Court Opinion

ID: 9716884
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 06:53:18.255258+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:23:49.734733
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE INGLIS, dissenting: I respectfully dissent. I agree with the majority’s conclusion that there is a reasonable expectation of privacy in the tag containing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR). However, I believe that the majority opinion should have found that the search was reasonable. Before addressing the reasonableness of the search, the decision of the trial court must first be considered briefly. Determinations of credibility are within the province of the trial court and will not be disturbed on review unless they are contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence. People v. Bowen (1987), 164 Ill. App. 3d 164, 176. In the instant case, the trial court granted defendant’s motion to suppress because it did not believe that the officer opened the door to examine the certification tag. Thus, in making its determination, the trial court looked to the subjective motive of the officer. This was incorrect. “The proper approach for evaluating compliance with the fourth amendment is to objectively assess the officer’s actions in light of the facts and circumstances before him at the time without regard to his underlying intent or motivation.” (Emphasis added.) (People v. Hoskins (1984), 101 Ill. 2d 209, 213-14; see also Scott v. United States (1978), 436 U.S. 128, 135-38, 56 L. Ed. 2d 168, 176-78, 98 S. Ct. 1717, 1722-23.) Consequently, the validity of the trial court’s order should be reviewed without regard to the intent of the officer. What the constitution forbids is not all searches and seizures but unreasonable searches and seizures. (Elkins v. United States (1960), 364 U.S. 206, 222, 4 L. Ed. 2d 1669, 1680, 80 S. Ct. 1437, 1446.) The reasonableness of a search must be determined by balancing the need for the search against the invasion which the search entails. (Terry v. Ohio (1968), 392 U.S. 1, 17, 21, 20 L. Ed. 2d 889, 905, 88 S. Ct. 1868, 1879.) And, although the majority appears to question the propriety of the search absent a warrant, it is well recognized that there are differences between automobiles and other property which permit warrantless searches of automobiles which would not be permitted in other circumstances. United States v. Chadwick (1977), 433 U.S. 1, 12, 53 L. Ed. 2d 538, 549, 97 S. Ct. 2476, 2484. In the instant case, defendant was stopped for illegal bumper height. A determination of the maximum bumper height for any vehicle is based on the GVWR of the vehicle. (See Ill. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 95 1/2, par. 12 — 608.) Thus, a determination of the GVWR is needed to determine if the bumper height exceeds the maximum allowed height and by how much. The GVWR to which the Act refers is found on all vehicles in accordance with Federal regulations. Section 114 of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 provides that every motor vehicle shall have permanently affixed to it a label or tag which certifies that the vehicle conforms to all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards. (15 U.S.C.A. §1403 (West 1982).) The Code of Federal Regulations further provides that this tag shall contain a gross vehicle weight rating “which shall not be less than the sum of the unloaded vehicle weight, rated cargo load, and 150 pounds times the vehicle’s designated seating capacity.” (49 C.F.R §567.4(g)(3) (1987).) Determination of the GVWR then is the need for the search. In determining the intrusiveness of the search it is important to remember, as the majority does, that there is a lesser expectation of privacy in an automobile “because its function is transportation and it seldom serves as one’s residence or as the repository of personal effects.” (Cardwell v. Lewis (1974), 417 U.S. 583, 590, 41 L. Ed. 2d 325, 335, 94 S. Ct. 2464, 2469; see also Arkansas v. Sanders (1979), 442 U.S. 753, 761, 61 L. Ed. 2d 235, 243, 99 S. Ct. 2586, 2591 (regulation of automobiles dilutes expectation of privacy).) The intrusion that was required in the instant case was limited in scope and directly related to the automobile’s function of transportation. The Code of Federal Regulations proscribes where the tag is to be placed (49 C.F.R. §567.4(c) (1987)) and thus does not require great searching to find. It appears that ordinarily the opening of the vehicle’s door and looking at the side of the door or the dooqamb is all that is required. (See 49 C.F.R. §567.4(c) (1987).) Such a search does not require the opening of any compartments, the moving about of any items in the vehicle, or any other type of rooting around inside the vehicle. (See Class, 475 U.S. at 118, 89 L. Ed. 2d at 93, 106 S. Ct. at 968 (search for vehicle identification number not overly intrusive).) In short, the intrusion is minimal. Thus, balancing the need for the search against the invasiveness of the search, looking at GVWR subsequent to a stop for improper bumper height is not unreasonable. This conclusion is especially borne out when one considers the alternative for determining the GVWR. To determine the GVWR in absence of the tag would require the emptying and weighing of the vehicle, a determination of the cargo load, and a combining of these figures with 150 pounds multiplied by the designated seating capacity. (See 49 C.F.R. §567.4(g)(3) (1987).) The emptying and weighing of the vehicle itself would be far more intrusive than a mere opening of the driver’s side door of the vehicle. From a review of the record, it is clear that the officer did open the door and look at the GVWR. While at the open door, the officer saw a small pipe, saw residue in a bowl, and smelled marijuana. Once this had occurred, the officer had probable cause to conduct a search of the entire vehicle. (See People v. Stout (1985), 106 Ill. 2d 77, 87 (probable cause to search vehicle existed where officer smelled marijuana).) I therefore dissent.