People v. Johnson

380 N.E.2d 1095, 64 Ill. App. 3d 377, 20 Ill. Dec. 886, 1978 Ill. App. LEXIS 3317
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided September 12, 1978·No. 77-334·Published·Cited by 4 cases

Opinion

Mr. JUSTICE BOYLE

delivered the opinion of the court:

Following a jury trial in Ogle County, the defendant, Jimmie R. Johnson, was found guilty of operating an automobile while his license was revoked in violation of section 6 — 303 of the Illinois Vehicle Code (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1975, ch. 95M, par. 6 — 303). The defendant was sentenced to six months’ periodic imprisonment in the Ogle County jail, such sentence to be served every day unless the defendant was working.

On appeal the defendant contends that the trial court erred in admitting a certain exhibit, that he was not proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and that his sentence was excessive.

The following events were testified to at trial:

At 12:30 a.m. on August 24, 1976, Sergeant Darrell Cash of the Ogle County sheriff’s department was proceeding east on Route 64 and was at the intersection of River Road. At this time, a 1975 two-door Chevrolet pulled out of River Road onto Route 64 in front of Sergeant Cash, which caused him to quickly apply his brakes in order to avoid an accident. After following this automobile for a brief period, Sergeant Cash stopped this car because of the above traffic violation. At this time, the defendant driver switched seats with his passenger, but Sergeant Cash easily ascertained that the defendant was the driver of this automobile. After a check with the Secretary of State’s Driver’s License Division to ascertain the status of defendant’s license, Sergeant Cash placed the defendant under arrest.

At trial, the State introduced People’s Group Exhibit No. 1, hereinafter the exhibit, which were copies of three documents from the Illinois Secretary of State’s office. Included in the above was an “Order of Revocation” signed and sealed by the Illinois Secretary of State, which provided in pertinent part as follows:

“ORDER OF REVOCATION

M. Day Yr.

Jimmie R. Johnson 05-02-38 Date of Revocation 02 06 75

645 South 1st Street License Number J525-4363-8126

Rochelle 61068 071 Date of Conviction 12 09 74

J525-4363-8126 02-20-75 Authority: Section 6 — 205(a)2

Illinois Vehicle Code

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 6 — 204 of the Illinois Vehicle Code, a report has been received in my office of the conviction of the person named herein of the offense of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor.

Therefore, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that any and all Illinois drivers licenses or permits issued to such person, the privilege of obtaining a license as well as the privilege of operating a motor vehicle in this State, be and are hereby REVOKED, effective this date, as provided under the authority herein indicated.”

Another of these documents was a certified document from the Illinois Secretary of State’s office which provided:

<<* * * au statutory notices required of any driver control action taken have been properly given. I FURTHER CERTIFY Jimmie R. Johnson, File No. J525-4363-8126, did not have a valid license August 24, 1976.”

• Defendant initially contends that this exhibit was inadmissible because: (1) it was irrelevant; (2) it was not statutorily admissible under section 6 — 118(f) of the Illinois Vehicle Code (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1975, ch. 95%, par. 6 — 118(f)); and (3) it was not admissible as a business record under section 115 — 5 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1975, ch. 38, par. 115 — 5). Defendant’s argument that the aforementioned exhibit from the Illinois Secretary of State’s office was not admissible is without merit for the following reasons. First, the exhibit was clearly relevant because it addressed the very reason that the defendant did not have a license at the time of his arrest — because his license had been revoked. Second, the fact of defendant’s revocation of his operator’s license is an essential element of the offense of operating a motor vehicle while and after the revocation of the operator’s license which the prosecution must prove in its prima facie case (People v. Osborn (1966), 78 Ill. App. 2d 132, 223 N.E.2d 243), and this exhibit from the Illinois Secretary of State’s office is prima facie evidence “that the person named in such information or warrant is the same person as the person named in” the exhibit (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1975, ch. 95%, par. 6 — 118(f)). Third, this exhibit was also properly admitted under the business record exception to the hearsay rule (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1975, ch. 38, par. 115 — 5) because it was prepared by a public official in the ordinary course of business and it was routinely issued at the request of law enforcement agencies.

Defendant next contends that the admission of the order or revocation contained in the exhibit was extremely prejudicial and should not have been admitted because it disclosed to the jury on its face that his license had been revoked for his prior conviction of the offense of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor. The question of whether the trial court erroneously admitted the order of revocation from the Secretary of State which disclosed on its face the defendant’s prior conviction of driving while intoxicated has been previously determined by this court in People v. White (1960), 24 Ill. App. 2d 324, 164 N.E.2d 823. In White, the court stated that where the Secretary of State has maintained a record of defendant’s previous conviction of driving while intoxicated and the fact that his driver’s license had been revoked

° ° a certified copy of these records maintained by the Secretary of State pursuant to statutory mandate under his signature and seal were properly admitted in evidence. The trial court did not commit reversible error in admitting these records in evidence.” (24 Ill. App. 2d 324, 333, 164 N.E.2d 823, 827.)

Additionally, in People v. Osborne (1966), 78 Ill. App. 2d 132, the court held that the order of the Secretary of State suspending the defendant’s operator’s license for a period of three months as a result of defendant’s conviction of three moving violations within a 12-month period and a copy of notice of suspension sent to defendant were properly admitted into evidence in a prosecution for operating a motor vehicle while his license was suspended. In Osborne, the court, after a consideration of the nature of the offense of operating a motor vehicle while and after his privilege had been suspended, noted that:

“The offense charged is not merely the driving of a motor vehicle in the absence of a license to do so but the driving of such a vehicle while and after such license has been suspended. The fact of suspension is one of the essential elements of the offense as charged and must be proved by the People.

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People v. Johnson, 380 N.E.2d 1095, 64 Ill. App. 3d 377, 20 Ill. Dec. 886, 1978 Ill. App. LEXIS 3317 (Ill. Ct. App. 1978).

380 N.E.2d 1095 (People v. Johnson) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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