Court Opinion

ID: 9862455
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-25 01:11:10.025283+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T11:25:35.028837
License: Public Domain

PRESIDING JUSTICE CAMPBELL, specially concurring: I agree with this court’s conclusion that the trial court did not err in denying defendant’s motion to suppress. I write separately to highlight several differences between this appeal and prior decisions of this court, such as People v. Blevins, 118 Ill. App. 3d 221, 454 N.E.2d 802 (1983), in which this court held that evidence should be suppressed. First, as noted in the opinion of the court, decisions on suppression motions are subject to the manifest error standard of review. In Blevins, the trial court had ruled in favor of the defendant. In this case, the comments of the trial judge, as reflected in today’s opinion, suggest that the trial judge believed this was a close case. Nevertheless, the trial court ruled against the defendant. Thus, the standard of review works against the defendant in this case. Second, in Blevins, the defendant provided identification to the officers. In this case, the defendant provided no identification to the officers. Although members of the public may not be required to answer questions or provide identification in this type of situation, the defendant here agreed to respond to the officers. Given the totality of the other suspicious circumstances present in this case, it was not unreasonable for the officers to temporarily detain the defendant for the purpose of ascertaining his identity. See, e.g., People v. Graves, 196 Ill. App. 3d 273, 278, 553 N.E.2d 810, 813 (1990). Third, in Blevins, the defendant made inconsistent statements after the officers had begun searching his luggage. In this case, defendant gave what the trial court characterized as “odd” answers to the officers’ questions prior to the decision to detain defendant and his luggage. Thus, in this case, the officers had more reason to seek to search the luggage. Finally, today’s opinion properly notes that defendant’s attempt to flee from the officers, while not determinative in itself, constituted probable cause for arrest when coupled with the officers’ reasonable suspicion that defendant was carrying drugs. People v. Belton, 257 Ill. App. 3d 1, 628 N.E.2d 287 (1993). Attempted flight from law enforcement officers was not at issue in Blevins. In sum, the defendant in this case made statements and took action that distinguished him from other (innocent) travellers, both before and after the officers decided to detain defendant and his luggage. Although the trial court’s comments in this case suggest that the case was a close one, the trial court ultimately denied the motion to quash arrest and suppress evidence. Given the facts and circumstances of this case, I join in this court’s decision that the trial court was not manifestly erroneous in so ruling.