Court Opinion

ID: 9541104
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 16:22:50.284796+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:00:01.616475
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE YARD, dissenting: The ancient inquiry as to who is to watch the watchmen is raised by the majority’s opinion. The doctrine of separation of powers of government is, of course, not an unreasonably rigid one (City of Waukegan v. Pollution Control Board (1974), 57 Ill. 2d 170). This court, however, has been vigilant in restraining the other branches of government where there has been a wrongful intrusion upon the functions of another branch. I consider that the majority here disregards the legislative intention and improperly invades the legislative area and violates the doctrine. The cardinal principle of statutory construction is to ascertain the legislative intendment and follow it. It .is a cardinal offense for a court to fail to observe that intention. I believe that the State’s position accurately reflects the legislative intendment. The State contends, to quote the majority’s language, “that the statute is designed to encourage voluntary reporting as distinguished from police efforts which result in locating a person involved who leaves the scene of an accident and fails to initiate his report before the police contact him.” YThere witnesses have reported the license plate number of the fleeing car and the police officer has phoned the defendant and asked him to come to the police station I consider it is a clear violation of the legislature’s intention to hold that the defendant will enjoy immunity under the statute. Certainly, it was not the legislators’ intention to immunize persons who report fleeing from the scene of a death or injury, not because of a quickening of conscience but as a result of a police investigation focusing on them. A former policy of the United States Internal Revenue Service and the United States Department of Justice seems relevant to consider. The “voluntary disclosure” policy permitted an income tax violator to disclose his violation with the knowledge that a criminal prosecution would not result. The policy, however, required that the disclosure had to be complete and it had to be truly voluntary. That is, the disclosure had to be made before an investigation of the taxpayer’s return had begun. I feel certain that the legislature had a similar requirement in mind when enacting the statute here. CHIEF JUSTICE RYAN joins in this dissent.