Lawyer Gets 30 Days and Must Wear Alcohol-Detection Device After 5th DUI Arrest
An Illinois personal injury lawyer was sentenced to 30 days in jail and must wear an ankle device to detect whether he has been drinking after his conviction in a jury trial last year for aggravated drunken driving causing great bodily harm.
The suburban Chicago case resulted from Timothy Winfield’s fifth drunken-driving arrest in 20 years, although he was found guilty of driving under the influence in only one other case, in 1991, reports the Chicago Tribune.
Winfield, who is now 43, was acquitted in 1991 of another DUI charge and convicted on lesser charges of reckless driving after two other arrests in 1995 and 2004, the newspaper recounts.
The latest case resulted from an accident in November 2005: Winfield drove through a red light while legally drunk and struck a Dodge Caravan, propelling it 100 feet and severely injuring the young woman who was its driver. She suffered a broken pelvis, among other injuries, and testified at his trial but did not offer any information at his sentencing.
Winfield says he has not had a drink since Jan. 1, 2006, and DuPage County Circuit Judge John Kinsella said he believed him but warned the attorney that prison is his only remaining option if he doesn’t comply with sentencing terms, according to the Daily Herald.
In addition to a month in jail and the ankle bracelet, Winfield must also serve another four months in the county’s work-release program, 30 months of probation, perform 150 hours of community service and continue in counseling, the two newspapers report.
Winfield apologized to the victim and her family after trial, subsequently agreeing with prosecutors not to appeal his conviction in exchange for a promise to seek no more than three years in prison, the Tribune notes. He could have faced as much as 12 years.
Citing Winfield’s record of traffic cases, which also included speeding and improper lane usage convictions and multiple arrests for driving while his license was suspended, both the judge and a prosecutor expressed concern that he hadn’t received harsher punishment sooner, according to the Herald.
“His record reads like a road map to disaster,” said prosecutor Michael O’Donnell while arguing Monday for a three-year jail term for Winfield. “The system failed in this case. Mr. Winfield should not have been legally behind the wheel in 2005. A split second either way and we could be talking about something far more serious.”
A website for the Illinois Supreme Court’s Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission shows Winfield as actively in practice with no record of any discipline.
