People v. Lindmark

887 N.E.2d 606, 381 Ill. App. 3d 638, 320 Ill. Dec. 462, 2008 Ill. App. LEXIS 317
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedApril 3, 2008
Docket4-07-0535
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 887 N.E.2d 606 (People v. Lindmark) 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. Lindmark, 887 N.E.2d 606, 381 Ill. App. 3d 638, 320 Ill. Dec. 462, 2008 Ill. App. LEXIS 317 (Ill. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

JUSTICE MYERSCOUGH

delivered the opinion of the court:

In January 2007, a jury found defendant, Erika M. Lindmark, guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) while her driver’s license was suspended (625 ILCS ll/501(a)(l) (West 2006)) (count I) and driving with a suspended license (DWS) (625 ILCS 5/6 — 303(a) (West 2006)) (count II). The trial court later vacated count II. In March 2007, the court sentenced defendant to 180 days in the Champaign County jail plus 30 months’ probation on count I. Defendant appeals.

Although defendant raises several substantive arguments on appeal, the inadequate record provided severely hampers this court’s review. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

On March 1, 2006, defendant was arrested for DUI and DWS. Following her arrest, defendant performed a breath test showing she had a breath-alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.167.

On March 22, 2006, the State charged defendant with driving while her BAC was equal to or greater than 0.08 and while her license to drive was suspended due to her prior violation of section 11 — 501.1 of the Illinois Vehicle Code (Vehicle Code) (625 ILCS 5/11 — 501(a)(1) (West 2006)). See 625 ILCS 5/11 — 501(c—1)(1) (West 2006) (providing that driving under the influence while one’s license is suspended for, among other reasons, a violation of section 11 — 501.1 of the Vehicle Code, constitutes a Class 4 felony). On January 5, 2007, the State charged defendant with count II, DWS (625 ILCS 5/6 — 303(a) (West 2006)).

Defendant filed numerous pretrial motions. On January 17, 2007, the trial court held a hearing on the pending motions. Only a partial transcript of the January 17, 2007, hearing is contained in the record on appeal. An examination of the pretrial motions relevant to this appeal follows.

A. Pretrial Motions

1. Motion To Suppress the Breath Test

In December 2006, defendant filed a motion to suppress the breath test. The motion alleged that the protocol for the operation of a breath test requires the operator observe the subject for a 20-minute period to ensure the subject does not regurgitate, burp, belch, or otherwise bring contents from the stomach or esophagus into the mouth because that will produce an inaccurate reading. Defendant claimed the results of her breath test were invalid because the operator did not properly observe defendant to ensure she did not bring stomach contents up into her mouth.

At the January 17, 2007, hearing, defendant testified that she suffered from acid reflux. Defendant claimed she burped during the observation period. On cross-examination, defendant admitted the officer asked her if she had any illness prior to the breath test, and she did not tell him she had acid reflux. Defendant testified she did tell the officer she was “sick earlier that day.”

The trial court viewed the videotape showing the observation of defendant. The videotape, which was admitted into evidence, is not contained in the record on appeal. The court concluded the observation by the officer complied with statutory and case-law requirements. The court noted that defendant yawned, but the court saw nothing that implicated the guidelines with respect to the breath test. The court denied the motion to suppress the breath test.

2. Motion To Suppress Statements

In December 2006, defendant filed a motion requesting the trial court suppress all statements made by defendant during her custodial interrogation. In the motion, defendant alleged that the officer failed to make an adequate determination that defendant understood her Miranda rights (Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 16 L. Ed. 2d 694, 86 S. Ct. 1602 (1966)) and failed to obtain a knowing and voluntary waiver of those rights.

At the January 17, 2007, hearing on the pretrial motions, patrol sergeant Adam Chacon testified that on March 1, 2006, he stopped defendant’s vehicle. After a DUI investigation, he placed defendant under arrest for DUI and transported her to the satellite jail in Champaign County.

After defendant performed the breath test, Sergeant Chacon used his Miranda card and read defendant the Miranda warnings. Sergeant Chacon told defendant she could choose to answer or not answer the questions. Defendant appeared to understand what he was saying. Defendant told Sergeant Chacon she was 25 years old, a high school graduate, and attended the “University.”

On cross-examination, Sergeant Chacon admitted it was cold that evening, and defendant exhibited signs of being cold. After defendant was arrested, Sergeant Chacon noticed defendant was shivering.

Sergeant Chacon testified he gave defendant the opportunity to waive her Miranda rights by asking her if she was willing to discuss the matter further. The trial court admitted into evidence People’s exhibit No. 2, a videotape of the interrogation. The parties’ arguments were not transcribed and the videotape is not contained in the record on appeal. The following exchange took place during the hearing:

“Q. [(Defense counsel)]: All right. Did you ever say to her—
THE COURT: You may resume your seat, Officer.
Q. —are you willing to waive those rights and talk to me?
A. No.
Q. You started asking her questions?
A. Yes.
^ ^ ^
Q. You never got her to say that she was willing to waive the right to speak to you, did you?
A. I didn’t see it in that portion of the video you showed.
Q. Do you want to see another portion?
A. I don’t think that it’s going to assist me in any way. I said what was on the video. I don’t remember every word I said on the video.”

The trial court denied the motion to suppress statements.

3. The Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Test

In December 2006, defendant filed a motion to suppress the horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) test results. Defendant alleged the results must be excluded because the officer did not conduct the HGN test as required by this court’s decision in People v. Kirk, 289 Ill. App. 3d 326, 681 N.E.2d 1073 (1997).

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Bluebook (online)
887 N.E.2d 606, 381 Ill. App. 3d 638, 320 Ill. Dec. 462, 2008 Ill. App. LEXIS 317, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-lindmark-illappct-2008.