evidence. The prosecutor was left with no admissible evidence and was forced to dismiss the case. Another Harter & Schottland win.not guilty.

People of the State of Illinois vs. N.P.- NOT GUILTY Our client was drinking on a beach with some friends. Police arrived and ordered everyone down from a rock cliff where they were sitting. Everyone complied and climbed to where the police stood. One of the police officers climbed up to where everyone was sitting and found a backpack. The policeman opened the backpack and found drugs inside. The police then asked everyone who owned the backpack. Everyone denied ownership so the police arrested everyone. Back at the police station our client admitted that the backpack was his. Harter & Schottland filed a motion suppress challenging both N.P.'s arrest and the search of the backpack. The court granted our motion and held that our client was arrested without probable cause and that his admission as to ownership of the backpack could not be used against him at trial. Further, Harter & Schottland also convinced the court that the backpack was searched unlawfully even though our client denied ownership. Therefore, the drugs were also suppressed from evidence at trial. The result of the hearing left the prosecution without any useful, admissible evidence and Harter & Schottland got the case dismissed. not guilty .

Arrested for DUI, possession of marijuana, possession of a marijuana pipe, underage consumption of alcohol, underage possession of alcohol, driving while license suspended, no insurance- NOT GUILTY ALL CHARGES.

The police found our 20 year old client passed out in his car while it was running. The car was parked diagonally to a parking space. The windshield wipers were running and the headlights were left on. Our client registered a .170 blood alcohol content on the breathalyzer machine (more than twice the legal limit). During his arrest the police found marijuana, a marijuana pipe and alcohol in his car. Harter & Schottland excluded certain evidence at trial and cast doubt on critical testimony. The jury found our client not guilty of every single charge.