Court Opinion

ID: 9522721
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 02:31:32.787905+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:03:44.400421
License: Public Domain

SUPPLEMENTAL OPINION ON DENIAL OF REHEARING JUSTICE CAMPBELL delivered the opinion of the court: Subsequent to the filing of this opinion, defendant Thaddeus Pudlo filed a petition for rehearing urging, inter alia, that this court specifically address the issue whether warrantless searches of food establishments under section 130 — 9 of the Municipal Code of Chicago (Chicago, Ill., Municipal Code (1980), ch. 130, sec. 9) are constitutional. We have reconsidered the issue and, in order to give full consideration to the points raised by defendant, the City was requested to file an answer thereto, and defendant was allowed to file a reply, and despite the fact that the inspection in this case was conducted pursuant to a warrant, we now address the issue. Defendant argues that section 130 — 9 is unconstitutional in that it violates the fourth amendment of the United States Constitution, which requires a warrant for inspections of commercial premises which are not within a “pervasively regulated business.” (United States v. Biswell (1972), 406 U.S. 311, 316, 32 L. Ed. 2d 87, 92, 92 S. Ct. 1593, 1596; see also Donovan v. Dewey (1981), 452 U.S. 594, 69 L. Ed. 2d 262, 101 S. Ct. 2534.) Defendant claims that the food industry is not within the exception to the warrant requirement and therefore the ordinance is unconstitutional and his conviction thereunder must be vacated. In its response to the petition for rehearing, the City argues that warrantless searches of food establishments under the Code are constitutional and therefore defendant’s conviction should not be vacated. We agree.  At the outset we note that at oral argument counsel for defendant alleged that defendant’s food establishment was not open to the public. This allegation was not clearly presented by defendant as a basis for contending that a warrant was required to inspect defendant’s premises. Nevertheless, the record before this court supports the contrary. At trial, two witnesses, John Sharkey, a Consumer Services officer, and John R. Colletti, a Consumer Services inspector, each testified that they observed members of the public going to and from the premises carrying packages. On the basis of this evidence, the jury could have found that defendant’s food establishment was open to the public and thus subject to public inspection.  In the cases, United States v. Biswell and Colonnade Catering Corp. v. United States (1970), 397 U.S. 72, 25 L. Ed. 2d 60, 90 S. Ct. 774, the Supreme Court ruled that businesses dealing with firearms or liquor were subject to warrantless inspections. (See also Daley v. Berzanskis (1971), 47 Ill. 2d 395, 269 N.E.2d 716, cert. denied (1971), 402 U.S. 999, 29 L. Ed. 2d 166, 91 S. Ct. 2173.) These two cases upheld statutorily authorized warrantless searches and became known as the Biswell-Colonnade exception. The rationale behind the Biswell-Colonnade exception is implied consent. By accepting the benefits of a trade which is closely regulated, the business person also accepts the burden of such regulation and thereby impliedly consents to warrantless inspections. (Almeida-Sanchez v. United States (1973), 413 U.S. 266, 37 L. Ed. 2d 596, 93 S. Ct. 2535.) The Supreme Court also noted that some regulatory statutes “apply only to a single industry, where regulations might already be so pervasive that a Colonnade-Biswell exception to the warrant requirement could apply.” (Marshall v. Barlow’s, Inc. (1978), 436 U.S. 307, 321, 56 L. Ed. 2d 305, 317, 98 S. Ct. 1816, 1825.) The court added that the reasonableness of a warrantless search provision in a regulatory statute “[would] depend upon the specific enforcement needs and privacy guarantees of each statute.” Marshall v. Barlow’s, Inc. (1978), 436 U.S. 307, 321, 56 L. Ed. 2d 305, 317, 98 S. Ct. 1816,1825. We must therefore consider whether the food industry is one in which regulations are so pervasive that subjecting businesses within the industry to warrantless inspections would be constitutional. The parties have not offered, nor has our research revealed any Illinois cases on this issue. Therefore, an examination of cases from other jurisdictions will be helpful. One such representative case is United States v. New England Grocers Supply Co. (D. Mass. 1980), 488 F. Supp. 230.) In New England Grocers, defendants were convicted of causing certain food stuffs to become adulterated while being held for sale after shipment in interstate commerce. Defendants attacked the constitutionality of a Federal statute which, like the one in the instant case, authorized the warrantless administrative search of their warehouse. The district court upheld the constitutionality of the search noting “the pervasive nature and long history of federal regulation of the food and drug industry, *** and *** the urgent public health interests that are served by the inspections.” (488 F. Supp. 230, 238.) With regard to the public health interests, the district court adopted the following statement by the court in United States v. Business Builders, Inc. (N.D. Okla. 1973), 354 F. Supp. 141,143: “It would be an affront to common sense to say that the public interest is not as deeply involved in the regulation of the food industry as it is in the liquor and firearms industries. One need only to call to mind recent cases of deaths occurring from botulism. Modern commerce has devised such an efficient and rapid means of distribution of food products to the consumer that a batch of contaminated food may cause widespread illness and death before the public can be warned and the contaminated products removed from the market.” Other jurisdictions have similarly determined that warrantless administrative searches of establishments within the food industry are constitutional. See cases cited in United States v. New England Grocers Supply Co. (D. Mass. 1980), 488 F. Supp. 230, 238; contra, United States v. Roux Laboratories, Inc. (M.D. Fla. 1978), 456 F. Supp. 973.  We agree "with the reasoning of the courts in the New England Grocers and the Business Builders cases. Defendant’s argument that the regulation of the food industry in Chicago is somehow less important or less necessary than regulation of the firearms or liquor industries is untenable. The food preparation industry in Chicago is heavily regulated by ordinance. Regulations in chapter 130 — 6.4 of the Code (Chicago, Ill., Municipal Code (1980), ch. 130, sec. 6.4) govern the entire industry from requiring approval for sources of supply, to specifying precautions to be taken to prevent contamination. Further, the Code incorporates by reference the Federal standards for wholesomeness and sanitation within the industry. That there has been long-standing regulation of the food industry, and that such regulation is a necessary and proper function of the government’s police power to protect the welfare of its citizens cannot be contradicted. As noted by our supreme court in Daley v. Berzanskis (1971), 47 Ill. 2d 395, 269 N.E.2d 716, cert. denied (1971), 402 U.S. 999, 29 L. Ed. 2d 166, 91 S. Ct. 2173, a case in which the warrantless inspection of liquor businesses was held constitutional: <<*** any restriction or requirement such as consent to a warrantless search, which is necessary to protect public health, safety and morals, is a reasonable exercise of the police power of the State.” (47 Ill. 2d 395, 399.) Therefore, we hold that based on the long-standing and pervasive regulation of the food industry and mindful of the great public interest served by such regulation, section 130 — 9 of the Municipal Code, which authorizes the warrantless inspections of food establishments within the city of Chicago is not unconstitutional for any of the reasons assigned by defendant. This is not to say that the food industry is subject to the unfettered discretion of the city inspectors. The Code is specific in limiting the inspections to reasonable times, to the inspection only of the books and records of the business, and to the inspection only of areas where food preparation or storage is conducted. Defendant’s petition for rehearing also requests a reevaluation of this court’s decision on all of the remaining issues raised on appeal. Because defendant’s various contentions were considered by us in rendering our opinion, we see no purpose to be served in reconsidering those issues. Therefore, defendant’s request is denied. Accordingly, the decision of the circuit court finding defendant guilty of violating section 130 — 9 of the Code is affirmed. Judgment affirmed. BUCKLEY, P.J., and McGLOON, J., concur.