Court Opinion

ID: 9884420
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-10-06 02:55:58.160271+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:48:38.431238
License: Public Domain

MR. JUSTICE GOLDENHERSH, dissenting: I dissent and would affirm the judgment of the appellate court. I agree with the appellate court that these defendants “did not flee after being stopped or arrested. They were merely the passengers of a car being chased by the police.” (51 Ill. App. 3d 484, 489.) The reason stated for shining the light into the automobile in which defendants were riding was that the officers believed the vehicle to be one used on prior occasions by Orlando Page, for whom they had a warrant. Obviously the pursuing police officers knew immediately upon apprehending defendants that Orlando Page was not present, and I fail to perceive what made it “imperative that the officers be able to transport the defendants back to the crash scene where the officers could complete their investigation by examining the automobile” (73 Ill. 2d at 224). Obviously they could have examined the automobile without the presence of these two defendants. The majority cites Sibron v. New York (1968), 392 U.S. 40, 20 L. Ed. 2d 917, 88 S. Ct. 1889, in support of the proposition that “flight from a clearly identifiable police officer may, dependent upon the circumstances, be sufficient to provide probable cause for an arrest.” (73 Ill. 2d at 221.) In Sibron, the Supreme Court said, “deliberately furtive actions and flight at the approach of strangers or law officers are strong indicia of mens rea and when coupled with specific knowledge on the part of the officer relating the suspect to the evidence of crime, they are proper factors to be considered in the decision to make an arrest.” (392 U.S. 40, 66-67, 20 L. Ed. 2d 917, 937, 88 S. Ct. 1889, 1904.) This record is utterly devoid of any evidence that the pursuing police officers were possessed of “specific knowledge” which they could couple with the defendant’s flight in order to justify the decision to make the arrest. The majority’s reliance upon Terry v. Ohio (1968), 392 U.S. 1, 20 L. Ed. 2d 889, 88 S. Ct. 1868, to find probable cause for arrest is misplaced. Terry is authority for the proposition that the fourth amendment authorizes intrusions upon constitutionally guaranteed rights less than arrests, and the circumstances which under Terry give rise to a permissible search fall far short of probable cause for an arrest. The permissible scope of police action authorized by Terry might arguably have permitted interrogation at the scene but cannot be stretched to include returning these defendants to the place where Ross identified them. The appellate court pointed out correctly that on the night in question “Ross could only give a general description of his robbers as two male Negroes in their late teens, between 5 feet 8 inches and 5 feet 10 inches tall, wearing dark jackets.” (51 Ill. App. 3d 484, 491.) In contrast, his description at trial was much more detailed, and I agree with the appellate court that his “in-court identification was directly affected by his viewing of the defendants just after their illegal arrest.” 51 Ill. App. 3d 484, 491.