People v. Strawn

569 N.E.2d 269, 210 Ill. App. 3d 783, 155 Ill. Dec. 269, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 418
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMarch 21, 1991
Docket4-90-0667
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 569 N.E.2d 269 (People v. Strawn) 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. Strawn, 569 N.E.2d 269, 210 Ill. App. 3d 783, 155 Ill. Dec. 269, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 418 (Ill. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinion

PRESIDING JUSTICE LUND

delivered the opinion of the court:

On August 28, 1990, defendant Emma Strawn was found guilty by the circuit court of McLean County of committing the offense of operating a vehicle with tinted front side windows in violation of section 12 — 503(a) of the Illinois Vehicle Code (Code) (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 951/2, par. 12 — 503(a)). She was subsequently placed on court supervision for six months and ordered to pay court costs. Defendant now appeals. We affirm.

On October 12, 1989, defendant was ticketed for driving an Illinois-registered 1988 Honda Prelude with tinted front windows. Prior to trial, defendant filed various motions attacking the constitutionality of the statute and arrest, and supported these motions with affidavits and attachments. These documents establish that the vehicle had been purchased in 1988 in Texas with the tinted windows, and the tinted windows are in compliance with the law in Texas. They also showed that the arresting officer stopped the vehicle and issued the instant ticket solely on the basis of the tinted windows. The court denied the motions. The parties stipulated to the officer’s testimony, and the court found defendant guilty. Defendant now appeals, alleging several constitutional violations.

We begin our analysis by observing there are several well-recognized general principles applicable to any attack on the constitutionality of a statute. All statutes are presumed to be constitutional. (People v. Bales (1985), 108 Ill. 2d 182, 188, 483 N.E.2d 517, 519; Sayles v. Thompson (1983), 99 Ill. 2d 122, 124-25, 457 N.E.2d 440, 441-42.) The party challenging a statute has the burden of clearly establishing a constitutional violation. (People v. O’Donnell (1987), 116 Ill. 2d 517, 521, 508 N.E.2d 1066, 1068.) The supreme court has repeatedly emphasized that it is the court’s duty to construe acts of the legislature so as to affirm their constitutionality and validity if it can reasonably be done, and, further, if their construction is doubtful, the doubt will be resolved in favor of the validity of the law challenged. O’Donnell, 116 Ill. 2d at 521-22, 508 N.E.2d at 1068; Bales, 108 Ill. 2d at 188, 483 N.E.2d at 520; Continental Illinois National Bank & Trust Co. v. Illinois State Toll Highway Comm’n (1969), 42 Ill. 2d 385, 389, 251 N.E.2d 253, 257.

The section in question, section 12 — 503(a), provides “No person shall drive a motor vehicle with any sign, poster, window application, reflective material, nonreflective material or tinted film upon the front windshield, sidewings or side windows immediately adjacent to each side of the driver.” (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 951/2, par. 12— 503(a).) Exceptions are provided for vehicles manufactured prior to 1982 and for vehicles registered in another jurisdiction. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 951/2, par. 12 — 503(f).) There is a final medical exemption, but the need for tinted windows must be supported by a physician’s certificate, which must be carried at all times in the vehicle. Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 951/2, par. 12 — 503(g).

Defendant’s first position is that the statute is unconstitutional because, by allowing a primary stop in these circumstances, it violates the constitutional proscription against unreasonable seizures. By “primary stop,” she seems to mean a stop for the actual violation. This is opposed to a “secondary arrest,” which she would define as an arrest for conduct once a car is stopped for another reason. Thus, it is her position the statute is unconstitutional because it allows the stop for tinted windows alone. She believes violations of this section should only be addressed with a secondary arrest once a car is lawfully stopped for another legitimate reason.

Defendant observes that even a brief stop of a car to check its safety devices falls within the ambit of the fourth amendment's protection against unreasonable seizures. (See People v. Estrada (1979), 68 Ill. App. 3d 272, 275, 386 N.E.2d 128, 130.) Further, she observes the reasonableness of search and seizure depends upon a balance between the public’s interest and the individual’s right to freedom from arbitrary interference by law officers. (Estrada, 68 Ill. App. 3d at 275, 386 N.E.2d at 131.) She acknowledges that Illinois courts have repeatedly held stops for safety violations such as defective mufflers, brake lights, or headlights constitutional. (See People v. Houlihan (1988), 167 Ill. App. 3d 638, 643, 521 N.E.2d 277, 281.) However, she argues these stops are valid only because the interest of public safety outweighs the intrusion.

She maintains this balance is not present in this situation. She observes that “[t]he purpose of the prohibition against tinted windows is to protect the safety of law enforcement personnel who stop and approach a vehicle.” (People v. Hagen (1989), 191 Ill. App. 3d 265, 267, 547 N.E.2d 577, 579.) Thus, the concern for public safety is not involved, and she maintains the balancing then weighs against the stop of an individual. Accordingly, she maintains it is unconstitutional for this statute to allow a primary stop for this violation. Rather, she insists enforcement of the statute should be limited to secondary arrests which would occur after lawful stop for another reason.

Defendant’s argument is based on a faulty premise and therefore must fail. It is predicated on the perceived constitutional distinction between a “primary stop” and a “secondary arrest.” However, in Illinois, there is no such distinction. In Terry v. Ohio (1968), 392 U.S. 1, 20 L. Ed. 2d 889, 88 S. Ct. 1968, the Supreme Court found a limited investigatory stop by law enforcement officers is constitutional. The Terry rule has now been codified in Illinois in section 107 — 14 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 38, par. 107 — 14), and provides that a police officer may stop a person for a reasonable period of time when the officer reasonably infers from the circumstances that the person is committing or has committed a criminal offense. Therefore, a stop is always justified when the officer has a reasonable suspicion that any criminal conduct has occurred or is occurring. There is no limitation on this authority based on the type of violation involved. Accordingly, traffic violations involving the condition of a vehicle have provided a sufficient basis for a Terry stop. See Houlihan, 167 Ill. App. 3d at 643, 521 N.E.2d at 281.

In the present case, the legislature has determined that vehicles with tinted front windows should be illegal. The legislature could have provided that this provision only be enforced as a “secondary” matter (see, e.g., Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 951/2, par. 12 — 603.1(e)), but it chose not to do so. This is a legislative decision and is not of a constitutional dimension.

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Bluebook (online)
569 N.E.2d 269, 210 Ill. App. 3d 783, 155 Ill. Dec. 269, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 418, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-strawn-illappct-1991.