Court Opinion

ID: 9530779
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 04:03:30.145859+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:28:14.527572
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE CLARK, specially concurring: I agree with my colleagues that in this particular case, under the circumstances which presented themselves to this police officer, there was sufficient probable cause to perform a Terry pat-down search of the defendant. However, I think it is imperative that it be noted that all the circumstances surrounding the stop are what justified the search and not solely the defendant’s legal possession of a knife with a six-inch blade. In People v. McGowan (1977), 69 Ill. 2d 73, this court held that it was reasonable for the police officer in that case to perform a limited weapons search, a patting down of the suspects. In that case, the police officer saw the defendants dressed in black, at 12:50 a.m., in a deserted commercial and industrial area which had been plagued by burglaries. There was only one establishment open in the area, and that was a tavern thát was due to close at 1 a.m., 10 minutes after the defendants were spotted. This court held: “Thus, while it is possible that the defendant and his companion were merely on their way to Penn’s Tavern to have a fast drink before closing time, we agree that it was much more likely that persons dressed in black, walking in the dead of night through an otherwise deserted commercial and industrial area which had been plagued by burglaries, had just committed or were about to commit a burglary. Under these circumstances, the suspects easily might have eluded the officers had the officers attempted to observe the two suspects further rather than stopping them immediately. Hence, we agree that Officer Fulton’s inference of an imminent or recent burglary was reasonable, and that stopping the defendant therefore was reasonable under the circumstances.” (69 Ill. 73, 78-79.) This court further held: “ ‘Reasonable’ in this context also means that the facts . and circumstances must be specific and articulable. [Citation.] Viewed as a whole, they must lead to the conclusion that the situation confronting the police officer is so far removed from the ordinary that any competent police officer would be expected to act quickly to maintain the status quo, rather than to observe the situation further.” (69 Ill. 2d 73, 78.) In McGowan, we held that it was reasonable for the police officer to assume that if the defendant was an armed burglar he would not submit peacefully to questioning so that it was reasonable for the officer to perform a limited weapons search to protect himself and his partner. In the instant case the fact that the defendant was driving his motorcycle at 75 miles an hour through red lights in an urban area while being chased by a police car with its siren sounding and lights flashing and then was found to possess a knife, I believe, gave rise to a sufficient degree of probable cause to do a pat-down search of the defendant for the officer’s own safety. If, however, this defendant had been driving his motorcycle at an excessive speed down a rural road near Golconda, Illinois, in early November during the annual Golconda Deer Festival, and had been stopped and found to possess such a knife, then I believe a finding of probable cause would be questionable. In areas where hunting or fishing is a popular sport, the carrying of a knife is the rule rather than the exception. Hunters and fishermen must carry knives in order to clean and dress the game they harvest. In some instances, unless the game is cleaned shortly after being killed, it may spoil. If one were to visit a town such as Golconda and patronize the local diner during the annual deer festival, one would find that the carrying of a knife would be a commonplace occurrence. Insofar as the majority opinion could be construed to hold that solely because the defendant possessed a legally carried knife there was sufficient probable cause to conduct a Terry search, I disagree. I believe that it depends on the particular circumstances of a case whether the defendant can be legally searched without a warrant. The majority relies on Michigan v. Long (1983), 463 U.S___ 77 L. Ed. 2d 1201, 103 S. Ct. 3469, to bolster its position that there was probable cause to search the defendant in the instant case. In that case, although the stop and search took place in a rural area, the defendant had driven his car into a ditch and appeared to be “under the influence of something.” He also failed to respond to the police officer’s first requests for his license and registration. The search was conducted at nighttime, so we can assume it was dark. Besides the fact that most hunting and fishing is done during the daylight hours, it is more difficult to see and watch a person in the dark. But more importantly, the defendant was acting abnormally and in an uncooperative fashion, facts which could lead a police officer to believe he might be in danger of his life or bodily harm. I agree that under those circumstances there was sufficient probable cause to conduct a search. In any event, each case presents a distinct set of circumstances under which probable cause must be established. I concur in the result the majority reached in this case but disagree insofar as this case could be interpreted to justify a pat-down search anytime a person is found to legally possess a knife. JUSTICE SIMON joins in this special concurrence.