Lake County judge in DUI case gets license back
Driving privileges were reinstated Monday for a Lake County judge awaiting trial on charges of resisting arrest and driving drunk.
Kane County Judge F. Keith Brown handed down the ruling after Judge David Hall testified that he never was asked to take sobriety tests during his April 26 arrest by Vernon Hills police.
Hall also said the arresting officer failed to explain, as required by law, that the judge's driver's license would be suspended if he refused sobriety tests.
"I did not refuse anything," Hall testified at a hearing in Geneva on whether his license suspension should be lifted.
Prosecutors accused Hall of "selective recollection" but were limited in what police records they could use as evidence because the arresting officer died of a heart attack in June and could not be cross-examined.
In one sworn report, Officer Jesse Goldsmith indicated that Hall refused sobriety tests, though police were able to test three vials of blood obtained from the hospital where Hall was treated after the arrest.
Goldsmith also obtained the judge's initials on a legal document saying Hall had been advised of the ramifications of refusing a sobriety test. Hall testified was "not feeling too well" when he signed the document at Goldsmith's request.
"I did whatever he told me to do," he said.
Hall admitted drinking a vodka tonic, part of a beer and about three glasses of wine over the course of several hours at a YMCA fundraiser and a private club the night of his arrest, but maintains he was not legally intoxicated.
He was stopped while traveling in a caravan of vehicles around 1:45 a.m. on Route 60, west of St. Mary's Road. Police said the judge had been driving erratically and was pepper sprayed when he wouldn't get out of his car.
On Monday, Assistant Illinois Attorney General William Elward said prosecutors believe Hall traveled in a caravan to decrease his chances of being pulled over.
"The theory is they planned to drive home together," he said.
Hall, 55, resigned as Lake County's chief judge in May, but remains on the bench. His next court date is Dec. 11.
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