BELLEVILLE – Lawyer David Cates of Swansea agreed to plead guilty of driving under the influence in exchange for regaining his license, prosecutor John Barnard of Quincy said on Dec. 22.
Cates, age 39, had previously beaten two charges of driving under the influence by pleading guilty to lesser charges.
Barnard, who took the case by special appointment, found state trooper Nicholas Weibacher didn’t test Cates’s breath or apply for a warrant to test his blood.
“Given that he didn’t blow and there was no search warrant, those are always iffy to prove,” Barnard said.
He said his policy in his former position of Adams County state’s attorney would have required an application for a warrant.
“In my experience, someone with previous encounters would have triggered that,” he said.
Weibacher arrested Cates on Interstate 64 around noon on Nov. 4, a day after his mother Judy Cates lost a race for Illinois Supreme Court.
“Driver was all over the roadway, running off the roadway,” Weibacher wrote.
He wrote that Cates admitted to drinking, his eyes were bloodshot and glassy, and his breath had the aroma of an alcoholic beverage on it.
The arrest led to automatic suspension of his license.
Cates retained Brian Roberts of Carbondale, who moved to rescind the suspension and achieved that result through plea negotiation.
Barnard said St. Clair County Associate Judge Jeff Watson signed the rescission order.
Barnard said Cates would plead guilty on March 16, but said he didn’t know which judge would preside.
State law would have allowed Weibacher to apply for a warrant regardless of previous arrests.
State police administrative code lays out testing procedures but doesn’t provide guidance for deciding whether to apply for a warrant.
Lake and McHenry counties require an officer to apply for a warrant whenever a driver refuses to blow.
Barnard served as Adams County state’s attorney from 2005 to 2017.
He acts as special prosecutor for Illinois State’s Attorney’s Appellate Prosecutor, as contractor rather than employee.