This latest story comes as no surprise to our Chicago DUI Lawyers.  Another fine example of how, if challenged, most of the evidence used to convict someone of driving under the influence is actually bunk.

Test indicating judge was drunk barred from trial

BY DAN ROZEK Staff Reporter

A hospital blood test that purportedly showed former Lake County Chief Judge David Hall was intoxicated when he was arrested for drunken driving by Vernon Hills police won’t be allowed at his trial.

Judge F. Keith Brown on Tuesday tossed out the blood sample, ruling proper medical protocols weren’t followed in taking the sample after Hall was brought to a Libertyville hospital after his arrest April 28, 2008.

The blood test showed Hall had a blood-alcohol level of .10 percent –higher than the .08 legal limit.

But Brown, a Kane County judge brought in to Lake County to preside over the case, barred the test result from being admitted as evidence when Hall stands trial next week on DUI and resisting arrest charges.

Brown ruled the blood sample should have been tested at the hospital where the blood was drawn, rather than at the Illinois State Police crime laboratory, where it was analyzed about 2½ weeks after Hall’s arrest. The decision creates another obstacle for prosecutors. Arresting officer Jesse Goldsmith died of a heart attack a few weeks after the arrest.