People v. Jacobs

939 N.E.2d 64, 405 Ill. App. 3d 210, 345 Ill. Dec. 335, 2010 Ill. App. LEXIS 1168
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedNovember 1, 2010
Docket4-09-0878
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 939 N.E.2d 64 (People v. Jacobs) 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. Jacobs, 939 N.E.2d 64, 405 Ill. App. 3d 210, 345 Ill. Dec. 335, 2010 Ill. App. LEXIS 1168 (Ill. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

JUSTICE TURNER

delivered the opinion of the court:

In May 2009, a jury found defendant, Drew M. Jacobs, guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol and driving with an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more. In October 2009, the trial court sentenced him to 24 months’ conditional discharge.

On appeal, defendant argues (1) evidence of chemical testing was improperly admitted, (2) the State failed to prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, (3) the trial court should have entered judgment on the count of driving under the influence, (4) the State deprived him of a fair trial, and (5) the court erred in giving certain jury instructions. We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

In September 2007, defendant was charged by citation with two counts of driving under the influence (625 ILCS 5/11 — 501(a) (West 2006)). Defendant pleaded not guilty.

In December 2007, defendant filed a petition to rescind statutory summary suspension and a motion to quash arrest and suppress evidence. In April 2008, the trial court denied the petition and the motion. Defendant appealed, and this court affirmed the trial court’s judgment. People v. Jacobs, No. 4—08—0330 (April 15, 2009) (unpublished order under Supreme Court Rule 23).

In May 2009, defendant filed several motions in limine, asking the trial court to prohibit the State from proffering testimony pertaining to the horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) test and a preliminary breath test (PBT). The court allowed the motion regarding the HGN test and also allowed the motion as to the PBT, subject to the defense opening the door at trial.

At defendant’s jury trial, Monica Strandberg testified she was a trooper with the Illinois State Police. On September 13, 2007, Strand-berg was on routine patrol in Champaign County when she observed a white Ford with its “bright lights on.” Strandberg stated it was a violation of the Vehicle Code to have “your high beams on within 500 feet of another vehicle,” so she initiated a traffic stop at 2:50 a.m. As the driver of the Ford entered a parking lot, “the rear tire hit the curb.”

Trooper Strandberg approached the driver, identified as defendant, and noticed “he had a flush face” and “red and glossy eyes.” She could also “smell a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his breath.” When she asked defendant whether he had been consuming alcohol, he responded he had had two beers. Defendant did not have any trouble producing his driver’s license and proof of insurance.

Strandberg then asked defendant to exit the vehicle to perform field-sobriety tests. Defendant performed the nine-step-walk-and-turn test, and Strandberg stated he did “fine.” Defendant then performed the one-legged-stand test, and Strandberg considered his performance a failure because he “swayed slightly” and “raised his arms more than six inches past his side.” She then placed defendant under arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol based on the strong smell of alcohol coming from his breath, his failure on the field-sobriety test, his flush face and red glassy eyes, and his “driving up over the curb.”

Trooper Strandberg transported defendant to the police station, issued him a citation, and read to him the warning to motorists. Defendant then agreed to take a Breathalyzer test. Strandberg testified she was certified to administer the test. She used the Intox EC/IR and testified to a logbook the police department maintains on the use of the machine. The test result showed 0.11 at 4 a.m. Strandberg then issued defendant a second citation for driving under the influence of alcohol over 0.08.

The State played the tape of the stop to the jury. After the State rested its case, defense counsel moved for a directed verdict, which the trial court denied.

The defense then called Dr. Ronald Henson, who testified as an expert in impaired-driving enforcement, field-sobriety testing and blood- and breath-alcohol testing. Dr. Henson reviewed documents relating to defendant’s arrest. After reviewing the video, Dr. Henson stated he did not notice any recognized cues that would indicate defendant did not perform the one-legged-stand test or the walk-and-turn test correctly. He then opined there existed a “disconnect” between defendant’s performance and his 0.11 breath-alcohol reading.

On rebuttal, Todd Savage testified he was a breath-alcohol technician with the Illinois State Police. The trial court recognized him as an expert in the operation, maintenance, and repair of the EC/IR instrument. Savage stated he travels around to police agencies and sheriffs departments to make sure the EC/IR devices are accurate and working properly. Upon checking the devices for accuracy, he would note the results in a logbook. He checked the accuracy of the EC/IR at the Champaign County satellite jail on September 6, 2007, and again on October 4, 2007.

Following Savage’s testimony, defense counsel moved for a directed verdict at the close of all the evidence, which the trial court denied. Following closing arguments, the jury found defendant guilty.

In June 2009, defendant filed a posttrial motion, which the trial court denied. In October 2009, the court entered judgment on the count of driving with a blood- or breath-alcohol concentration (BAG) of 0.08 or more (625 ILCS 5/11 — 501(a)(1) (West 2006)) and sentenced defendant to 24 months’ conditional discharge. This appeal followed.

II. ANALYSIS A. Chemical Testing

Defendant argues the State improperly introduced the results of the Breathalyzer test in its case in chief by failing to provide a proper foundation that the device was tested regularly for accuracy and was working properly. We disagree.

In determining the foundational requirements of breath-test results, our supreme court has noted as follows:

“Such a foundation will include: (1) evidence that the tests were performed according to the uniform standard adopted by the Illinois Department of Public Health, (2) evidence that the operator administering the tests was certified by the Department of Public Health, (3) evidence that the machine used was a model approved by the Department of Health, was tested regularly for accuracy, and was working properly, (4) evidence that the motorist was observed for the requisite 20 minutes prior to the test and, during this period, the motorist did not smoke, regurgitate, or drink, and (5) evidence that the results appearing on the ‘printout’ sheet can be identified as the tests given to the motorist.” People v. Orth, 124 Ill. 2d 326, 340, 530 N.E.2d 210, 216-17 (1988).

Evidence that the Breathalyzer was regularly tested for accuracy is among the elements of the foundation required for the admission of the breath-test results. People v. Black, 84 Ill. App. 3d 1050, 1052, 406 N.E.2d 23, 24 (1980).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
939 N.E.2d 64, 405 Ill. App. 3d 210, 345 Ill. Dec. 335, 2010 Ill. App. LEXIS 1168, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-jacobs-illappct-2010.