Joliet Attorney Found Not Guilty Of DUI, Obstructing An Officer

LOCKPORT, IL — Prominent Joliet criminal defense attorney Chuck Bretz is not guilty of driving under the influence or obstructing a police officer, a judge ruled during a bench trial on Wednesday.

Bretz was pulled over by Lockport police for speeding on Feb. 14 in the 700 block of State Street and was later charged with DUI and obstructing a police officer. Will County Circuit Court Judge Dave Carlson found Bretz guilty of speeding but determined Bretz was not guilty of DUI because no field sobriety test was conducted and there was nothing unusual about his driving outside the speed at which he was driving, the Joliet Herald-News reported.

During Wednesday's bench trial, Carlson viewed video of Bretz's arrest and heard testimony from Lockport police officer James Truhlar as well as that of another officer. Prior to Wednesday's ruling, Carlson had found in favor of Bretz during an evidentiary hearing in which the judge determined Bretz could continue with his driving privileges after his license was suspended after he was charged with the DUI offense.

According to the Herald-News, video of the arrest showed Truhlar asking Bretz if he had anything to drink, to which Bretz responded that he had one glass of wine. In his testimony, Truhlar told the court that he witnessed that Bretz had watery, bloodshot eyes and that he smelled the odor of alcohol.

The original police report indicated that Bretz was stopped for traveling at 55 mph in a 35 mph zone. After being pulled over, Bretz was asked eight times to get out of his car, but he refused to do so until he was told he was under arrest, according to police.

Bretz twice refused to complete a test in which Truhlar asked the attorney to recite the alphabet from D to T and said that if the officer was going to give him a ticket for speeding he should do so. Bretz also repeatedly refused to exit his vehicle after being asked to do so by the officer.

"I know my rights, I'm not stepping out of the car," Bretz said in the video, according to the newspaper.

A pair of DuPage County assistant state attorneys told the court that Bretz refused to leave his car at least 14 times because he knew he was being investigated for driving under the influence of alcohol. In his ruling Wednesday, Carlson decided that Betz showed no signs of being impaired after being pulled over.

Bretz's attorney, Neil Patel, argued his client was not hindering the officers by refusing to leave his car as he was still willing to speak with officers while remaining inside his vehicle. Patel, along with Joel Murphy of Joel Murphy and Associates, also argued that Truhlar never ordered Bretz to step out of his car for the purpose of a field sobriety test and that his client had the right to refuse the tests that Truhlar requested during the traffic stop.

Carlson sided with Bretz.

“We are happy with the result and are grateful for our day in court that justice was served," Murphy said after the judge's decision.