Court Opinion

ID: 9732755
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 16:33:47.128151+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:26:32.702418
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE UNVERZAGT dissenting: I would affirm the trial court because under the totality of the circumstances presented here, the trial judge’s determination that the defendant’s consent to the officers’ entry into his hotel suite was not voluntary was not manifestly erroneous. The officers arrived at the defendant’s door to investigate a complaint while dressed in full uniform and accompanied by two security guards and another man. The defendant never invited the five men to enter the room. The officer did not ask to be admitted to the room but, instead, responded to the defendant’s willingness to discuss the complaint by stating, “I would like to talk about it in the room, though.” In light of this statement, it was reasonable for the defendant to infer that a demand had been made and that he had no choice except to back up to allow the men to enter, although Marciniak did not push the door open to gain entry. The officers never advised the defendant that he had the right to deny them permission to enter the suite, a factor which I believe was properly considered by the trial court but was not the sole basis for its determination, as suggested by the State. Therefore, I agree with the trial judge that the defendant’s consent was not voluntarily given because the defendant merely acquiesced to lawful authority. The case of People v. Lane (1982), 106 Ill. App. 3d 793, relied upon by the majority, is neither factually close nor legally apposite to the case at hand and, therefore, does not control the disposition here. Given the conclusion that the initial entry into the suite was illegal, this then is not a case where the contraband was recognized and seen in plain view and, therefore, subject to immediate seizure, as the State argues (Illinois v. Andreas (1983), 463 U.S. 765, 771, 77 L. Ed. 2d 1003, 1010, 103 S. Ct. 3319, 3324). For an item to be legally seized when in “plain view,” the officer first must be on the premises properly under a warrant or an exception to the warrant requirement. (People v. Koniecki (1985), 135 Ill. App. 3d 394, 401.) Marciniak testified that he could not see the cocaine or paraphernalia until he entered the suite. I would affirm the judgment of the circuit court of Du Page County.