Freed v. Ryan

704 N.E.2d 746, 301 Ill. App. 3d 952, 235 Ill. Dec. 173, 1998 Ill. App. LEXIS 809
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedNovember 30, 1998
Docket1-97-0612
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 704 N.E.2d 746 (Freed v. Ryan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Freed v. Ryan, 704 N.E.2d 746, 301 Ill. App. 3d 952, 235 Ill. Dec. 173, 1998 Ill. App. LEXIS 809 (Ill. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

PRESIDING JUSTICE CAMPBELL

delivered the opinion of the court:

Plaintiff Edward Freed appeals an order of the circuit court of Cook County denying his petition for administrative review of an order by defendant Illinois Secretary of State George H. Ryan. The administrative order denied plaintiffs petition to rescind the suspension of plaintiffs driving privileges.

The record on appeal indicates the following facts. Freed was a student at Northern Illinois University in De Kalb, Illinois. On May 14, 1995, plaintiff, along with friends, attempted to enter the American Exchange Tavern in De Kalb. Plaintiff, who was 19 years old, presented the bouncer an Illinois state identification card for Joseph Zito, who the record shows was over 24 years old at the time.

The bouncer denied plaintiff entry to the tavern. As plaintiff and his friends spoke with the bouncer, a De Kalb police officer drove by the tavern. The bouncer flagged down the police officer, who asked plaintiff for the identification card. The police officer issued a citation to plaintiff based on a De Kalb ordinance, stating that the officer had reason to believe that Freed, as “a person under 21 yrs. of age, did represent that s/he is of age for the purpose of purchasing accepting/ receiving alcoholic liquor.”

The officer also confiscated the state identification card. According to the police report, plaintiff told the officer that Zito had given him the identification card, but he later told the police that he did not know Zito. Plaintiff later testified that he did not know Zito but had purchased the card from a friend at a party.

On July 10, 1995, plaintiff pleaded guilty to violating the ordinance, was fined $150, and placed under supervision for one year. On August 27, 1995, the De Kalb police department notified the Illinois Secretary of State (Secretary) that plaintiff had misused Zito’s identification card. The Secretary notified plaintiff by a letter dated September 5, 1995, that his driver’s license and privileges would be suspended for one year, pursuant to section 6 — 206(a)(10) of the Illinois Vehicle Code (625 ILCS 5/6 — 206(a)(10) (West 1994)) (Code), which authorizes the suspension of driving privileges where a person “[hjas possessed, displayed, or attempted to fraudulently use any license, identification card, or permit not issued to the person.” The Secretary also sent plaintiff an order of suspension for one year, effective October 30, 1995.

On November 1, 1995, the Secretary received plaintiff’s request for a formal hearing to contest the suspension. On January 8, 1996, a formal hearing on the matter was held before a hearing officer for the Secretary. Plaintiff argued that section 6 — 206(a) (10) of the Code was unconstitutional because it lacked a rational basis and also that the suspension of driving privileges violated his right not to be subjected to double jeopardy. The hearing officer rejected plaintiffs arguments and recommended denying his petition to rescind the suspension. On March 26, 1996, the Secretary adopted the hearing officer’s recommendation.

On April 30, 1996, plaintiff filed a complaint for administrative review in the circuit court of Cook County. On January 8, 1997, following the submission of the record, briefing and argument of the issues, the trial court affirmed the decision of the Secretary. Plaintiff filed a timely notice of appeal to this court.

I

On appeal, plaintiff argues that the suspension of his driving privileges was unconstitutional. All statutes are presumed to be constitutional. Brown’s Furniture, Inc. v. Wagner, 171 Ill. 2d 410, 419, 665 N.E.2d 795, 801 (1996). The party challenging the validity of a statute bears the burden of clearly establishing any constitutional invalidity. Brown’s Furniture, Inc., 171 Ill. 2d at 419-20, 665 N.E.2d at 801. This court must construe legislative enactments so as to affirm their constitutional validity if it is reasonably possible to do so. Brown’s Furniture, Inc., 171 Ill. 2d at 420, 665 N.E.2d at 801. We review de novo the circuit court’s decision with respect to the constitutionality of the Act. Brown’s Furniture, Inc., 171 Ill. 2d at 420, 665 N.E.2d at 801.

II

Plaintiff argues that section 6 — 206(a)(10) of the Code violates his right to due process. The constitutional provisions implicated are the due process clauses of the federal and state constitutions. U.S. Const., amend. XIV; Ill. Const. 1970, art. I, § 2. However, the case before us does not implicate procedural due process rights; rather, plaintiff contends that the statute violates due process because it is an unreasonable and arbitrary exercise of the state’s police power. People v. Lindner, 127 Ill. 2d 174, 179-80, 535 N.E.2d 829, 831 (1989).

It is clear that the due process clauses apply to the deprivation of a driver’s license by the state. Bell v. Burson, 402 U.S. 535, 539, 29 L. Ed. 2d 90, 94, 91 S. Ct. 1586, 1589 (1971); People v. Orth, 124 Ill. 2d 326, 334, 530 N.E.2d 210, 214 (1988). However, a person’s property interest in a driver’s license, while important, is not fundamental in the constitutional sense. See Orth, 124 Ill. 2d at 335, 530 N.E.2d at 214. Accordingly, the appropriate standard of review is the rational basis test. Lindner, 127 Ill. 2d at 179, 535 N.E.2d at 831.

Under the rational basis test, a statute must bear a reasonable relationship to the public interest intended to be protected, and the means adopted must be a reasonable method of accomplishing the desired objective. Lindner, 127 Ill. 2d at 180, 535 N.E.2d at 831. An alternative formulation of the standard is that a statute will be upheld if it bears a rational relationship to a legitimate legislative purpose and is neither arbitrary nor discriminatory. Lindner, 127 Ill. 2d at 180, 535 N.E.2d at 831, citing Harris v. Manor Healthcare Corp., 111 Ill. 2d 350, 368, 489 N.E.2d 1374, 1382 (1986). When applying the rational basis test, a law will be upheld if there is any conceivable basis for doing so. E.g., People v. Hamm, 149 Ill. 2d 201, 216, 595 N.E.2d 540, 546 (1992), citing McGowan v. Maryland, 366 U.S. 420, 426, 6 L. Ed. 2d 393, 399, 81 S. Ct. 1101, 1105 (1961). Legislation may be based on rational speculation unsupported by admissible evidence or empirical data. See Cutinello v. Whitley, 161 Ill. 2d 409, 421-22, 641 N.E.2d 360, 365 (1994).

Plaintiff relies heavily on Lindner, in which the defendant, who previously had been convicted of criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse, challenged automatic revocation of his driver’s license pursuant to a prior version of section 6 — 205(b)(2) of the Code.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
704 N.E.2d 746, 301 Ill. App. 3d 952, 235 Ill. Dec. 173, 1998 Ill. App. LEXIS 809, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/freed-v-ryan-illappct-1998.