Case Information
*1 I LLINOIS O FFICIAL R EPORTS Appellate Court
People v. LeFlore
,
District & No. Second District
Docket No. 2-10-0659
Filed September 17, 2013
Held Defendant’s convictions for aggravated robbery, robbery and burglary were reversed and the cause was remanded for a new trial where the trial ( Note: This syllabus court failed to comply with Supreme Court Rule 401(a) by not advising constitutes no part of the opinion of the court defendant that he was eligible for a maximum term of 6 to 30 years’ but has been prepared imprisonment, based on his eligibility for Class X sentencing, when he by the Reporter of waived his right to counsel; furthermore, the denial of his motion to Decisions for the quash his arrest and suppress evidence was vacated and the cause was convenience of the remanded for a hearing on the issue of whether defendant had standing reader. ) to challenge the use of a GPS device on a vehicle he allegedly used. Decision Under Appeal from the Circuit Court of Kane County, No. 09-CF-1251; the Hon. Allen M. Anderson, Judge, presiding. Review Judgment Reversed and remanded.
Counsel on Thomas A. Lilien and Darren E. Miller, both of State Appellate Defender’s Office, of Elgin, for appellant. Appeal
Joseph H. McMahon, State’s Attorney, of St. Charles (Lawrence M. Bauer and Edward R. Psenicka, both of State’s Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor’s Office, of counsel), for the People.
Panel JUSTICE HUTCHINSON delivered the judgment of the court, with
opinion.
Justice McLaren concurred in the judgment and opinion.
Justice Birkett concurred in part and dissented in part, with opinion. OPINION
Following a jury trial, defendant, Keith W. LeFlore, was found guilty of aggravated
robbery (720 ILCS 5/18-5(a) (West 2008)), robbery (720 ILCS 5/18-1(a) (West 2008)), and burglary (720 ILCS 5/19-1(a) (West 2008)). The trial court entered judgment on the aggravated robbery charge and sentenced defendant to 20 years in prison. Defendant now appeals from his conviction, arguing that (1) the trial court failed to properly admonish him under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 401(a) (eff. July 1, 1984); and (2) the trial court erred in denying his motion to quash his arrest and suppress evidence. We reverse and remand for a new trial. I. BACKGROUND Defendant was charged on April 26, 2009, in connection with the April 24 robbery of a
Mobil gas station in Aurora. The public defender was assigned to represent him at his initial appearance in bond court. When defendant was arraigned on May 21, the trial court admonished him that the first count, charging aggravated robbery, “is a Class 1 felony. A Class 1 felony is a one [ sic ], or four to 15-year possible sentence [in the] Department of Corrections.” Further, after conferring with the State, the trial court informed defendant that, because of his “past record,” it was a nonprobationable offense. The court admonished defendant about the robbery and burglary charges, including the facts that they might be nonprobationable and “extended term eligible” such that the normal sentencing range of 3 to 7 years could be extended to 3 to 14 years, again based on his past record. On July 8, 2009, defendant filed a motion to quash his arrest and suppress evidence.
Defendant’s motion argued that the Aurora police department covertly placed a GPS tracking device on a vehicle regularly driven by defendant and used the GPS device to monitor the *3 vehicle’s movements. The motion argued that “it was solely through information received from the GPS tracking device” that defendant became a suspect in the robbery, and because the officers did not have a warrant, placing the GPS device on the vehicle constituted an unlawful search under the United States and Illinois Constitutions.
¶ 5 On July 22, 2009, the trial court conducted a hearing on defendant’s motion. Defendant
called Officer Jeremy Shufelt, a police officer with the Aurora police department, as a witness. Shufelt testified that, in April 2009, he received an anonymous tip from the Aurora Crime Stoppers that defendant “was possibly” committing burglaries and that the tipster had observed defendant bringing items into his apartment complex. Shufelt testified that, after checking through various records systems, he discovered that defendant was on parole at the time and that his listed parole address was an apartment in Aurora. Shufelt testified that he was able “to connect” defendant to a red Kia Spectra that was registered to Stephanie Powell, who lived at the same address as defendant. Shufelt further testified that he, along with other members of the Aurora police
department, decided to place a GPS tracking device on the vehicle. Shufelt testified that, a few days later, another police officer dropped him off about a block and a half from defendant’s apartment at approximately 3:50 a.m. Shufelt placed the GPS device on the vehicle, which was parked in a parking lot that was accessible to the public. Shufelt testified that the GPS device transmitted a signal to a satellite that sent a signal to a server, allowing the GPS’s location to be read on a computer. Further, the device could transmit signals as frequently as every 15 seconds; the maximum length of time between signals was 15 minutes. Shufelt testified that the officers also set up a geofence, which was “like an imaginary fence,” for the area surrounding defendant’s apartment. Shufelt testified that anytime the GPS tracker left the geofenced area, he would receive notice on his cell phone. Shufelt testified that, “relatively shortly” after placing the GPS tracker on Powell’s vehicle, he received information that a gas station in Aurora had been robbed at approximately 4:40 a.m. Shufelt testified that he checked the GPS and noticed that Powell’s vehicle had left the geofenced area at approximately 4:04 a.m., became stationary a few minutes later in the vicinity of the gas station, and reentered the geofenced area at approximately 4:42 a.m. Shufelt testified that, based on this information, defendant became a suspect. Shufelt testified that he did not obtain a warrant to place the GPS device on Powell’s vehicle. During cross-examination, Shufelt admitted that Powell had indicated to him that defendant would sometimes drive her car and that she would also give him rides if requested. The trial court denied defendant’s motion to suppress, finding that using the GPS device
did not constitute a search under the fourth amendment to the United States Constitution or under the Illinois Constitution. The trial court concluded that defendant “had no expectation of privacy as to where the Kia was or where it went or to, where it went on the public street or to a publically accessible location.” The trial court further concluded that, “even if this was a search,” defendant did not have standing to challenge the police use of the GPS device on the vehicle. On December 2, 2009, defendant informed the trial court that he wished to discharge his
attorney and proceed pro se . The following colloquy then took place:
“THE COURT: Okay. Now, you know what you are charged with in this case. THE DEFENDANT: Yes, aggravated robbery I believe it is.
THE COURT: Okay. And I think we’ve gone over the minimum and maximum sentence. You recall what that is?
THE DEFENDANT: Um, I can’t remember. I think the minimum was 4–4 years and the maximum was 15, something like that.
THE COURT: That is correct.
THE DEFENDANT: 4 to 15.
THE COURT: Was the State claiming any nonprobationable status?
MR. PARTIDA [assistant State’s Attorney]: Only on the–oh, yes, on all–nonprobationable status as to all counts.
THE COURT: Okay. And enhanced penalty?
MR. PARTIDA: In regard to enhanced penalties, only claiming them on the Class 2s.
I’m trying to remember which counts those are.
THE COURT: Counts 2, 3 are the class 2s.
MR. PARTIDA: Just on those two.
THE COURT: So the aggravated robbery was the 4 to 15, Mr. LeFlore. THE DEFENDANT: Yes. The other was ...
THE COURT: Two years mandatory supervised release, fines of up to 25,000, nonprobationable. The robbery and the burglary, Counts 2 and 3– THE DEFENDANT: Class 2s.
THE COURT: –are 3 to 7 years Department of Corrections, 2 years mandatory supervised release, fines of up to 25,000. Also, the State has elected–has alleged that by reason of your past record or history that you may be extended-term eligible which means if convicted and the background proof shows up as the State says it is in the proof, then that could become instead of 3 to 7, it could be 3 to 14 years Department of Corrections with a nonprobationable category on both of those as well.
I want to make sure you understand that you do have the right to an attorney, and we have covered that because we have appointed the public defender so you are aware of that, right?
THE DEFENDANT: Yes.” The court had extensive further discussion with defendant and continued the case for a week for defendant to think about his request. On December 9, the trial court discharged the public defender at defendant’s request. The case proceeded to a jury trial on January 4, 2010, after which defendant was found guilty of all counts. At the sentencing hearing, the State submitted certified copies of convictions such that
defendant would be subject to mandatory Class X sentencing (6 to 30 years in prison) (see 730 ILCS 5/5-4.5-25 (West 2008)) on the aggravated robbery charge, pursuant to section 5- *5 4.5-95(b) of the Unified Code of Corrections (730 ILCS 5/5-4.5-95(b) (West 2010) (eff. July 1, 2009) (formerly 730 ILCS 5/5-5-3(c)(8) (West 2008))). The trial court ultimately sentenced defendant to 20 years in the Department of Corrections on the aggravated robbery charge. Defendant timely appealed.
¶ 11 II. DISCUSSION A. Motion to Quash and Suppress We first address defendant’s contention that tracking his movements by placing a GPS
device on Powell’s car violated defendant’s constitutional right to be free from unreasonable
searches and seizures. While the question of whether the government’s placing of a GPS
device on a vehicle to monitor the vehicle’s movements is a search within the meaning of the
fourth amendment has recently been answered in the affirmative by the United States
Supreme Court in
United States v. Jones
,
people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable
searches and seizures; this protection applies to the states through the due process clause of
the fourteenth amendment.
People v. Wilson
,
emphasized the property rights-trespass aspect of fourth amendment analysis:
“It is important to be clear about what occurred in this case: The Government
physically occupied private property for the purpose of obtaining information. We have
no doubt that such a physical intrusion would have been considered a ‘search’ within the
meaning of the Fourth Amendment when it was adopted.”
Id.
at ___,
“[W]e do not make trespass the exclusive test. Situations involving merely the transmission of electronic signals without trespass would remain subject to the Katz [reasonable expectation of privacy] analysis.” (Emphasis in original.) Id. at ___, 132 S. Ct. at 953.
Thus, because Jones did not make the possessory-interest test the exclusive test, both the possessory-interest and expectation-of-privacy elements considered above in Johnson are still relevant to this analysis. With respect to standing, the Jones Court emphasized that, although the Jeep was
registered to Jones’s wife, the government conceded that Jones was the exclusive driver.
Id.
at ___ n.2,
whether, pursuant to Jones ’s holding on the property-rights aspect of the fourth amendment, a person can claim the fourth amendment’s protections for a search conducted while he was borrowing another person’s car. In United States v. Batista , No. 5:cr11, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 28710 (W.D. Va. Feb. 28, 2013), the defendant, Albert Batista, was charged with conspiring to distribute heroin. Id. at *2-3. During the course of the investigation, law enforcement agents learned that Albert and his brother, Alex, were using their vehicles to drive between Pennsylvania and Virginia. Id. at *3. Albert primarily drove a Celica and Alex primarily drove an Intrepid; the Intrepid was registered to their mother and shared by both brothers. Id. at *3, *7. Acting on that information, law enforcement agents placed a GPS tracking device on each of the vehicles. Subsequently, a confidential informant notified law enforcement agents that the brothers would be traveling to Philadelphia, and the GPS indicated that Alex’s Intrepid was driving west from Philadelphia. at *3-4. Law *7 enforcement agents pulled over the Intrepid while Alex was driving and Albert was riding as a passenger. Id. at *4. A subsequent search revealed more than 80 bundles of heroin located on the passenger side, stuffed underneath the dashboard near the glove box. Id. Citing Jones , Albert contended that the warrantless placement of the GPS on the Intrepid constituted a search under the fourth amendment and that as a result, the exclusionary rule should bar all evidence derived from the GPS tracking. Id. at *5. The government countered that Albert lacked standing, arguing that he did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy because he was not the primary driver of the Intrepid, he was merely a passenger in the vehicle at the time of the stop, and he was not in “possession” of the vehicle when law enforcement installed the GPS. Id. at *6-7. The court in Batista phrased the issue as whether Albert “ha[d] standing to challenge
both the placement of the GPS tracking device as well as its use.” Id. at *12. With respect to placement, the court concluded that Albert had a reasonable expectation of privacy when the GPS was placed on the Intrepid, because Albert was in possession of that vehicle at the time. Id. The court noted that the government could establish that Alex, the purported primary driver of the Intrepid, drove that vehicle only five times, and therefore it was reasonable to infer that Albert also drove the Intrepid “from the fact that the Intrepid was parked at [Albert’s] apartment late at night when the GPS was installed.” Id. at *13. The court further emphasized that the fact that the Intrepid was parked at Albert’s apartment complex showed that Albert had a possessory interest. Id. at *13-14. The court rejected the government’s argument that Alex could have merely been visiting Albert when the device was installed, noting that a GPS device was placed on the Celica that same night, and at a poultry plant where Alex worked. Thus, the court concluded that “[a]lthough the issue is a close one, it is reasonable to conclude that at the time of the placement of the GPS tracking device, [Albert] was in possession of the Intrepid.” Id. at *14. Turning to whether Albert had standing to challenge the use of the GPS device, the court
noted that the issue “likewise is close.”
Id.
The court noted that the government believed that
Albert and Alex traveled together to purchase heroin and transport it back to Virginia and
that “[i]t [was] with this knowledge of the joint use of the Intrepid by the *** brothers that
the government agents placed the GPS tracking device on both the Intrepid and the Celica.”
Id.
at *14-15. Thus, considering the evidence in its totality, the court concluded that Albert
had standing to challenge both the placement and the use of the GPS.
Id.
at *15.
Also following
Jones
, in
United States v. Gibson
,
did not own the vehicle, he paid for its maintenance and insurance and also frequently drove
it.
Id.
at 1276-77. The reviewing court noted, “[w]e have held that an individual who borrows
a vehicle with the owner’s consent has a legitimate expectation of privacy in the vehicle and
standing to challenge its search while it is in his possession.”
Id.
at 1277 (citing
United States
v. Miller
,
Hernandez , i.e. , that Gibson was a borrower of a vehicle when the tracking device was installed, but not when the vehicle was searched and the drugs were found. Gibson , 708 F.3d at 1277. Thus, the reviewing court concluded that Gibson had standing to challenge the installation and use of the tracking device while the vehicle was in his possession, but “not the use of the tracking device to locate the Avalanche when it was moving on public roads and [Gibson] was neither the driver nor a passenger .” (Emphasis added.) Because Gibson had no possessory interests in the Avalanche on February 20, 2009, he lacked standing to challenge the search of the vehicle. Id. Pursuant to Jones and its progeny, the common denominator of law appears to be that,
under the
Jones
trespass test, a person who borrows a vehicle with the owner’s consent
comes into lawful possession of that vehicle and has standing to challenge a search under the
fourth amendment. Thus, if the defendant borrows a vehicle with the owner’s consent and
is in lawful possession of the vehicle when the GPS device is installed, the defendant has
standing under
Jones
to challenge the installation. See
Batista
, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS
28710, at *14. Further, if the defendant is not in possession of the vehicle when the GPS
device is installed, but he later comes into lawful possession by borrowing the vehicle with
the owner’s consent and while the government’s trespassory
act
remains in place, the
defendant has standing to challenge the
use
of the GPS device. See
Hernandez
,
private property for the purpose of obtaining information.
Jones
,
(D. Minn. 2012). In that case, the defendant moved to suppress evidence obtained as a result
of law enforcement’s warrantless installation of a GPS device on a vehicle that the defendant
drove from Arizona to Minnesota. at 1024. In denying the defendant’s motion, the district
court focused on the
Jones
majority’s discussion of two “beeper” cases,
United States v.
Knotts
,
“Karo accepted the container as it came to him, beeper and all, and was therefore not
entitled to object to the beeper’s presence, even though it was used to monitor the
container’s location.”
Jones
,
The district court in
Barraza-Maldonado
, while acknowledging that the GPS device was
installed on the vehicle
without
the owner’s consent (unlike in
Knotts
and
Karo
), concluded
that the defendant “ ‘accepted the [vehicle] as it came to him, [GPS device] and all, and [is]
therefore not entitled to object to the [GPS device’s presence], even though it was used to
monitor the [vehicle’s] location.’ ”
Barraza-Maldonado
,
“When the government installs a GPS device (or similar device) in a piece of property before the defendant has any legal interest in the property, the installation of the device is not a trespass on the property of the defendant and is therefore not a search of the defendant for the purposes of the trespassory test. *** Moreover, when a defendant takes possession of a piece of property on which a GPS device has already been installed, the continued monitoring of that device is also not a trespass on the property of the defendant, and therefore is not a search of the defendant for the purposes of the trespassory test.” at 1027-28. With due respect, contrary to the district court in Barraza-Maldonado , our reading of
Jones
reflects that the Supreme Court merely rejected the government’s reliance on
Knotts
and
Karo
by noting that neither of those cases involved a trespass. As a result, the defendants
in
Knotts
and
Karo
could not have invoked the
Jones
trespass test to challenge the searches.
*10
In other words, we do not believe that, by distinguishing
Knotts
and
Karo
, the
Jones
Court
intended to preclude a defendant who borrows a vehicle with the owner’s consent from
challenging the government’s
use
of a GPS device while the defendant is in lawful
possession, even if the defendant was not in possession of the vehicle when the government
installed
the GPS device. See
Hernandez
,
¶ 29 In sum, this case involved the State’s continuing trespass on Powell’s vehicle. We
believe that, if defendant borrowed the vehicle with Powell’s consent, he would have standing under Jones to challenge the State’s use of the GPS device, and any evidence obtained from that use, despite not being in possession of the vehicle when the GPS device was installed. Accordingly, we vacate the trial court’s order denying defendant’s motion to quash and suppress and we remand to the trial court for further proceedings on this issue. On remand, both defendant and the State will have the opportunity to develop their arguments with respect to their relative positions and, after a full hearing, the trial court will be better able to determine whether defendant’s motion to quash and suppress comes within the ambit of the Jones trespass test. The dissent argues that Jones “did not in any way change the requirement that in order
to challenge a search, a defendant must demonstrate his own legitimate expectation of privacy in the place searched.” Infra ¶ 88. We have not held that, after Jones , a defendant no longer needs to demonstrate his expectation of privacy in the place searched. The most logical reading of Gibson is that, because a person has standing to challenge the installation of a GPS device if he was in possession of the vehicle when the GPS device was installed ( Gibson , 708 F.3d at 1277), being in possession of the vehicle gave him a reasonable expectation of privacy. Finding the reasoning in Gibson persuasive, we are merely concluding that, if defendant was in lawful possession of Powell’s vehicle when the GPS device was installed, he would have standing to challenge the installation of the GPS device. Likewise, pursuant to Gibson , if defendant was in lawful possession of the vehicle when the GPS device was used, he would have standing to challenge the use of the GPS device. Id. Thus, although Jones did not change the requirement that under the fourth amendment a defendant must demonstrate a reasonable expectation of privacy in the place searched, there can be no doubt that fourth amendment jurisprudence has evolved since Jones . The dissent also claims that there is no need to look to federal case law, because decisions from our supreme court “guide us in determining whether a defendant has established a legitimate expectation of privacy in the place searched or the property seized.” Infra ¶ 89. We are aware of no decisions from our supreme court addressing a defendant’s standing under the fourth amendment to challenge the warrantless installation and use of a GPS device on a borrowed vehicle. We recognize that, as the dissent notes, defendant was an unlicensed driver. Citing
People v. McCoy
,
necessarily defeat his expectation of privacy in Powell’s vehicle. In
McCoy
, the court held
that a driver and a passenger of a rented vehicle, both of whom were not licensed drivers, did
not have standing to challenge law enforcement’s search of the rented vehicle. The court
concluded that the passenger, McCoy, could not have had a valid interest in the vehicle
because, as an unlicensed driver, he could not have rented it.
McCoy
,
special concurrence in McCoy opined:
“If someone leases a vehicle from a leasing company, then loans that vehicle to one of his relatives for a trip from Chicago to Rantoul, I would conclude the relative has a possessory interest in the vehicle sufficient to afford standing for a motion to suppress. The fact the relative is not licensed to drive might be relevant on the issue [of] whether the lessee actually loaned out the vehicle, but is not relevant on the relative’s possessory interest. It is possible for an unlicensed driver to possess a motor vehicle, just as it is possible for an unlicensed driver to own a motor vehicle. Even where a vehicle is operated illegally the operator may have a possessory interest in the vehicle .” (Emphasis added.) Id. (Cook, J., specially concurring). Bower also provides little guidance. The issue in that case was whether a defendant in
sole possession and control of a rental car entrusted to him by the renter, but without the consent of the rental company, had standing to challenge a search of the car. Bower , 291 Ill. App. 3d at 1080. The court concluded that, under the express terms of the rental agreement, the person who rented the vehicle was the only legal operator of the rental car. Id. Simply stated, the present case does not involve the question of whether a rental agreement contractually permitted defendant to drive Powell’s vehicle. Moreover, we recognize that the court in Haywood concluded that an unauthorized driver
did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in a rental car because “[the rental company]
never would have given [the defendant] permission to drive.”
Haywood
,
as a revoked driver necessarily defeated any legitimate expectation of privacy that he could
have had in Powell’s vehicle. Rather, in light of the unresolved case law in both Illinois and
federal courts, we believe that the law will be better served by considering defendant’s status
*12
as a revoked driver after the parties provide a more complete record on remand.
The dissent further claims that the use of the GPS device was consistent with the
principles set forth in
People v. Wilson
,
a diminished expectation of privacy, they still enjoy some fourth amendment protections.
Samson
,
“Awareness that the Government may be watching chills associational and expressive freedoms. And the Government’s unrestrained power to assemble data that reveal private aspects of identity is susceptible to abuse. ***
I would take these attributes of GPS monitoring into account when considering the existence of a reasonable societal expectation of privacy in the sum of one’s public movements. I would ask whether people reasonably expect that their movements will be recorded and aggregated in a manner that enables the Government to ascertain, more or *13 less at will, their political and religious beliefs, sexual habits, and so on.” at ___, 132 S. Ct. at 956 (Sotomayor, J., concurring).
¶ 41 Justice Sotomayor’s concerns are exemplified in this case. Shufelt testified that the GPS
device was set to transmit signals every 15 minutes, but could have transmitted signals as frequently as every 15 seconds. In addition, law enforcement officials set up a geofence–“like an imaginary fence,” according to Shufelt–for the area surrounding defendant’s apartment. Anytime the GPS device left that area, Shufelt would be notified. Defendant’s required consent to searches of his person, property, or residence did not
include being subjected to continuous and unfettered surveillance of his movements. As part
of his parole agreement, defendant agreed to be subject to electronic monitoring for 90 days
beginning December 29, 2007. As the dissent notes, the Prisoner Review Board imposed this
requirement. If that Board wanted to extend defendant’s electronic monitoring beyond 90
days, it could have sought defendant’s consent to do so. Thus, we believe that, once the 90-
day electronic monitoring period expired, defendant had an expectation that, although he
continued to be required to submit to searches of his person, property, or residence upon
demand, he would not be surreptitiously monitored to the extent that law enforcement
officials would be notified every time a vehicle he was associated with went outside of an
“imaginary fence.” That a defendant could be subjected to such continuous and invasive
surveillance would render any fourth amendment protections meaningless. See
Samson
, 547
U.S. at 850 n.2 (noting that parolees are not equated with prisoners with respect to the fourth
amendment, with the latter having no fourth amendment protections).
Finally, citing
Davis v. United States
,
maintains that the good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule should be invoked and that
the GPS tracking evidence need not be suppressed. In
Davis
, the Supreme Court held that
evidence should not be excluded when law enforcement obtained the evidence during a
search conducted in reasonable reliance on
binding precedent
. at ___,
enforcement relies on binding precedent.
United States v. Lee
,
¶ 46 Moreover, while we recognize that the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh
Circuit held in
United States v. Garcia
,
the device used in Garcia . There, the “memory tracking unit” had to be retrieved before the police could access the information, which consisted of the defendant’s previous travel movements. Here, as noted above, Shufelt was able to learn not merely the vehicle’s previous travel history once he retrieved the GPS tracking device. Rather, Shufelt used a GPS device that was capable of transmitting contemporaneous signals as frequently as every 15 seconds. Shufelt also created a “geofence” around defendant’s apartment, and he would be notified whenever the GPS device went outside the geofenced area. Unlike Garcia , the type of surveillance here involved continuous surveillance and transmission that Shufelt could instantaneously access, without having to retrieve the GPS device. In addition, the device automatically notified Shufelt when the vehicle went outside of a specific area. Therefore, Shufelt was able to access information on the vehicle’s contemporaneous movements, not just prior movements as in Garcia . We are aware of no binding authority existing on April 23, 2009, that Shufelt could have
relied on to conclude that such a search would not violate the fourth amendment. At best, Shufelt could have only speculated that Garcia , which involved using a GPS device to monitor a defendant’s previous movements after the GPS device had been retrieved, provided binding authority to conduct a warrantless search using a GPS device that provided constant and contemporaneous information on a vehicle with which defendant was associated. B. Illinois Supreme Court Rule 401(a) Defendant next contends that the trial court failed to comply with Illinois Supreme Court
Rule 401(a) (eff. July 1, 1984) when defendant waived his right to counsel. Defendant argues that the trial court failed to properly admonish him about the maximum sentence that he faced. Clearly, the trial court admonished defendant that the maximum sentence that he faced for the aggravated robbery charge was 15 years. Aggravated robbery is a Class 1 felony, *15 punishable by a term of imprisonment of 4 to 15 years. See 720 ILCS 5/18-5(b) (West 2008); 730 ILCS 5/5-4.5-30(a) (West 2008). The court made this admonishment after being told by the State that it would potentially seek enhanced penalties on only the robbery and burglary charges. The State counters that defendant forfeited this contention, as he “did not raise it below.”
However, at the sentencing hearing, when told by the State that defendant was subject to mandatory Class X sentencing on the aggravated robbery charge, defense counsel, who had been appointed after the trial, argued:
“I don’t think that there’s anything in the file or oral record that would indicate that Mr. LeFlore was ever admonished that he was Class X sentencing eligible, so I believe out of fairness of due process, that Mr. LeFlore should have been admonished of this so he would have full knowledge going to the 402 conference deciding to represent himself before trial then actually representing himself at trial that he was facing six to 30 years, rather than the four to 30 [ sic ] years ***.”
The lack of a proper admonishment was clearly raised. The State is correct that defendant
failed to raise the issue in his motion to reconsider his sentence, and to be properly preserved
for review an issue must be raised both contemporaneously and in a posttrial motion. See
People v. Enoch
,
accused of an offense punishable by imprisonment, the court must, among other things,
inform the defendant of, and determine that he understands, “the minimum and maximum
sentence prescribed by law, including, when applicable, the penalty to which the defendant
may be subjected because of prior convictions or consecutive sentences.” Ill. S. Ct. R.
401(a)(2) (eff. July 1, 1984). The purpose of this rule is to ensure that a defendant knowingly
and intelligently makes a waiver of counsel.
People v. Campbell
,
“any deficiency in the admonishments must not prejudice the defendant, either because
he was already aware of the information that was omitted or because his degree of legal
sophistication made it evident that he was aware of the information that compliance with
the rule would have conveyed. In other words, *** the dispositive issue to be determined
when deciding whether a waiver of counsel *** is valid is whether the waiver of counsel
was knowingly, understandingly and effectively made, in light of the entire record.”
Id.
Clearly, the trial court failed to properly admonish defendant regarding the minimum and
maximum sentences that he could receive if convicted of aggravated robbery. Defendant was
admonished twice by the court that he could be sentenced to between 4 and 15 years in prison
if convicted of that charge, the most serious charge that he faced. In fact, he could have been
*16
sentenced to between 6 and 30 years because of his prior convictions, and he was actually
sentenced to 20 years. This court has found that admonishing a defendant regarding the
possible penalties for the most serious crime with which he is charged is “especially
important” where, because of prior convictions, a defendant is facing mandatory Class X
sentencing. See
People v. Jiles
,
and the court mistakenly admonished defendant” that he faced a sentence of 4 to 15 years. However, the State apparently was aware of a sufficient portion of defendant’s criminal history, both at the arraignment in May 2009 and in December 2009 (one month before trial), when defendant sought to dismiss his attorney, to inform the court that it was seeking enhanced sentencing on the robbery and burglary charges but not on the aggravated robbery charge. While the court’s admonishment was incorrect, it was based, at least in part, on the State’s assertion that it was not “claiming” any enhanced penalty on the charge and its failure to inform the court about the possibility of mandatory Class X sentencing. The State also argues that there was substantial compliance with Rule 401(a) because
defendant was later told that he was eligible for Class X sentencing. At a pretrial conference held on December 31, 2009, defendant and the State held an off-the-record discussion. When they returned, the assistant State’s Attorney informed the court that he and his co-counsel:
“briefly discussed what the pending offer was with Mr. LeFlore. We discussed what we believed that the appropriate sentencing range was. We mainly informed him that we believed that he was Class X, even on a 2; and one he’s mandatory X based on a prior history ***.” Again, we see no compliance from this alleged discussion. A defendant must be
admonished pursuant to Rule 401(a) prior to waiving the right to counsel. Ogurek , 356 Ill. App. 3d at 436. This discussion took place three weeks after the trial court discharged defendant’s attorney. It is clear that, at the time of the admonishments, defendant was not aware of the information that was omitted (the sentencing range of 6 to 30 years) and was twice misinformed of the sentencing range. No compliance can be found here. Further, we cannot conclude that defendant possessed any degree of legal sophistication such that it is evident that he was aware of the sentencing range that compliance with the rule would have conveyed. When defendant informed the trial court that he wished to discharge his attorney and proceed pro se , the trial court asked defendant if he had any history, background, or familiarity “with the criminal system regarding particulars of going to trial and issues of evidence in a criminal trial.” Defendant answered that he had “somewhat some [ sic ],” but, when asked to what extent, he responded, “Not much.” Defendant explained that he had been “through a few trials” and told the court that he “went through pro se ” on his most recent charge, for attempted burglary. When asked if it was a bench or a jury trial, defendant explained that “[i]t didn’t get that far,” that he “decided to take the plea” that “was brought to me from the judge herself.” He stated that he had brought some pretrial motions *17 in that case and had done some legal research. That was the one case that defendant could remember that provided him with familiarity with the criminal system. At oral argument, the State pointed out defendant’s extensive criminal history that
reached back to the mid-1970s and boasted multiple felony convictions, including one Class
X conviction of armed robbery that garnered defendant a sentence of 10 years in prison.
However, we are not prepared to ascribe to defendant a heightened level of legal
sophistication based on a
pro se
plea agreement and the supposedly osmotic experience of
being repeatedly arrested and convicted. A long rap sheet is not the equivalent of a
Juris
Doctorate
, and recidivism with punishment infers a perverse level of sophistication.
We cannot conclude that defendant was “aware of the information that was omitted” or
that “his degree of legal sophistication made it evident that he was aware of the information
that compliance with the rule would have conveyed.”
Gilkey
,
proceedings for evidence of legal sophistication (see
Jiles
,
the question of whether the evidence admitted at trial was sufficient to prove that defendant
was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. See
People v. Olivera
,
¶ 62 III. CONCLUSION
¶ 63 For the foregoing reasons, we reverse the judgment of the circuit court of Kane County
and remand the cause.
¶ 64 Reversed and remanded. JUSTICE BIRKETT, concurring in part and dissenting in part. I agree with my colleagues that defendant’s convictions of aggravated robbery, robbery,
and burglary must be reversed because the trial court did not substantially comply with [1] Illinois Supreme Court Rule 401(a) (eff. July 1, 1984) and that the “sophisticated knowledge” exception to the rule does not apply in this case. However, I disagree with my colleagues that the trial court’s ruling on defendant’s motion to quash and suppress should be vacated. In my view, defendant failed completely to establish that he had a legitimate expectation of privacy in Powell’s vehicle, either at the time of the placement of the device or when it was used to track the vehicle’s movements. Further, even if defendant did have a legitimate expectation of privacy in the vehicle, and he did not, the good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule applies here so as to support the trial court’s denial of defendant’s motion to quash and suppress. Illinois Supreme Court Rule 401(a) Whether the record demonstrates substantial compliance with Illinois Supreme Court
Rule 401(a) (eff. July 1, 1984) is a close question. The record clearly shows that defendant was made aware by the State that it believed he was eligible for a Class X sentence. On December 31, 2009, at the State’s suggestion, defendant requested an opportunity to discuss a plea offer with the State. After their discussions, the State made a record, saying “[w]e mainly informed him that we believed that he was Class X, even on a 2 [(Class 2 conviction)]; and one he’s mandatory X based on a prior history.” (Emphasis added.) The State indicated that there was no agreement reached and that “Mr. LeFlore wanted to address some of the trial issues.” The trial court simply said “okay” and then took up other matters concerning trial preparation. During the hearing on defendant’s posttrial motion, defendant testified that before trial he understood from his attorney that the longest sentence he could expect to get was 10 years and that this is why he decided to represent himself. On cross- examination, the State established that defendant had discussed a 10-year offer. Defendant denied that he thought the jury would say “not guilty.” He testified that he did not know what the jury was going to say but that if he lost he “was going to get 10 years.” During the hearing, the trial court asked defendant the following question:
“THE COURT: Okay. And is there any time in–in court that you remember me telling you that you were going to get a 10-year sentence, no matter what happened? *19 DEFENDANT: When–no.”
¶ 69 There is no doubt that the State should have known defendant was eligible for a Class X
sentence long before the December 31, 2009, court date. Defendant’s presentence report shows that he has been eligible for a Class X sentence on a Class 2 felony conviction since 1996, when he was sentenced in Cook County to six years in the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) for burglary. See 730 ILCS 5/5-5-3(c)(8) (West 1996) (on a third Class 1 or 2 conviction, a “defendant shall be sentenced as a Class X offender”). Since then, defendant has had five more felony convictions, the longest sentence being nine years for burglary. As my colleagues say, we cannot conclude that defendant was aware of the sentencing range. In ruling on defendant’s posttrial motion, the trial court remarked that “it would not be reasonable to believe that it would be a maximum or a limitation on the sentence contrary to the admonishments given.” That might be true; however, the admonishment given was 4 to 15 years, not 6 to 30 years.
¶ 70 I likewise agree with my colleagues that the “sophisticated knowledge” exception to
Illinois Supreme Court Rule 401(a) (eff. July 1, 1984) does not apply in this case. First, the
State did not develop this argument in its brief. This issue was raised for the first time at oral
argument. In
People v. Jackson
,
trial court’s ruling on defendant’s motion to quash and suppress. We may affirm the trial
court’s ruling on any basis supported by the record.
Johnson
,
Detective Shufelt obtained permission from Sergeant Wallers to use the GPS device. Shufelt placed the device under the Kia’s bumper between 3:30 and 4 a.m. on April 23, 2009. The robbery to the gas station took place at 4:40 a.m. on April 24, 2009. The extent of the evidence concerning any interest that defendant might have had in the
vehicle was Shufelt’s testimony that Powell had told him that defendant “would drive the car from time to time” and that she would drive defendant when he “requested a ride” because his license “wasn’t valid.” The record reflects that defendant’s driving privileges were *20 revoked. Shufelt also testified that he was familiar with parole conditions and that one of [2]
the conditions is that a parolee has to consent to a search of his person, property, or residence by any law enforcement officer. The State then introduced a copy of defendant’s signed parole agreement. At the conclusion of the testimony, defense counsel argued cases that dealt with whether
the particular procedures employed by law enforcement constituted a search under the fourth amendment. For example, counsel cited to In re May 1991 Will County Grand Jury , 152 Ill. 2d 381 (1992), which held that, under the Illinois Constitution, probable cause must be established to obtain head hair and pubic hair from a suspect pursuant to a grand jury subpoena. Counsel also cited to People v. Caballes , 221 Ill. 2d 282 (2006), for the proposition that unlike a canine sniff, which does distinguish between lawful and unlawful activities, the use of a GPS device “not only discloses criminal activity, but also lawful activity,” and, “therefore, has to pass muster under the fourth amendment.” at 332. However, counsel did not cite a single case to support the argument that defendant had established a legitimate expectation of privacy in the Kia. Counsel argued merely that [3] defendant had “a reasonable expectation of privacy in his movement.” Counsel acknowledged that defendant was on parole and as such he had a “reduced expectation of privacy.” Counsel also conceded that “by nature of the parole agreement that Mr. LeFlore and any other parolee is made to sign, they consent to searches of their person, their property, or their residence under their control.” Counsel argued that in Wilson , the Illinois Supreme Court “goes on to point out that while a parolee has no legitimate expectation of privacy in his residence, it does qualify at least when the parolee is present.” (As I will later discuss, this is not an accurate reading of Wilson and such a limitation would severely limit the effectiveness of a parole search condition.) Counsel went on to argue, again without any authority, that the use of the GPS device “is an invasion not only of Mr. LeFlore’s privacy, this is a massive invasion of any driver of that vehicle.” Before the State argued, the court asked the parties whether they could cite any case law
“that touches on the fact that this may take place on public property where the person could be seen anyway.” Defense counsel cited, as “persuasive” authority, People v. Weaver , 909 N.E.2d 1195 (N.Y. 2009). In Weaver , the court of appeals for New York held that under the New York constitution, a warrant was required for the use of a GPS device that was placed inside the bumper of the defendant’s street-parked van. at 1201. The State then argued that defendant lacked standing because the car was owned by
*21
another person, that defendant “had a suspended” driver’s license, and that the police “did
not know who was driving, who was even in the car on the day that the officers obtained
information about that car. Its location, its speed, where it was at.” The State argued that, as
a suspended driver, defendant “had no legal basis to *** be in control of a motor vehicle
upon the roads of Kane County.” Second, the State argued that the use of the GPS device was
not a search under the fourth amendment, citing
Garcia
, 474 F.3d 994. In
Garcia
, the
Seventh Circuit held that GPS tracking “is not searching in Fourth Amendment terms.”
Id.
at 997. In reaching this conclusion, the Seventh Circuit relied upon both
Knotts
and
Karo
,
both of which involved the use of “beeper” technology by the police. Likewise, the State also
relied upon
United States v. McIver
,
“The defendant needed to demonstrate a right to control for the [ sic ], right to control and for the use of the Kia; McCoy and Bower case [ sic ] both address problem [ sic ] to challenge standing when someone is not the owner of the vehicle, does not have a legal right to use or drive the car, such as [a] suspended driver’s license in this case.” Finally, the trial court stated that it “does not agree that defendant’s parole status is applicable herein.” The court apparently accepted defense counsel’s argument at the hearing; it stated “I agree with the reasoning in People v. Wilson , cited by the defense, that the reduced expectation of privacy exists from, in the known presence of the parolee and under exigent circumstances, I don’t find them to be existing in this case.” The facts developed at trial established that the robbery of the gas station was captured on video by a surveillance camera. The robber used what looked like a shotgun. He took the cash drawer and a carton of Newport cigarettes from the cashier and fled. The video showed that the robber was wearing a pair of “Steve Madden” athletic shoes. On the night of April 24, 2009, the police conducted a parole search of defendant’s residence. Defendant arrived, driving the Kia, after the police had already arrived. Defendant was then taken into custody for driving on a revoked license. He was wearing “Steve Madden” athletic shoes, which have a distinctive striping pattern on them. During the search, the police recovered at least one package of cigarettes that had the gas station’s stamp on them. They also recovered a hollow black metal cane that had the rubber tip removed from the end. When defendant was interviewed, the police told him that he was under surveillance but did not tell him about the use of the GPS device. He was also told that the apartment complex video camera showed “them” leave the building early in the morning. After the police placed the cane in the interview room, defendant confessed. He explained that he made the cane look like a gun by removing the rubber stopper on the end and placing a black grocery-type bag around the center. Defendant said that Powell beat him up, that she wanted some money, and that she drove the car. He maintained that the robbery was Powell’s idea. Defendant was also picked out of a photo lineup by the cashier. While this case was on appeal, the United States Supreme Court decided United States
v. Jones
,
Powell’s car.” First, he argues that “the car was registered to [his] girlfriend.” There was no testimony at the hearing that Powell was defendant’s girlfriend and defendant provides no such citation to the record. See Ill. S. Ct. R. 341(h)(7) (eff. Feb. 6, 2013) (arguments shall *23 contain “citation of the authorities and the pages of the record relied on”). Defendant goes on to argue that “as somebody with permission and authority to drive Powell’s car,” he “had the right to possess and exclude others from that vehicle.” (Emphases added.) Again, there was no such testimony at the hearing and defendant has provided no citation to the record. [4] Defendant asserts that “[m]oreover, he possessed a reasonable expectation that his privacy would not be infringed upon by the government tracking his movements through GPS technology, simply because he was driving his girlfriend’s car. Accordingly, despite the fact that defendant was not the registered owner of the car, he had a reasonable expectation of privacy in the car and in his movements.” (Emphasis added.) Defendant cites no authority for this proposition. The only case defendant cites in his brief on the issue of his expectation of privacy is People v. Juarbe , 318 Ill. App. 3d 1040 (2001). Juarbe does not support defendant’s argument. In that case, the defendant and his codefendant, Soto, were convicted of possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver. Soto was a passenger in a vehicle being driven by the defendant. After a traffic stop, the defendant consented to a search of the vehicle, which revealed nothing. The police then called for a canine unit. The canine alerted on the rear door of the vehicle. A search of hidden compartments revealed a large quantity of controlled substances. The court restated the general rule that “a passenger lacks standing to challenge the search of another’s vehicle unless the passenger has a legitimate expectation of privacy in the place searched.” Id. at 1050. As the Juarbe court explained, “[t]he inquiry involves two questions: (1) whether the individual, by his conduct, has exhibited a subjective expectation of privacy; and (2) whether such an expectation is justifiable under the circumstances.” (citing Smith v. Maryland , 442 U.S. 735, 740 (1979)). The court then discussed factors that have been recognized as relevant in answering these questions. Soto had no possessory interest in the vehicle and there was no evidence that he had a right to exclude others from the vehicle. Therefore, the court concluded that Soto lacked standing to challenge the search. Defendant in this case is in no better position than Soto. In addition to the factors considered in rejecting Soto’s standing argument, defendant here could not legally drive the vehicle because his license was revoked. Further, as a parolee, defendant had no expectation of privacy in his movements. In his attempt to establish an expectation of privacy in the vehicle, the only facts defendant cites that can be found in the record are that the “GPS system was affixed to a car he was known to drive” and that “the sole purpose of placing the tracking device under the car was to monitor the defendant’s movements.” There was no evidence presented as to when defendant was last allowed to drive the vehicle, whether he possessed his own set of keys, whether he kept or stored any items in the vehicle, or whether he ever paid for insurance or upkeep on the vehicle. Defendant concludes this portion of his argument by asserting that “[m]oreover, he
possessed a reasonable expectation that his privacy would not be infringed upon by the
government tracking his movements through GPS technology
simply because he was driving
his girlfriend’s car
.” (Emphasis added.) Once again, defendant cites no authority for this
*24
proposition, and it should be deemed forfeited. Ill. S. Ct. R. 341(h)(7) (eff. Feb. 6, 2013).
Defendant’s argument is premised on the “target theory” of standing that has been rejected
by the Supreme Court of the United States and the Illinois Supreme Court. See
Rakas
, 439
U.S. 128;
People v. Keller
,
privacy elements are relevant to the analysis of whether defendant in this case has established
a “legitimate” expectation of privacy in the searched property, Powell’s vehicle.
Supra
¶ 16.
As Justice Sotomayor said in her concurring opinion in
Jones
, “[a]wareness that the
[g]overnment may be watching chills associational and expressive freedoms.”
Jones
, 565
U.S. at ___,
that in order to challenge a search, a defendant must demonstrate his own legitimate
expectation of privacy in the place searched. In
Jones
, the vehicle was registered to Jones’s
wife, but the government conceded that, although he was not the owner, Jones was the
exclusive driver. As such, “he had at least the property rights of a bailee.” at ___ n.2, 132
S. Ct. at 949 n.2. (majority opinion). Furthermore, in
Jones
the government did not challenge
Jones’s ability to make a fourth amendment objection. at ___ n.2,
standing under
Jones
” to challenge the use of the GPS device.
Supra
¶ 29. Of course, while
lower federal decisions are not binding on state courts, they may be considered as persuasive
authority. See
People v. Nash
,
hearing on the motion to quash and suppress defendant established the existence of only one
factor, his prior use of the vehicle. In
Johnson
, the Illinois Supreme Court rejected the
defendant’s argument that his past use of his stepfather’s truck, six months before its seizure,
was sufficient to show he had a reasonable expectation of privacy “in view of the lack of any
other evidence of a reasonable privacy expectation.”
Johnson
,
exhibited a legitimate expectation of privacy in Powell’s car at the time of the search
(placement of the GPS device and continued monitoring of the car’s movements). In
Batista
,
the district court concluded that, “[a]lthough the issue is a close one, it is reasonable to
conclude that at the time of the placement of the GPS device, Albert Batista was in
possession of the Intrepid.”
Batista
,
possession of the vehicle when the GPS was installed but later came into “lawful possession”
by borrowing the vehicle while the device was still in place, he “has standing to challenge
the use of the GPS device.” (Emphasis omitted.)
Supra
¶ 25; see
Hernandez
,
in another’s car if the defendant is in possession of the car, has permission from the owner,
holds a key, and
has the right
and ability to exclude others, except the owner, from the car.
See
United States v. Thomas
,
defendant, Straight, was driving the vehicle. None of the occupants of the vehicle had a valid
driver’s license. McCoy told the police that he acquired the car from his “ ‘kinfolk.’ ”
McCoy
,
application was denied due to an outstanding traffic ticket. The defendant then had his friend
rent a car for him and then reimbursed his friend. The defendant was stopped two days later
in Illinois by a state trooper. Because the defendant was not the named driver and not listed
as an authorized driver, the vehicle was impounded and the contents were inventoried. In
upholding the trial court’s denial of the defendant’s motion to suppress, the appellate court
said that the defendant knew that his friend “had no authority to grant him possession of the
car based upon defendant’s unsuccessful attempt to rent a car from Hertz at the same location
only 40 minutes earlier.”
Bower
,
held that, where the defendant was an unlicensed driver, his “expectation of privacy was not
reasonable.”
Haywood
,
revoked. Even if Powell had given defendant permission to drive the car, she had no lawful
authority to do so. 625 ILCS 5/6-304 (West 2010) (permitting an unauthorized person to
drive is a criminal offense). As a revoked driver, defendant clearly had no legitimate
expectation of privacy in Powell’s vehicle or its movements. The majority discusses
defendant’s status as a revoked driver but concludes that “the law will be better served by
considering defendant’s status as a revoked driver after the parties provide a complete record
*28
on remand.”
Supra
¶ 37. Respectfully, we have a complete record. Defendant’s status as a
revoked driver bears directly on “whether the defendant was legitimately present in the area
searched.”
Rosenberg
,
Prisoner Review Board, likely because defendant was a recidivist having repeatedly violated
parole conditions in the past. Further, electronic monitoring under the Code is “primarily
intended to record or transmit information as to the defendant’s presence or nonpresence in
the home.” 730 ILCS 5/5-8A-2(A) (West 2006). The use of such a device requires
defendant’s consent as well as notice to other persons residing in the home. 730 ILCS 5/5-
8A-5 (West 2006). The fact that this added condition of defendant’s parole had expired did
not create a reasonable expectation that defendant’s movements would not be monitored or
that his person, property, or residence would not be subject to search. As the Illinois Supreme
Court explained in
Wilson
, the search condition that a parolee accepts “has no ‘limitation on
what government agent may perform that search or what purpose they may have.’ ”
Wilson
,
“ ‘[I]f *** a parolee has no expectation of privacy in his person, we reason that a parolee has no legitimate expectation of privacy in his residence either, at least when the parolee is present. Any other rule would diminish the protection to society given by the search condition of parole, permitting search at any time.’ ” Wilson ,228 Ill. 2d at 51 (quoting Lopez ,474 F.3d at 1213 ). The Wilson court noted that the officer did not ask the defendant for his consent to
search. The officer, like Shufelt in this case, testified “that he felt neither a warrant nor
defendant’s consent was needed because defendant’s MSR agreement constituted
defendant’s consent to any search of his person, property, or residence.” at 38-39. The
court noted further that the search condition in that case had “since been codified in section
3-3-7(a) of the Unified Code of Corrections.” at 49 n.3. Just as the defendant in
Wilson
lost any “special protection” afforded to his residence “when he became a parolee and agreed
to consent to a search of his residence in his MSR agreement” (
id.
at 52), defendant in this
case clearly lost any special protection ordinarily afforded to an individual’s movements.
In comparing the provisions of California’s parole system at issue in
Samson v.
*30
California
, 547 U.S. 843 (2006), to Illinois’s system, the
Wilson
court commented that
“[f]urther, we can find no appreciable differences between each state’s operational process
for entering a period of parole or for remaining on parole.”
Wilson
,
¶ 106 In my view, the use of the GPS device in this case was consistent with the principle set
forth in
Samson
and reiterated in
Wilson
, that “ ‘a State’s interests in reducing recidivism and
thereby promoting reintegration and positive citizenship among probationers and parolees
warrant privacy intrusions that would not otherwise be tolerated under the Fourth
Amendment.’ ”
Wilson
,
in my view, defendant failed to establish a legitimate expectation of privacy in Powell’s vehicle under either approach recognized in Jones . My colleagues have chosen not to rule on the State’s good-faith argument. The Illinois
Supreme Court has stated that “[i]n order to develop and maintain a coherent body of law,
it is imperative that reviewing courts set forth their rationale and discuss the relevant case
law pertaining to the issue in a given case.”
Siegel v. Levy Organizational Development Co.
,
they would not require suppression of the GPS tracking evidence in this case. “Whether the
exclusionary sanction is appropriately imposed in a particular case *** is ‘an issue separate
from the question [of] whether the Fourth Amendment rights of the party seeking to invoke
the rule were violated by police conduct.’ ”
United States v. Leon
,
provides that “searches conducted in objectively reasonable reliance on binding appellate
precedent are not subject to the exclusionary rule.”
Davis
,
suggest that the question of whether the warrantless use of a GPS device violated the fourth
amendment remained unsettled on April 23, 2009.
Supra
¶ 45. The district court in
Lee
was
discussing the split among the federal circuits regarding the warrantless use of GPS devices
at the time the agents in that case used a GPS device. The court pointed out that the agents
were following “a national DEA policy” rather than binding precedent from the Sixth Circuit,
which had not yet ruled on the question.
Lee
,
prohibited the police from augmenting the sensory faculties bestowed upon them at birth
with such enhancement as science and technology afforded them in this case.”
Knotts
, 460
U.S. at 282. My colleagues acknowledge that there were no Illinois cases on warrantless GPS
searches or even any Illinois “beeper” cases. As my colleagues assuredly must know, in the
absence of controlling authority from Illinois courts, even
obiter dicta
from the Supreme
Court may be considered binding precedent. See
Exelon Corp. v. Department of Revenue
,
remanded for a new trial. I do not agree that the trial court’s order denying defendant’s motion to quash his arrest and suppress evidence should be disturbed, because defendant failed to establish a legitimate expectation of privacy in Powell’s vehicle and, even if he had done so, the good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule would apply.
Notes
[1] At sentencing, the trial court merged the robbery and burglary convictions into the aggravated robbery conviction.
[2] The record refers to defendant’s driver’s license as being revoked at times, and at other times as being suspended. Further, defendant’s driver’s license abstract was not made part of the record.
[3] As the State acknowledges in its brief, although the parties and the trial court used the term
“standing,” we no longer use that term to describe a defendant’s ability to challenge the use of a GPS
device on fourth amendment grounds. See
Johnson
,
[4] In his reply brief, defendant repeatedly refers to Powell as his “live-in girlfriend” but again fails to provide any citation to the record.
[5] The court’s alternative holding that the placement of the device was not a search is no longer good law under Jones .
[6] Oral arguments were conducted at Northern Illinois University Law School. Unfortunately, the arguments were not electronically recorded.
