People v. Johnson
160 N.E.3d 948
Ill. App. Ct.2019Background
- In Sept. 2015, Chicago officers in an unmarked vehicle observed Jamal Johnson standing in an alley in a neighborhood known for narcotics/gang activity; Johnson glanced toward the officers, grabbed his waistband, and walked briskly away.
- Officers pursued; Johnson ran, attempted to escape, and jumped onto the hood of a squad car; officers then detained him and Officer Salvador conducted a protective pat-down, recovering a loaded semiautomatic handgun.
- Johnson was charged with multiple counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon; the State proceeded on one count alleging Johnson lacked a FOID card.
- At trial the State introduced an Illinois State Police certification that Johnson had never been issued a FOID card; defense did not object to the certification at trial.
- The trial court denied Johnson’s motion to quash arrest and suppress, found him guilty after a bench trial, and sentenced him to 13 months’ imprisonment; the appellate court affirmed the conviction but remanded fines/fees issues under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 472.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Validity of Terry stop and pat-down | Officers had reasonable, articulable suspicion based on high-crime area, waistband grab, flight, and jumping on squad car | Officers lacked reasonable suspicion; conduct was lawful and potentially innocent (running from unknown persons) | Stop and frisk were justified once Johnson jumped onto the squad car; suppression denial affirmed |
| Confrontation Clause re: ISP certification (FOID) | Admission of certification was permissible; defense acquiesced by not objecting | Admission violated Crawford; certification is testimonial and defendant lacked opportunity to cross-examine | No confrontation error: defendant invited admission by failing to object and not disputing FOID at trial; plain-error not considered |
| Ineffective assistance for failing to object to certification | N/A (State) | Counsel’s failure to object denied effective assistance | Claim rejected: counsel’s decision treated as trial strategy and defendant offered no evidence FOID certificate was erroneous |
| Fines/fees offsets and presentence credit | N/A | Trial court failed to apply presentence credit against certain fines/fees | Remanded under Ill. S. Ct. Rule 472 for circuit-court motion to raise/correct fines/fees calculation |
Key Cases Cited
- Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968) (authorizes brief investigatory stops and limited pats down when officer has reasonable, articulable suspicion)
- Illinois v. Wardlow, 528 U.S. 119 (2000) (unprovoked flight in a high-crime area can contribute to reasonable suspicion)
- Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004) (testimonial statements are inadmissible unless declarant unavailable and defendant had prior opportunity to cross-examine)
- People v. Colyar, 2013 IL 111835 (Ill. 2013) (discusses officer safety rationale for Terry frisk and standard for reasonable apprehension of danger)
- People v. Close, 238 Ill. 2d 497 (Ill. 2010) (appellate review standards for suppression rulings: deference to factual findings, de novo review of legal conclusion)
- People v. Sorenson, 196 Ill. 2d 425 (Ill. 2001) (pat-down under Terry justified to protect officer when suspect may be armed)
- People v. Flowers, 179 Ill. 2d 257 (Ill. 1997) (distinguishes validity of stop from validity of weapons search)
- People v. Holmes, 2017 IL 120407 (Ill. 2017) (addresses retroactivity and related Fourth Amendment questions post-Aguilar)
- McDonald v. City of Chicago, 561 U.S. 742 (2010) (incorporated Second Amendment right to bear arms against the states)