People v. Nelson

569 N.E.2d 1197, 210 Ill. App. 3d 977, 155 Ill. Dec. 586, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 521
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMarch 29, 1991
DocketNo. 2-90-0067
StatusPublished

This text of 569 N.E.2d 1197 (People v. Nelson) 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. Nelson, 569 N.E.2d 1197, 210 Ill. App. 3d 977, 155 Ill. Dec. 586, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 521 (Ill. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinion

JUSTICE INGLIS

delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant, William Jack Nelson, appeals from a judgment of the circuit court of Kane County which found him guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol pursuant to section 11 — 501(a) of the Illinois Vehicle Code (Vehicle Code) (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 951/2, par. 11— 501(a)). Defendant was sentenced to 12 months’ probation, was ordered to pay court costs of $155 and was required to attend treatment counseling. On appeal, defendant contends that: (1) the trial court erred in finding him guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol where he was charged with violating section 11 — 501(a)(1) of the Vehicle Code but was found guilty of violating section 11 — 501(a), given that the State failed to present any evidence at trial that defendant’s blood-alcohol content was 0.10 or higher; and (2) he was not proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of driving with a blood-alcohol content of 0.10 or greater. We reverse.

On June 4, 1989, at approximately 2:40 a.m., defendant was stopped by Officer Marshal McQuinley of the Aurora police department. Officer McQuinley testified that defendant’s car was stopped at a stop sign. The officer approached defendant’s car and noticed that defendant appeared to be asleep; however, the car was still running, and defendant’s foot was on the brake pedal. The officer woke defendant and proceeded to administer field sobriety tests to him. According to McQuinley, defendant failed these tests and was arrested. Officer McQuinley prepared a uniform traffic ticket which indicated that defendant was being charged with “driving while under the influence of alcoholic beverage” in violation of “Chap. 951/2 Sec. 11 Par. 501A1.” (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 951/2, par. 11 — 501(a)(1).) Thereafter, defendant was transported to the Aurora police department, where Officer Robin Trettenero attempted to perform a breathalyzer test. According to Officer Trettenero, defendant agreed to take the test but was unable to register a reading on the breathalyzer machine due to a “deficient sample.”

Because the breathalyzer sample was deficient, the State only offered evidence at trial to show that defendant was driving under the influence of alcohol. (See Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 951/2, par. 11— 501(a)(2).) The State did not present any evidence that defendant was driving with a blood-alcohol content of 0.10 or more. See Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 951/2, par. ll-501(a)(1).

Defendant did not testify or present any witnesses at trial but argued during closing arguments that the State had not proved him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Defendant claimed that the State’s evidence was not sufficient to prove that he was driving an automobile while under the influence of alcohol.

Following closing arguments, the trial court pointed out a discrepancy in the uniform traffic ticket. Specifically, the court noted that the ticket informed defendant that he was being charged with “driving under the influence of alcoholic beverage” but cited section 11 — 501(a)(1) of the Vehicle Code, which applies to driving with a blood-alcohol content of 0.10 or better. The court asked both sides to present arguments on how the matter should be resolved. After arguments by both counsel, the trial court found defendant guilty of violating section 11— 501(a) of the Vehicle Code, but did not determine which specific subsection of this section applied in this case.

Defendant’s motion for a new trial or, in the alternative, a finding of not guilty was denied. This appeal followed.

Defendant first contends that the ticket issued by Officer McQuinley was fatally insufficient in that it failed to specify the offense with which defendant was charged. Section 111 — 3(a) of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 (Code) (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 38, par. 111 — 3(a)) requires, inter alia, that a charge: (1) state the name of the offense; (2) cite what statutory provision has been alleged to have been violated; and (3) list the nature and the elements of the offense that is charged. Defendant argues that the State charged him with violating section 11 — 501(a)(1) of the Vehicle Code (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 951/2, par. 11 — 501(a)(1)), which involves driving with a blood-alcohol content of 0.10 or greater, and then did not offer any evidence of this violation. Instead, defendant asserts that the State only offered evidence that he was guilty of driving while under the influence of alcohol. See Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 951/2, par. 11-501(a)(2).

We first note that the uniform traffic ticket at issue in this case described two offenses under section 11 — 501(a) of the Vehicle Code. The ticket charged defendant with “driving under the influence of alcoholic beverage” (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 951/2, par. 11 — 501(a)(2)), but then listed section 11 — 501(a)(1) (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 951/2, par. 11 — 501(a)(1)) as the section of the Vehicle Code which he violated. Section 11 — 501(a)(1) of the Vehicle Code involves the offense of driving with a blood-alcohol content of 0.10 or greater.

This situation is similar to the case of People v. Tammen (1968), 40 Ill. 2d 76, in which a traffic ticket stated that the defendant was being charged with “drag racing” but cited to the statutory section which prohibits reckless driving. In Tammen, the defendant also argued that the traffic ticket was legally insufficient. The court stated:

“Inasmuch as the Uniform Traffic Ticket is only used for misdemeanors, is written by an arresting officer rather than a State’s Attorney and is generally written at the time the offense is committed, we believe that naming the offense and citing it is sufficient and will generally be understood by the person charged. Under section 111 — 6 [citation] the accused may request a bill of particulars which will enable him ‘to prepare his defense.’ We hold that a conviction based on a Uniform Traffic Ticket naming an offense and citing the statutory provision, where there is no objection to the sufficiency of the ticket or request for a bill of particulars, will not be set aside for failure to comply with section 111 — 3[a](3).” (Tammen, 40 Ill. 2d at 78-79.)

The court also stated that the defendant was not misled by the discrepancy in the ticket because he was well aware of the facts surrounding the issuance of the ticket. Tammen, 40 Ill. 2d at 79.

In People v. Askeland (1988), 166 Ill. App. 3d 78, the defendant was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol in violation of section 11 — 501(a) of the Vehicle Code. However, the trial court found her guilty of violating subsection 2 of this section. On appeal, the defendant contended that the failure to specify which subsection the State was proceeding on constituted a fatal defect in the charging process. (Askeland, 166 Ill. App. 3d at 79.) This court disagreed, noting that, pursuant to Tammen, the defendant was required to make a pretrial objection to the uniform traffic ticket in order to challenge the sufficiency of the charge. Askeland, 166 Ill. App. 3d at 80; see also People v. Sikes (1986), 141 Ill. App. 3d 773, 777; People v. Domovich (1980), 91 Ill. App. 3d 870, 873-74.

This court has gone on to hold that, since section 111 — 6 of the Code (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 38, par.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
569 N.E.2d 1197, 210 Ill. App. 3d 977, 155 Ill. Dec. 586, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 521, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-nelson-illappct-1991.