People v. Adams

• Decision Date: 06 February 1992
• Docket Number: No. 4-91-0619,4-91-0619
• Citation: 167 Ill.Dec. 323,225 Ill.App.3d 815,587 N.E.2d 592
• Parties: , 167 Ill.Dec. 323 The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Timothy R. ADAMS, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: United States Appellate Court of Illinois

Page 592

587 N.E.2d 592

225 Ill.App.3d 815, 167 Ill.Dec. 323

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Timothy R. ADAMS, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 4-91-0619.

Appellate Court of Illinois,

Fourth District.

Feb. 6, 1992.

Thomas D. Denby, Denby, Meno, Bloomer & Denby, Carlinville, for defendant-appellant.

Vince Moreth, State's Atty., Carlinville, Kenneth R. Boyle, Director, State's Attys. Appellate Prosecutor, Springfield, Robert J. Biderman, Deputy Director, Dale M. Wood, Staff Atty., for plaintiff-appellee.

Justice McCULLOUGH delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant Timothy R. Adams appeals from an order of the circuit court of Macoupin County denying his petition to rescind the statutory summary suspension of his Illinois driver's license. On appeal, the only issue raised is whether the decision of the trial court was against the manifest weight of the evidence.

Defendant was the only witness to testify at the hearing. However, the parties stipulated to portions of the arresting officer's report, which was read into the record as follows:

"On May 4, 1991, I, Trooper C.J. Leach, Number 4346, was patrolling on Illinois Route 16 in Gillespie, Illinois. At the intersection of Illinois Route 16 and Macoupin Street, I saw an east bound [sic ] green Mazda flatbed truck with no registration plates visible on the front or rear. I initiated a traffic enforcement stop on the Mazda to investigate the registration. The Mazda pulled into the Wareco at the intersection of Illinois Route 16 and Illinois Route 4. As I shone my spotlight on the rear window of the Mazda, I saw that a valid license applied for slip was displayed in the rear window. I went to the Mazda driver's door to explain to the driver, Timothy R. Adams, why I stopped him. Adams' wife, Diane, and another male adult were also passengers in the Mazda."

Defendant testified that when Leach approached his vehicle, the officer apologized and indicated he saw the form in the rear window of the truck. Defendant stated the officer had followed his vehicle for about a half of a mile, although he was not speeding or weaving and there was nothing illegal about his vehicle. Defendant stated this incident took place in the evening, and defendant's counsel advised the court that it occurred about midnight. Defendant stated he received no ticket other than the ticket for driving while under the influence of alcohol (DUI). (Ill.Rev.Stat.1989, ch. 95 1/2, par. 11-501(a)(2).) On Leach's sworn report regarding summary suspension, the bases for the DUI arrest were stated to be "odor of alcoholic beverage on breath, slurred speech, failure of field sobriety test." The summary suspension resulted because defendant's blood-alcohol concentration was .19.

On appeal, defendant argues Leach had no reasonable, articulable suspicion or belief that a crime had been or was about to be committed such as to justify the initial stop. Defendant also argues that once determining the license-applied-for form was valid, the officer was not justified in further detaining him and subsequently arresting him for DUI. We affirm.

A proceeding to rescind a summary suspension is a civil action in which the burden of proof rests on the motorist. (People v. Orth (1988), 124 Ill.2d 326, 337-38, 125 Ill.Dec. 182, 187, 530 N.E.2d 210, 215.) The trial court's determination of whether the motorist's evidence constitutes a prima facie case for rescission will be overturned on appeal only if the finding is against the manifest weight of the evidence. (Orth, 124 Ill.2d at 341, 125 Ill.Dec. at 189, 530 N.E.2d at 217.) "The trial court's decision will be considered to be against the manifest weight of the evidence if, after a review of the evidence, it is clearly evident that the conclusion opposite to the one reached by the trial court was the proper disposition." Rogers v. City of Jerseyville (1990), 196 Ill.App.3d 136, 142, 142 Ill.Dec. 573, 578, 552 N.E.2d 1314, 1319.

A very similar issue was raised and considered in People v. Tylkowski (1988), 171 Ill.App.3d 93, 121 Ill.Dec. 64, 524 N.E.2d 1112. In Tylkowski, the court stated:

"Defendant contends that it appears from his confession that, while he did not have license plates, he had a receipt showing that he had applied for the plates displayed on his windshield. He argues that, therefore, the police were not justified in stopping him. However, the only way the officers could determine that defendant did have a valid receipt on his windshield was by stopping him to check. The fact that there was no evidence that the officers ever determined whether the defendant had applied for plates does not invalidate defendant's arrest in light of the fact that upon stopping defendant, the officers discovered that he was carrying a weapon and driving without a license. Accordingly, we conclude that the officers' investigatory stop was warranted and that defendant's subsequent arrest was not illegal." Tylkowski, 171 Ill.App.3d at 98-99, 121 Ill.Dec. at 68, 524 N.E.2d at 1116.

Even though no probable cause exists to arrest an individual, a police officer may make an investigatory stop if the officer's decision is based on specific and articulable facts and the rational inferences therefrom which warrant an investigative intrusion. (Tylkowski, 171 Ill.App.3d at...