People v. Bierman

516 N.E.2d 963, 163 Ill. App. 3d 256, 114 Ill. Dec. 808, 1987 Ill. App. LEXIS 3505
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedDecember 1, 1987
Docket5-86-0329
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 516 N.E.2d 963 (People v. Bierman) 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
People v. Bierman, 516 N.E.2d 963, 163 Ill. App. 3d 256, 114 Ill. Dec. 808, 1987 Ill. App. LEXIS 3505 (Ill. Ct. App. 1987).

Opinion

JUSTICE LEWIS

delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendants, Timothy and Diane Bierman, were charged by an information filed March 4, 1986, in the circuit court of Jackson County with unlawful possession of cannabis under section 4(b) of the Cannabis Control Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 56½, par. 704(b)) and illegal transportation of alcohol under section 11—502(a) of the Illinois Vehicle Code (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 95½, par. 11—502(a)). Diane Bier-man was additionally charged with unlawful possession of a substance containing cocaine under section 402(b) of the Illinois Controlled Substances Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 56½, par. 1402(b)).

Defendants filed separate motions to quash their arrests and suppress evidence seized in a search of their vehicle. On April 24, 1986, Timothy Bierman’s motion was heard.

Sergeant Don Strom of the Carbondale police department testified that he was patrolling an alley at the rear of 515 South Illinois Avenue in Carbondale at approximately 12:30 a.m. on the morning of March 2, 1986, when he noticed a car parked in a nearby parking lot with its windows fogged up. There appeared to be people inside the car, and, since there had been a high incidence of auto burglaries in the area, Strom decided to investigate. He got out of his squad car and approached the passenger door of the vehicle.

As Strom approached, he could tell there was a person in the front passenger seat, another person in the driver’s seat and some people in the rear seat. Strom shined his flashlight into the front passenger seat area and observed a woman (later identified as Diane Bierman) who had what looked to him like a rolling paper up to her mouth and appeared to be licking it closed. Strom said the light startled her and she pulled the object down with her left hand and placed it under her left hip.

Strom immediately opened the door of the car. He reached across to where Bierman’s hand was underneath her hip, felt a plastic object, which he confiscated, and asked Bierman to get out of the car. Strom said he smelled the odor of cannabis as soon as he opened the door. The object Strom took from Diane Bierman’s hand was a small plastic “compact-like” case which contained a white powdery substance Strom believed to be cocaine.

Upon the arrival of other officers, a search of the vehicle was conducted in which officers found pipes in the ashtray and under the driver’s seat, rolling papers in the glove box, and “items that appeared to be cannabis” under the driver’s seat. No rolling papers were found on Diane Bierman or in the seating area of the car.

On cross-examination, Strom stated he thought at the time that the object in Diane Bierman’s hand was a rolling paper, but he could not specifically identify it as such. Strom did not smell marijuana until he opened the car door.

Officer Steve Michaels arrived after Strom had ordered defendants out of the front seat of the car. Three people were still seated in the backseat. Michaels corroborated Strom’s recitation of items found in the search of the car.

Defendant Timothy Bierman testified that his sister Diane’s hands were in her lap immediately before Strom opened the car door. She was not holding a marijuana cigarette. After ordering defendants to get out of the car, police officers searched the glove box, the trunk and under all the seats. The search was not pursuant to consent.

The court, noting that Strom had acted on mere suspicion after seeing what he thought was a rolling paper in the hands of Diane Bierman, granted defendant Timothy Bierman’s motion to quash arrest and suppress evidence. A written order was filed on May 9, 1986.

On May 14, 1986, Diane Bierman’s motion was heard and granted based upon the testimony presented at Timothy Bierman’s motion hearing. In granting defendant’s motion the court stated:

“The Court is going to enter the same order with regard to the Motion to Suppress Evidence as to Diane Bierman as was entered as to Timothy Bierman previously. The evidence will be suppressed and the same order will apply to Diane Bierman.”

On May 20, 1986, the State filed notice of appeal from the orders of May 9 and May 14. On May 22, 1986, a written order was filed in the circuit court granting Diane Bierman’s motion. The order was apparently prepared on the initiative of Diane Bierman’s attorney.

As a preliminary matter, we note that the court’s oral pronouncement on May 14, 1986, granting defendant Diane Bierman’s motion to quash arrest and suppress evidence was an appealable order. The court stated that the order entered previously as to Timothy Bierman would apply to Diane Bierman. This statement indicated that the court did not contemplate entry of a written order, and, from the record, the State had no reason to expect one was forthcoming. Since it is not apparent of record that the State was aware or had reason to believe a written order was to follow the court’s pronouncement, the notice of appeal filed by the State on May 20, 1986, vests this court with jurisdiction. People v. Toolen (1983), 116 Ill. App. 3d 632, 451 N.E.2d 1364.

The State contends that Sergeant Strom was aware of articulable facts justifying an investigatory stop and that, as part of that stop, Strom was justified in opening the door of defendants’ car in order to question defendants or to satisfy himself that there were no weapons present that might compromise his safety. The State argues that once the door was open and Strom smelled cannabis, probable cause to search for cannabis arose. The State points to several facts which would justify Strom’s actions: the hour of the day, an area with a high incidence of auto burglaries, defendant Diane Bierman apparently licking a rolling paper closed, and a furtive gesture upon Strom’s shining a flashlight in the car.

We reject, as did the circuit court, the notion that Strom was aware of articulable facts which would justify his opening the door of defendants’ car. There were no grounds for an investigatory stop.

First, this situation is different from that in People v. Aldridge (1981), 101 Ill. App. 3d 181, 427 N.E.2d 1001, in which the defendant was found with a partially undressed woman in a parked car in a deserted alley at 3 a.m. Here defendants were sitting in their car at 12:30 a.m., along with three other people, outside a bar which was open for business and providing live entertainment. Strom could have anticipated seeing people near the bar at that hour of the day. Therefore, there was nothing suspicious about the presence of people in the vicinity at that place and time.

Second, Strom’s testimony that he approached the defendants’ car in part because the windows were fogged and the area was one where there was a high incidence of auto burglaries does not provide justification for opening the door. As Strom approached the car, and before he shined his flashlight into it, he saw that the car was filled with occupants. Any suspicions he might have had that an auto burglary was in progress must have been dispelled.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
516 N.E.2d 963, 163 Ill. App. 3d 256, 114 Ill. Dec. 808, 1987 Ill. App. LEXIS 3505, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-bierman-illappct-1987.