Opinion ID: 3135515
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: facts

Text: 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 -2- 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 -3- 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. On the merits, the appellate court found that defendant’s motion to suppress should have been granted. Harris, 325 Ill. App. 3d at 267. 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).