Court Opinion

ID: 9524607
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 02:54:59.148706+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:11:10.951327
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE WOMBACHER, dissenting: I dissent. I agree with the case law presented by the majority. However, my agreement ends when the majority finds that the decision of the trial judge is against the manifest weight of the evidence. As the majority states, “Defendant told a markedly different story [than the officer did].” This, I believe, created a material issue of fact that only the trial judge could resolve by determining the credibility of the witnesses. In order to make his finding, the trial judge had to believe defendant’s story. He stated that he did not drive erratically on the night in question. Thus, under defendant’s version, there was no basis for any Terry stop. (Terry v. Ohio (1968), 392 U.S. 1, 20 L. Ed. 2d 889, 88 S. Ct. 1868.) The fact that the officer’s story was different does not limit the trial court’s discretion in arriving at a decision, nor ours. The trial judge is not obliged to believe the testimony of the arresting officer. (Village of Park Forest v. Angel (1976), 37 Ill. App. 3d 746, 347 N.E.2d 278.) The reviewing court shall give the findings of the trier of fact great deference. (People v. Gardner (1981), 97 Ill. App. 3d 854, 424 N.E.2d 95.) The fact that we may have decided the case differently on the same facts is insufficient to warrant reversal. (People v. Cooper (1977), 66 Ill. 2d 509, 369 N.E.2d 817.) The majority have decided to the contrary and, as a result, have reversed this case. I therefore respectfully dissent.