People v. Sprind

933 N.E.2d 1197, 403 Ill. App. 3d 772, 342 Ill. Dec. 904, 2010 Ill. App. LEXIS 812
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided August 6, 2010·No. 5-09-0327·Published·Cited by 14 cases

Opinion

JUSTICE WELCH

delivered the opinion of the court:

Following a bench trial, the defendant, William D. Sprind, Jr., was found guilty of four counts of aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol, other drug or drugs, or intoxicating compound or compounds, or any combination thereof, in violation of section 11 — 501(d) of the Illinois Vehicle Code (625 ILCS 5/11 — 501(d) (West 2008)), and one count of reckless homicide, in violation of section 9 — 3(a) of the Criminal Code of 1961 (720 ILCS 5/9 — 3(a) (West 2008)). The circuit court of Franklin County sentenced the defendant to a 14-year term of imprisonment. On appeal the defendant raises the following issues: (1) whether the defendant received ineffective assistance at the trial and (2) whether the amendment of sections 1286.320(c) and 1286.330(b) of Title 20 of the Illinois Administrative Code (Administrative Code) (20 Ill. Adm. Code § 1286.320(c), amended at 31 Ill. Reg. 15107, 15111, eff. October 29, 2007; 20 Ill. Adm. Code §1286.330(b), amended at 31 Ill. Reg. 7305, 7321, eff. May 1, 2007) constitute ex post facto laws in violation of the United States and Illinois Constitutions. For the following reasons, we affirm.

On January 23, 2007, the defendant was driving his truck northbound on Illinois Route 37 at a high rate of speed, passing onto the shoulder and into the oncoming southbound traffic lane. The defendant attempted to pass several vehicles and ran directly into the vehicle of the victims, Troy and Myrtle Holt. As a result of the collision, Mrs. Holt died. Mr. Holt was unconscious for three weeks, on a ventilator for six weeks, hospitalized for months, and then placed in a nursing home. The defendant was also injured in the collision. At the hospital, a nurse, in the presence of Illinois State Trooper Robert Reynolds, obtained a urine specimen from the defendant. Another nurse, also in Trooper Reynolds’ presence, swabbed the defendant’s arm and drew blood. The blood and urine tests revealed that the defendant had levels of cocaine high enough to be fatal. He also had cannabis and numerous prescription medications in his system.

On October 5, 2007, defense counsel filed a motion in limine to prevent the results of the urine sample from being introduced into evidence. Defense counsel argued that at the time of the offense and when the urine sample was taken, section 1286.330(b) of Title 20 of the Administrative Code (20 Ill. Adm. Code §1286.330(b), amended at 28 Ill. Reg. 10017, 10040, eff. June 30, 2004) set forth procedures that provided that the urine sample may be collected only by the arresting officer, another law enforcement officer, or an agency employee. Defense counsel noted that a nurse, and not an authorized person, took the urine sample. Therefore, defense counsel argued that the police failed to comply with the Administrative Code provision in effect at the time the urine sample was taken. Defense counsel noted that effective May 1, 2007, section 1286.330 had been amended to add hospital nurses to the list of those who are authorized to take urine samples.

On November 15, 2007, defense counsel filed a motion to suppress the results of the blood test. Defense counsel noted that at the time of the collision, section 1286.320(c) of Title 20 of the Administrative Code (20 Ill. Adm. Code §1286.320(c), amended at 28 Ill. Reg. 10017, 10039, eff. June 30, 2004), regarding blood draws, stated, “A disinfectant that does not contain alcohol shall be used to clean the skin where a sample is to be collected.” Defense counsel argued that the blood-test kit violated procedure because the nurse had used a swab that contained alcohol to cleanse the defendant’s skin. Accordingly, defense counsel argued that the results of the blood draw should be inadmissible. Shortly after the collision, effective October 29, 2007, section 1286.320(c) was amended to read, “The blood sample should be drawn using proper medical technique.” 20 Ill. Adm. Code §1286.320(c), amended at 31 Ill. Reg. 15107, 15111, eff. October 29, 2007.

A hearing was held on the motion to suppress and the motion in limine on May 16, 2008, and the trial court entered a written order on June 12, 2008, denying the motion to suppress and the motion in limine. As to the urine sample, the court noted that the regulations required the police officer to be able to authenticate the sample. Because Trooper Reynolds was present when the nurse drew the sample, he was able to authenticate the sample pursuant to the regulations. Moreover, the trial court held the amendment of section 1286.330(b) to be procedural rather than substantive and concluded that the regulations could be applied retroactively. As to the blood sample, the court noted that the defendant had not argued that the sample was tainted or that the results were invalid. The court then noted that the regulation had recently been found invalid and noted that the results could not be inadmissible for a failure to comply with an invalid regulation. Furthermore, the trial court held that the amendment of section 1286.320(c) was procedural rather than substantive and found that the current regulation could be applied retroactively.

Thereafter, the defendant suffered a stroke on September 22, 2008. As a result, defense counsel filed a motion for a fitness examination on September 30, 2008. A week later on October 6, 2008, the defendant had recovered enough to be present in court at a pretrial conference. On November 3, 2008, defense counsel withdrew his motion for a fitness examination. Defense counsel noted that the motion had been based solely on the stroke. He also noted that the defendant was going to have a neurological examination: “[It will] basically tell us most of what we need to know about whether or not I am going to re[ ]file a motion for fitness.” Defense counsel stated further, “When I have the results of that, then we will contemplate either filing or not filing a future motion.” The trial court noted that up to that point the defendant had not raised a bona fide doubt regarding his fitness to stand trial.

On January 16, 2009, the defendant waived his right to a jury trial. The trial court noted that defense counsel had previously raised the issue of the defendant’s fitness to stand trial but had withdrawn it. Defense counsel stated, “[A]t this present time we are not raising that issue, and we don’t anticipate it, and[ — ]assuming there is [sic] no new medical developments.” The trial court noted, “[F]rom my observation of Mr. Sprind, he also appears to be fully aware of what is occurring today and appears to be fit to stand trial.”

A stipulated bench trial was held on January 29, 2009. Evidence presented at the trial included seven drivers who had witnessed the defendant driving at a high rate of speed, erratically all over the road, and attempting to pass numerous vehicles before striking the victims’ vehicle head-on.

Duke Dixon would have testified that he was an employee of Mercy Regional working as an emergency medical technician (EMT). On January 23, 2007, he responded to a crash on Illinois Route 37 north of West Frankfort. He provided treatment to the defendant, and in the course of the treatment he had to cut the defendant’s pants, and a number of white pills fell from the left pocket of the defendant’s pants. He collected these pills with a rubber glove and handed them to Trooper Reynolds.

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People v. Sprind, 933 N.E.2d 1197, 403 Ill. App. 3d 772, 342 Ill. Dec. 904, 2010 Ill. App. LEXIS 812 (Ill. Ct. App. 2010).

933 N.E.2d 1197 (People v. Sprind) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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