Legal Research

In High Tech Age Illinois Officials Urge Halt To Seizing Drivers Licenses

By David Badertscher, PLL

Source: Crime and Justice News, March 7, 2008.

"Illinois is one of the few states where officers can -- and often do -- take a driver's license during routine traffic stops, says the Chicago Tribune. A group of state officials is trying to change that. In an era when a government-issued photo ID is often needed to board an airplane or make a credit-card purchase, the practice is antiquated, they said. 'Your driver's license is probably your only government-issued form of ID,' said DuPage County Circuit Clerk Chris Kachiroubas. 'To lose it for a bad left turn, I've always thought that was a bad idea.' " 

"Kachiroubas' county is rolling out a new electronic ticketing program to reduce paper and save money, but the system also could allow drivers to pay for tickets or bail with a credit card during a traffic stop. State law requires that drivers ticketed for a moving violation post bail. They do that by paying $75 at the police station, surrendering a bond card (usually available from insurance companies) or giving up their driver's license. Police officers also can just ask for a signature, but such leniency is rare. Because few people have bond cards or the time to travel to a police station, they usually give up their licenses. Protocols in other states vary widely. In Michigan, officers take licenses of out-of-state drivers only. In Mississippi, police can take driver's licenses of in- state residents but rarely do. Like many states, Texas and Oregon take licenses only during drunken-driving arrests. Few take it as a common first option, like Illinois. 'The process is outdated,' said Logan County Circuit Clerk Carla Bender. 'The law and the Supreme Court rule need to catch up to technology.' " 

Chicago Tribune

Full post as published by New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library on March 07, 2008 (boomark / email).