People v. Harris

• Decision Date: 20 March 2008
• Docket Number: No. 103796.,103796.
• Citation: 886 N.E.2d 947,228 Ill.2d 222
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellant, v. Raymond HARRIS, Appellee.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

886 N.E.2d 947

228 Ill.2d 222

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellant, v. Raymond HARRIS, Appellee.

No. 103796.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

March 20, 2008.

Lisa Madigan, Attorney General, Springfield, James W. Glasgow, State's Attorney, Joliet (Gary S. Feinerman, Solicitor General, Michael M. Glick, Assistant Attorney General, Chicago, Norbert J. Goetten, Lawrence M. Bauer, Office of the State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor, Ottawa, of counsel), for the People.

Robert Agostinelli, Deputy Defender, Stephen H. Omolecki, Assistant Defender, Office of the State Appellate Defender, Ottawa, for appellee.

OPINION

Justice GARMAN delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion:

Defendant, Raymond E. Harris, was a passenger in a car that was stopped by a police officer after the driver made an illegal left turn. In the course of the traffic stop, the officer asked defendant for his identification and he complied with the request. The officer conducted a computer search that revealed an outstanding warrant and placed defendant under arrest. The search incident to arrest revealed cocaine and drug paraphernalia in the pocket of defendant's jacket. Defendant's motion to suppress evidence was denied.

After a jury trial in the circuit court of Will County, defendant was convicted of unlawful possession of a controlled substance. 720 ILCS 570/402(c) (West 1996). The appellate court reversed on the basis that defendant's compliance with the officer's request for identification was not voluntary; therefore, any evidence discovered as a result should have been suppressed. People v. Harris, 325 Ill.App.3d 262, 266, 259 Ill.Dec. 346, 758 N.E.2d 469 (2001).

This court allowed the State's petition for leave to appeal and affirmed the appellate court's judgment, although on different grounds. People v. Harris (Harris I), 207 Ill.2d 515, 280 Ill.Dec. 294, 802 N.E.2d 219 (2003). On the same day, this court filed its opinion in People v. Caballes (Caballes I), 207 Ill.2d 504, 280 Ill.Dec. 277, 802 N.E.2d 202 (2003).

The United States Supreme Court granted the State's petitions for certiorari in both Harris and Caballes. In Caballes, the Court filed an opinion and vacated this court's judgment, remanding the matter for further proceedings. Illinois v. Caballes, 543 U.S. 405, 125 S.Ct. 834, 160 L.Ed.2d 842 (2005). In Harris, the Court summarily vacated this court's judgment and remanded for reconsideration in light of its decision in Caballes. Illinois v. Harris, 543 U.S. 1135, 125 S.Ct. 1292, 161 L.Ed.2d 94 (2005).

This court subsequently filed a second opinion in People v. Caballes (Caballes II), 221 Ill.2d 282, 303 Ill.Dec. 128, 851 N.E.2d 26 (2006). We then remanded the present case to the appellate court for reconsideration in light of Illinois v. Caballes and this court's opinion in Caballes II.

On remand, the appellate court stood by its earlier judgment. No. 3-00-0190 (unpublished order under Supreme Court Rule 23). We have again allowed the State's petition for leave to appeal under Rules 315 and 604(a)(2) (210 Ill.2d Rs. 315, 604(a)(2)).

BACKGROUND

On the afternoon of September 27, 1997, a Will County sheriff's deputy observed a 1991 black Firebird make an illegal left turn. He stopped the car and asked the driver for his license and proof of insurance. The driver stated that he did not have his license with him, but gave the officer a name and date of birth. The officer transmitted the information to county dispatch, which determined that the name and birthdate did not correspond to a valid license. When confronted with this information, the driver admitted his true identity and that his license was either suspended or revoked.

At the hearing on defendant's motion to quash arrest and suppress evidence, the officer testified that when he asked defendant for identification, it was in keeping with his usual practice when arresting the driver of a vehicle. If a passenger in the vehicle produces a valid driver's license, he allows the passenger to drive the vehicle away, thus avoiding the expense and inconvenience of having the vehicle towed. He further testified that when he asked to see defendant's identification, he did not suspect him of any wrongdoing. He did not, however, ask defendant if he had a valid driver's license or if he wanted to take responsibility for driving the car away from the scene.

Defendant complied with the officer's request, handing him a state identification card. The officer returned to his squad car and conducted a computerized search of both the driver's and the defendant's information. As a result of this search, he discovered an outstanding arrest warrant for defendant for failure to appear in court.

The officer placed defendant under arrest. A search incident to arrest revealed a pea-sized rock of cocaine in defendant's jacket pocket, along with a copper scrubbing pad typically used as a device for heating and smoking cocaine. A search of the car revealed another pea-sized rock of cocaine. The driver was also placed under arrest and the car was impounded.

At trial, the officer again testified that he requested identification from the defendant to determine whether he was legally able to drive the car so that it would not have to be towed away. He also acknowledged that his written report stated that the car was legally parked. Nevertheless, he testified that in the absence of a passenger eligible to drive the vehicle, he would have arranged for the car to be towed and done an inventory search, which would have revealed the cocaine in the backseat. The officer further stated that he asked the defendant for identification after the driver admitted that his license was suspended or revoked, but before he verified this fact. Thus, the second time he returned to his squad car, it was for the purpose of running checks on both occupants of the car.

The jury found defendant guilty of unlawful possession of a controlled substance. Defendant filed a posttrial motion in which he argued that the evidence was not sufficient to prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The posttrial motion did not, however, reassert his earlier argument that the evidence found in his pocket should have been suppressed. The trial court denied the posttrial motion and sentenced defendant to 28 days in jail, with credit for the 28 days previously served, a term of 24 months' probation, and various fines.

The State argued on appeal that defendant forfeited the suppression issue because he failed to raise it in his posttrial motion. The appellate court acknowledged defendant's forfeiture of the issue, but stated that it deemed the issue "sufficiently significant to merit our review, despite defendant's failure to properly preserve it below." Harris, 325 Ill.App.3d at 265, 259 Ill.Dec. 346, 758 N.E.2d 469. On the merits, the appellate court found that defendant's motion to suppress should have been granted. Harris, 325 Ill.App.3d at 267, 259 Ill.Dec. 346, 758 N.E.2d 469.

This court granted the State's petition for leave to appeal. As the appellant before this court, however, the State did not argue that issues related to the suppression motion had been forfeited by defendant. This court addressed the issues on the merits, with no discussion of forfeiture.

As noted above, this court's opinion in Harris I was subsequently vacated by the United States Supreme Court. On remand for reconsideration, the appellate court concluded that the judgments of the Supreme Court in Caballes and this court in Caballes II have no bearing on the present case. No. 3-00-0190 (Harris II) (unpublished order under Supreme Court Rule 23).

ISSUES

The parties disagree as to the issue or issues properly before this court. The State, as appellant, argues that defendant has forfeited review of all issues related to the trial court's ruling on his motion to suppress by failing to raise such issues in his posttrial motion. Forfeiture aside, the State argues that the sole question for this court is whether, in the absence of reasonable suspicion, the fourth amendment permits a police officer to conduct a warrant check regarding a passenger during a lawful traffic stop. In Harris I, a majority of this court held that such a warrant check was outside the scope of the traffic stop and, therefore, unreasonable. Harris I, 207 Ill.2d at 530, 280 Ill.Dec. 294, 802 N.E.2d 219. The dissenting justices would have found the warrant check permissible. Harris I, 207 Ill.2d at 537-38, 280 Ill.Dec. 294, 802 N.E.2d 219 (Fitzgerald, J., dissenting, joined by Thomas and Garman, JJ.). As the judgment in Harris I has been vacated and the cause remanded for reconsideration, this question remains unanswered by this court.

Defendant argues that the proper issue for our consideration is whether the officer's request for identification violated his fourth amendment rights because his compliance was not voluntary. This is the issue addressed by the appellate court in its published opinion in Harris, 325 Ill. App.3d at 267, 259 Ill.Dec. 346, 758 N.E.2d 469, and its order in Harris II, No. 3-00-0190 (unpublished order under Supreme Court Rule 23).

We first address the forfeiture question and conclude that it is necessary to reach the merits of both issues. Logic would seem to dictate that the issues be decided in chronological order, determining whether the police officer's request for identification violated defendant's fourth amendment rights before considering whether the warrant check was proper. Nevertheless, we treat the warrant check issue first because the State, as appellant, argues only this issue. Only if the State's position regarding the warrant check is correct is it necessary to revisit the other issue, because the warrant check would not have been possible if the officer had not first obtained the defendant's identification information. See Harris I, 207 Ill.2d at 537, 280 Ill.Dec. 294, 802 N.E.2d 219 (Fitzgerald, J., dissenting, joined by...