People v. Willner

924 N.E.2d 1029, 392 Ill. App. 3d 121, 338 Ill. Dec. 503, 2009 Ill. App. LEXIS 554
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedJune 26, 2009
Docket4-07-0926
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 924 N.E.2d 1029 (People v. Willner) 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. Willner, 924 N.E.2d 1029, 392 Ill. App. 3d 121, 338 Ill. Dec. 503, 2009 Ill. App. LEXIS 554 (Ill. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinion

JUSTICE KNECHT

delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant, Kirsten J. Willner, was charged with unlawful possession of pseudoephedrine because she knowingly purchased, within a 30-day period, products containing more than 7,500 milligrams of pseudoephedrine in violation of section 20(b) of Methamphetamine Precursor Control Act (Act) (720 ILCS 648/20(b) (West 2006)). Defendant unsuccessfully challenged the constitutionality of the statute under which she was charged. Defendant stipulated the State’s evidence was sufficient to convict under the statute. The trial court sentenced her to 12 months’ probation. Defendant appeals, arguing section 20(b) of the Act is unconstitutional because it is overbroad and criminalizes innocent conduct. We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

On June 18, 2007, defendant was charged with violating section 20(b) of the Act after she purchased products containing more than 7,500 milligrams of pseudoephedrine within a 30-day period. In October 2007, defendant filed a motion with the trial court requesting it adopt prior motions, evidence, and transcripts from People v. Willner, Adams County case No. 06 — CM—513. That case involved the same charge and contained a motion to declare section 20(b) of the Act (720 ILCS 648/20(b) (West 2006)) unconstitutional. At a November 1, 2007, bench trial, defendant stipulated the State would present evidence showing she purchased the requisite amounts of products containing pseudoephedrine within the time period prescribed by section 20(b) to prove a violation of section 20(b). Based upon the stipulation, the court found defendant guilty of a Class B misdemeanor and sentenced her as stated.

On November 6, 2007, the trial court entered a written order allowing the adoption in this case of the motion to declare section 20(b) of the Act (720 ILCS 648/20(b) (West 2006)) unconstitutional, which defendant had filed in People v. Willner, Adams County case No. 06— CM — 513. The court denied the motion and reentered its opinion and order in People v. Willner, Adams County case No. 06 — CM—513, in this case.

This appeal followed.

II. ANALYSIS

Defendant contends section 20(b) of the Act violates the due-process guarantee of the Illinois Constitution (Ill. Const. 1970, art. I, §2) because it is overbroad and criminalizes innocent conduct. The State responds defendant failed to meet her burden of clearly establishing section 20(b) of the Act violates substantive due process. The issue on review is whether a reasonable relationship lies between the criminalization of the purchase of more than 7,500 milligrams of products containing a methamphetamine precursor, ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, and the legislature’s goal of combating methamphetamine manufacturing and distribution.

A. Standard of Review

The constitutionality of a statute is reviewed de novo. People v. Jones, 223 Ill. 2d 569, 596, 861 N.E.2d 967, 983 (2006). Statutes are presumed to be constitutional. Jones, 223 Ill. 2d at 595, 861 N.E.2d at 983. A party challenging the constitutionality of a statute has the burden of clearly establishing its invalidity. Jones, 223 Ill. 2d at 596, 861 N.E.2d at 983. The legislature has broad discretion in determining what the public interest and welfare require and to determine the measures needed to secure such interest. Chicago National League Ball Club, Inc. v. Thompson, 108 Ill. 2d 357, 364, 483 N.E.2d 1245, 1248 (1985). The legislature has broad discretion in determining penalties for criminal offenses but is limited by the constitutional guarantee a person may not be deprived of liberty without due process of law. People v. Wright, 194 Ill. 2d 1, 24, 740 N.E.2d 755, 766-67 (2000).

The Illinois Constitution states:

“No person shall be deprived of life, liberty!,] or property without due process of law nor be denied the equal protection of the laws.” Ill. Const. 1970, art. I, §2.

When legislation does not affect a fundamental constitutional right, the court applies the rational-basis test to determine the legislation’s constitutionality. Wright, 194 Ill. 2d at 24, 740 N.E.2d at 767. A statute attacked on due-process grounds will be upheld so long as it (1) bears a reasonable relationship to the public interest sought to be protected and (2) the means employed are a reasonable method of achieving the desired objective. People v. Carpenter, 228 Ill. 2d 250, 267-68, 888 N.E.2d 105, 116 (2008). When applying the rational-basis test, the court is highly deferential to the findings of the legislature. People v. Johnson, 225 Ill. 2d 573, 585, 870 N.E.2d 415, 422 (2007). “[I]f any state of facts can reasonably be conceived to justify the enactment, it must be upheld.” People v. Shephard, 152 Ill. 2d 489, 502, 605 N.E.2d 518, 525 (1992).

Defendant has not argued that the statute’s method of enforcement is unreasonable.

B. The Reasonable-Relationship Test

1. The Statute’s Purpose

The language of the statute is the best indication of the legislature’s intent. Carpenter, 228 Ill. 2d at 268, 888 N.E.2d at 116.

“The purpose of this Act is to reduce the harm that methamphetamine manufacturing and manufacturers are inflicting on individuals, families, communities, first responders, the economy, and the environment in Illinois, by making it more difficult for persons engaged in the unlawful manufacture of methamphetamine and related activities to obtain methamphetamine’s essential ingredient, ephedrine or pseudoephedrine.” 720 ILCS 648/5 (West 2006).

The Act’s language shows the legislature intended to safeguard the public welfare from the harm caused by the manufacturing and distribution of methamphetamine by limiting the amount of methamphetamine precursor available to methamphetamine manufacturers.

2. The Statute’s Relationship to the State’s Goal

Defendant maintains section 20(b) violates due process because it makes an innocent act, the knowing purchase of products containing methamphetamine precursors, a criminal offense. This is apparently a case of first impression. Section 20(b) provides as follows:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
924 N.E.2d 1029, 392 Ill. App. 3d 121, 338 Ill. Dec. 503, 2009 Ill. App. LEXIS 554, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-willner-illappct-2009.