Brian L. Polinske - Edwardsville, IL
Attorney at Polinske & Associates
Criminal Defense Lawyers in Edwardsville, IL
701 North Main Street Edwardsville, IL 62025
- Free Consultation
Edwardsville Criminal Defense Lawyer
Updated: 03/02/2026
Areas of Practice
- Criminal Defense 90%
- Serious Personal Injury 5%
- Civil Rights 5%
Litigation: 90%
Attorney Information
Overview
Brian Polinske has been practicing law in Illinois since 1992. Mr. Polinske concentrates his practice on criminal defense, DUI matters, civil rights cases, and personal injury law. He was a prosecutor with the Madison County State's Attorney's Office early in his career, where he ran the DUI division, then the felony drug division. He was assigned civil forfeiture cases and conducted many jury trials. He has continued successfully conducting over 145 jury trials in a variety of venues.
He formed his own office in 1993 concentrating in criminal defense. He has won many types of jury trial in both state and federal courts. He has won jury trials in Madison, St. Clair, Monroe, Clinton, Macoupin, Marion and Jersey Counties. Cases from Murder, Methamphetamine Manufacturing, Domestic Battery, Aggravated Battery, DUI, and many other clients have successfully obtained acquittals after he tried their cases. He specializes in drug trafficking cases and can boast that very few clients have ever served any jail time for any form of cannabis trafficking that he has represented.
Much of his practice is concentrated in:
Aggravated Unlawful Use of Weapons;
Methamphetamine Charges;
Trafficking Charges;
Sex/Child P Charges;
Cannabis Charges;
DUI Charges (both misdemeanor and felony);
He has been extremely successful in both fields. Oftentimes he is able to secure greatly reduced cash bond for the clients. He then carefully scrutinizes the State's discovery. Many times the State will not fully comply with the discovery. He pushes them to produce all materials by using Motions for Sanctions. Motions to suppress are then filed and many times won. Hot topics in this field are compelling production of all relevant canine "packets," federal EPIC communications, and NPLEX records. Other hot topics are data extraction via Cellebrite software from portable devices. Discovery violations by the State routinely result in suppressed evidence that translates into winning the case.
Let my 33 years of trial experience work for you.
Education
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Legal Education
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Saint Louis University School of Law,
St. Louis,
Missouri
J.D.
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Saint Louis University School of Law,
St. Louis,
Missouri
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Non Legal Education
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Carroll College,
Waukesha,
Wisconsin
B.S.
Major: Psychology
Major: Criminal Justice
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Carroll College,
Waukesha,
Wisconsin
Current Employment Position(s)
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Attorney
Past Positions
- Madison County State's Attorney, 711 Law Student/Assistant State's Attorney, 1990 - 1993
Representative Clients
Alan Castleberry - Murder - Macoupin County - Jury Verdict NOT GUILTY
Arvin Freeman - Murder - Madison County - Bench Verdict - NOT GUILTY
Charles Payne - Aggravated Battery - Madison County - Jury Verdict NOT GUILTY
Kaden Phillips - Murder - Fayette County - Negotiated Reduced Charge - Agg. Discharge of Firearm/Murder Dismissed
D. Crane - Child P - Macoupin County - Open Plea 15 years - AG had offered 30 years
Zachary D. - Sex Abuse of Minors - Madison County - Probation - State had offered 12 years
David H - DUI - Madison County - DUI dismissed
Cesar Augusto BT - Bond County - Methamphetamine Trafficking - State has offered probation when he would receive a minimum 30-120 years in prison
G Khan - Madison County - DUI - DUI Dismissed
Representative Cases
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People v. Alan Castleberry
- Citation: 20CF169 - Macoupin County
- Court: Macoupin County
- Year: 2020
- Serial Number: 2020CF169
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First Degree Murder
- Citation: 2020 CF 169
- Court: Macoupin County
- Year: 2020
- Serial Number: 2020 CF 169
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People v. Arvin Freeman First Degree Murder
- Citation: 2021 CF 437
- Court: Madison County
- Year: 2021
- Serial Number: 2021 CF 437
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People v. Kaden Phillips First Degree Murder
- Citation: 2024 CF 27
- Court: Fayette County
- Year: 2024
- Serial Number: 24 CF 27
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People v. Charles Payne - Aggravated Battery
- Citation: 2024 CF 1103
- Court: Madison County
- Year: 2024
- Serial Number: 24 CF 1103
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People v. Marcus Walter - Agg. Criminal Sex Assault (x6)
- Citation: 2024 CF 198
- Court: Clinton County
- Year: 2024
- Serial Number: 24 CF 198
Bar Admissions
- Illinois, 1992
- U.S. District Court Southern District of Illinois, 1992
- U.S. District Court Central District of Illinois
- U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas, pro hac vice
Other Affiliations
- ISBA, 1992 - Present (Member)
- ABA
- National DUI Defense Association
- Madison County Bar Association
- National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Reviews
Customer Reviews for Brian L. Polinske
Highlights
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5.0 Value
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5.0 Quality of Service
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5.0 Professional Competence
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Verified ClientHired Attorney 2024-2025Brian and his wife has done an excellent job for us. He’s a no nonsense lawyer and we appreciate that. I highly recommend him and his law firm.
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Verified ClientHired Attorney 2024Brian is an amazing attorney. He knew exactly what to do to get my misdemeanor charge dismissed. He personally called me to let me know the outcome because he knew how worried I had been. He is easy to talk to and goes the extra mile for his clients. I hope to never need his services again, but if I do, there is no doubt he will be my first call.
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Hired Attorney 2022-2026Thank God for Brian and his team. Not only did he never give up on me since the very beginning of this nightmare, but he treated me like a human being. He was extremely patient as he fought tooth and nail for me throughout this long bitter process. I believe I got the best possible outcome considering the circumstances and I am so thankful to be represented by Brian and his wonderful team 🙏 They are simply the best and were very easy to work with. They will explain to you every possible scenario and can predict almost any outcome in your case!
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Hired Attorney 2024-2025Mr. Polinske is one of the best defense attorneys in this area. He represented me recently in a couple of matters and was able to get the charges dismissed. At all times, he and his office staff were attentive and responsive to any questions I had. I highly recommend him.
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