Court Opinion

ID: 9524849
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 02:57:47.807152+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:12:07.139482
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE CALLUM, dissenting: In People v. Gonzalez, 204 Ill. 2d 220, 235 (2003), our supreme court announced a straightforward test for “determining whether police questioning during the course of a traffic stop satisfies Terry’s scope requirement.” Further, the court noted that the test applies “even in the presence of probable cause.” Gonzalez, 204 Ill. 2d at 228. Here, the police asked defendant a question during a traffic stop, and defendant argues that the question violated Terry’s scope requirement. Appropriately enough, the majority starts to apply the Gonzalez test. But then the majority declines to complete it. Despite the supreme court’s admonition about the irrelevance of probable cause, the majority determines that the test no longer applies when probable cause exists “for something more than a traffic violation.” 369 Ill. App. 3d at 197. In such a case, the majority says, the defendant “could be taken into custody,” and the police are no longer bound by Terry’s scope requirement. 369 Ill. App. 3d at 197. As law, this is bad, as it clearly contradicts not only Gonzalez but also an explicit holding of the United States Supreme Court. As policy, though, it is even worse, replacing the Gonzalez test with an unworkable rule that will hamstring the police and the courts. Accordingly, I dissent. I will begin by applying the Gonzalez test — all of it — and then I will explain why the majority errs in refusing to do so. First, however, a review of the factual context. When the police saw that defendant was driving a vehicle with an expired registration sticker, they had probable cause to believe that defendant was committing a criminal offense, and they effected a valid traffic stop. See 625 ILCS 5/3 — 413(f) (West 2002) (prohibiting, without specific penalty, the operation of a vehicle with an expired registration sticker); 625 ILCS 5/16 — 104 (West 2002) (an Illinois Vehicle Code violation for which no specific penalty is provided is a petty offense); Black’s Law Dictionary 1146 (6th ed. 1990) (a petty offense is a “minor crime”); People v. Orsby, 286 Ill. App. 3d 142, 146-47 (1996) (officers’ observation of a minor traffic violation provided probable cause to effect a traffic stop). When defendant admitted to the police that his license had been revoked, the police had probable cause to believe that defendant had committed a second criminal offense. See 625 ILCS 5/6 — 303(a) (West 2002) (driving while license is revoked is a Class A misdemeanor); People v. Anderson, 112 Ill. App. 3d 270, 273 (1983) (defendant’s admission alone provided probable cause). The police then asked defendant whether there were any drugs in his vehicle. Only later was he arrested. Because defendant had not been arrested, the question about drugs was obviously “questioning during the course of a traffic stop.” Gonzalez, 204 Ill. 2d at 235. Thus, to determine whether the question satisfies Terry’s scope requirement, we must apply the Gonzalez test. That test consists of three prongs: “[W]e must consider, as an initial matter, whether the question is related to the initial justification for the stop. If the question is reasonably related to the purpose of the stop, no fourth amendment violation occurs. If the question is not reasonably related to the purpose of the stop, we must consider whether the law enforcement officer had a reasonable, articulable suspicion that would justify the question. If the question is so justified, no fourth amendment violation occurs. In the absence of a reasonable connection to the purpose of the stop or a reasonable, articulable suspicion, we must consider whether, in light of all the circumstances and common sense, the question impermissibly prolonged the detention or changed the fundamental nature of the stop.” Gonzalez, 204 Ill. 2d at 235. The majority applies — and applies correctly — the first two prongs. I agree that the question about drugs was completely unrelated to defendant’s driving with an expired registration sticker. I further agree that the question was not supported by an independent reasonable suspicion. As to the third prong, the majority points out, and I again agree, that the record shows nothing more than a de minimis prolonging of the stop and that, therefore, we must determine whether the question changed the stop’s fundamental nature. The majority, of course, avoids this determination, but the answer is that the question indeed changed the fundamental nature of the stop. This court has noted, repeatedly and unassailably, that an unrelated and unsupported question about contraband “ ‘convert[s] a routine traffic stop into a fishing expedition.’ ” People v. Parra, 352 Ill. App. 3d 584, 589 (2004), quoting People v. Hall, 351 Ill. App. 3d 501, 505 (2004). Thus, according to the Gonzalez test, the question violated Terry’s scope requirement. The majority avoids this determination by holding as follows. The Gonzalez test applies to questioning during a traffic stop when the police have probable cause to believe that the defendant has committed only “a traffic violation,” such as driving with an expired registration sticker. However, when probable cause exists “for something more than a traffic violation,” such as, apparently, driving while one’s license is revoked, the defendant “could be taken into custody,” and thus the Gonzalez test does not apply. 369 Ill. App. 3d at 197. What the majority refuses to acknowledge is that a defendant may be taken into custody when probable cause exists for any criminal violation. This is not an open question. In Atwater v. City of Lago Vista, 532 U.S. 318, 149 L. Ed. 2d 549, 121 S. Ct. 1536 (2001), the United States Supreme Court addressed the constitutionality of an arrest for a minor crime, such as “a fine-only [i.e., petty] traffic offense.” Atwater, 532 U.S. at 348, 149 L. Ed. 2d at 573, 121 S. Ct. at 1554; see 730 ILCS 5/5 — 1—17 (West 2002) (a petty, offense is punishable by a fine only). The Court held that, “[i]f an officer has probable cause to believe that an individual has committed even a very minor criminal offense in his presence, he may, without violating the Fourth Amendment, arrest the offender.” Atwater, 532 U.S. at 354, 149 L. Ed. 2d at 577, 121 S. Ct. at 1557. Our state constitution provides no greater protection against search and seizure than does the fourth amendment. See People v. Caballes, 221 Ill. 2d 282, 316 (2006). Accordingly, our supreme court acknowledged Atwater in Gonzalez, stating that Terry’s scope requirement applies to questioning during a traffic stop even when the police have probable cause to arrest. Gonzalez, 204 Ill. 2d at 228 n.2. The majority’s reliance on People v. Cox, 202 Ill. 2d 462 (2002), and People v. Jones, 215 Ill. 2d 261 (2005), is disingenuous, as the majority cannot seriously contend that in those cases our supreme court somehow determined that Atwater is not the law in this state. As a result, the premise of the majority’s argument is completely invalid. Yes, the police could have arrested defendant for driving while his license was revoked. But they also could have arrested defendant for driving with an expired registration sticker. Had they arrested defendant on either charge before asking him the question about drugs, the Gonzalez test would not apply, as the question would have arisen after an arrest, not during the course of a traffic stop. However, the question arose before the arrest, so the encounter was still a traffic stop, the Gonzalez test applies, and the question violated Terry’s scope requirement. The majority’s bank-robbery analogy is thoroughly unavailing. The majority observes that, when a suspect is driving away from the scene of a bank robbery, probable cause permits the police to “simply arrest the suspect and conduct a search incident to arrest.” 369 Ill. App. 3d at 199. This is elementary, but it has nothing to do with the nature of the offense. When the police have probable cause to believe that a suspect has committed any offense, such as driving with an expired registration sticker, they too may “simply arrest the suspect and conduct a search incident to arrest.” What they may not do is stop the suspect, ask him an unrelated and unsupported question about a wholly separate offense, and then arrest him only after their fishing is done. The majority only compounds its error when it observes that “cases that do not deal with traffic stops confirm that a Terry stop terminates when probable cause for an arrest develops.” 369 Ill. App. 3d at 200. There are two obvious problems with this line of analysis. First, Gonzalez is a case that does deal with traffic stops, and it says that Terry principles apply to such stops “even in the presence of probable cause.” Gonzalez, 204 Ill. 2d at 228. Second, again, in this case probable cause for an arrest developed at the outset, when the police saw defendant’s expired registration sticker. If probable cause for an arrest terminates a traffic stop, a proposition that Gonzalez expressly rejects, then this was never a traffic stop. Yet the majority insists that the encounter “was no longer a traffic stop” (369 Ill. App. 3d at 203) only after the police had probable cause to arrest defendant for “an offense more serious than is associated with a traffic stop” (369 Ill. App. 3d at 203). There is simply no logic or authority to support this. Strangely, the majority closes with an assertion that undermines its entire analysis. “[0]nce a person is in custody, any discussion about the scope of a Terry stop is beside the point.” 369 111. App. 3d at 203. I could not agree more. If the police had questioned defendant about drugs after taking him into custody, I would gladly concede that the traffic stop was over and that Terry’s scope requirement no longer applied. But although the police could have taken defendant into custody, at any point during the traffic stop, they declined to do so until after they questioned him about drugs. Under the clear holding of Gonzalez, their questioning occurred during the course of a traffic stop, and it violated Terry’s scope requirement. Thus, the majority’s holding is legally defective, but unfortunately this is only the beginning. I do not enjoy imagining what the police and the courts will endure as they try to apply our rule. Even were I to agree that only “something more than a traffic violation” may justify an arrest, I would have no idea how to explain where the line is between “a traffic violation” and “something more.” Of course, neither would the United States Supreme Court, which invoked such practical implications in rejecting such lines. In Atwater, the defendant submitted that arrests should be justified only for offenses “for which conviction could result in commitment” and not for “ ‘fine-only’ ” offenses. Atwater, 532 U.S. at 348, 149 L. Ed. 2d at 573, 121 S. Ct. at 1554. The Court responded: “The trouble with this distinction, of course, is that an officer on the street might not be able to tell. It is not merely that we cannot expect every police officer to know the details of frequently complex penalty schemes, [citation] but that penalties for ostensibly identical conduct can vary on account of facts difficult (if not impossible) to know at the scene of an arrest.” Atwater, 532 U.S. at 348, 149 L. Ed. 2d at 573, 121 S. Ct. at 1554. The defendant qualified her proposal by noting that arrests should be justified for even fine-only traffic offenses “where ‘necessary for enforcement of the traffic laws or when [an] offense would otherwise continue and pose a danger to others on the road.’ ” Atwater, 532 U.S. at 349, 149 L. Ed. 2d at 574, 121 S. Ct. at 1555. The Court responded: “The proviso only compounds the difficulties. Would, for instance, either exception apply to speeding? *** [Atwater asserts that] ‘it would not be reasonable to arrest a driver for speeding unless the speeding rose to the level of reckless driving.’ [Citation.] *** [But] why, as a constitutional matter, should we assume that only reckless driving will ‘pose a danger to others on the road’ while speeding will not?” Atwater, 532 U.S. at 349, 149 L. Ed. 2d at 574, 121 S. Ct. at 1555. The Court’s conclusion is eerily applicable to our present discussion: “There is no need for more examples to show that Atwater’s general rule and limiting proviso promise very little in the way of administrability. *** Atwater’s rule therefore would not only place police in an almost impossible spot but would guarantee increased litigation over many of the arrests that would occur. For all these reasons, Atwater’s various distinctions between permissible and impermissible arrests for minor crimes strike us as ‘very unsatisfactory line[s]’ to require police officers to draw on a moment’s notice.” Atwater, 532 U.S. at 350, 149 L. Ed. 2d at 574-75, 121 S. Ct. at 1555. Here, the majority draws just such an “unsatisfactory line,” between “a traffic violation” and “something more.” If, and only if, the police have probable cause to believe that a defendant has committed “something more,” they may arrest the defendant, and their questioning is not subject to Terry’s scope requirement. However, as to what is “a traffic violation” and what is “something more,” the majority provides no guidance at all. Driving with an expired registration sticker and driving while one’s license is revoked are both prohibited by the Illinois Vehicle Code. So why is the former “a traffic violation” while the latter is not? I agree that the latter is “much more serious” (369 Ill. App. 3d at 198), but why does this not mean only that the latter is a “much more serious” traffic violation? And, if I may repeat the Supreme Court’s question, what about speeding? Speeding is obviously “associated with a traffic stop” and thus must be “a traffic violation.” But surely the majority would not suggest that, if a person drives 80 miles per hour through a 20-mile-per-hour zone, the police may not arrest the driver to remove him from the road. So is excessive speeding “something more”? If so, how excessive must the speeding be? I have no idea how to answer these questions. The point, though, is that there are no answers that would make the majority’s a workable rule. The majority’s holding, in my view, is certain to produce mass confusion — and worse — among the police and the courts of this state. In sum, this decision’s legal inadequacy is surpassed only by its practical impossibility. Accordingly, I respectfully dissent.