Former Coaching Legend’s Son Attends Hearing for Drunk Driving Arrest

The 49-year-old son of former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka was arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol in September of last year and recently faced a Lake County judge on the charges. Mark Ditka had been stopped around 3:30 in the morning while driving his luxury sedan. The officer had originally pulled him over because the vehicle did not have a front license plate. On speaking to Ditka, the officer claimed that his speech was slurred and he smelled of alcohol. The arresting officer had administered field sobriety tests (which Ditka allegedly failed) and a breathalyzer test which showed a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.16--twice the legal limit of 0.08. According to arrest records, this is Ditka's third arrest on charges of drunk driving. He was found not guilty of the charges in one instance and the charges were reduced to reckless driving in another. Get the help of a Lake County DUI attorney if you or someone you care about has been arrested for drunk driving or DUI of drugs.

Lake County Judge Throws Out Breathalyzer Test Results

The judge on Ditka's case threw out the breath test results after evidence and testimony by experts explained how the results could have been false. Ditka had told the arresting officer that he had not had any alcohol that evening or earlier in the day but he had been using a chewing tobacco with citrus flavoring just before the breath test had been administered. Officers conducting a breathalyzer test are required by law to wait 20 minutes before administering the test to ensure that anything the subject may have ingested or had in their mouth won't affect the machine. Breath mints, mouthwash and chewing tobacco can create a false positive result if the 20-minute waiting period is not adhered to.

Lake County DUI Lawyer

If you have been arrested or charged for any DUI in Lake County then you should make sure you have a DUI defense lawyer on your side right away. Our team at The Toney Law Firm has many years of experience and will stop at nothing to get the best results possible for our client. Don't face serious DUI charges on your own! Contact our office or visit our website at www.illinois-dui-lawyers.com/ to get answers to your questions.