People v. WrightPeople v. Wright
Lead Opinion
delivered the opinion of the court:
Defendant, Johnnie Wright, was the owner of J&J Scrap Auto Wrecking Company, an auto parts recycling business. On January 25, 1996, auditors from the Secretary of State’s office arrived at defendant’s business, reviewed documents in his business office, and took an inventory of the vehicles in the lot surrounding the office. As a result of this audit, defendant was placed under arrest and charged with two counts of possession of a stolen motor vehicle (see
Following a bench trial, the circuit court of Cook County found defendant not guilty of the possession of a stolen motor vehicle charges and not guilty of two of the counts of failure to keep records. The circuit court found defendant guilty of the remaining charges of failure to keep records and possession of title without complete assignment.
On appeal, the appellate court reversed defendant’s convictions because it found that the circuit court had failed to consider the mental state required to establish the offenses of failure to keep records and possession of title without complete assignment. The appellate court ordered the cause remanded for a limited nonevidentiary hearing for the circuit court to apply the appropriate mental state to the existing record.
We hold that defendant’s convictions for possession of title without complete assignment must be reversed because the evidence at trial was insufficient to establish the mental state required for a violation of section 4— 104(a)(2). We also reverse defendant’s convictions for failure to keep records because we find that section 5— 401.2 of the Illinois Vehicle Code is unconstitutional on due process grounds.
BACKGROUND
At defendant’s trial, Russell Hoekstra, an auditor for the Special Audit Team of the Secretary of State’s office, testified that, on January 25, 1996, he and two other auditors conducted an audit at J&J Scrap Auto Wrecking Company (J&J) in Blue Island, Illinois. When the auditors arrived at the J&J office at about 9 a.m., they spoke to defendant, who identified himself as the owner of the business. Hoekstra informed defendant that they were there to conduct an inspection of his business. He asked defendant for his license, his police book, and any other records. Defendant provided Hoekstra with his police book. He told Hoekstra that he could not find the titles for his vehicles but that his secretary would be able to find them when she returned from an errand. Defendant also gave Hoekstra a 1995 license, which listed him as the only owner of J&J. When asked about his 1996 license, defendant stated that he had applied for it but that he had not received it or could not find it.
Hoekstra then informed defendant that an inventory would be taken of all of the vehicles in the J&J lot and that the vehicles would be matched to the paperwork defendant provided. According to Hoekstra, the south and north boundaries of the J&J lot were each marked by a row of truck trailers. These boundaries were approximately 225 feet apart. The office was near the front of the lot and the rear of the lot was marked by railroad tracks about 600 or 700 feet behind the office. Hoekstra acknowledged that defendant’s 1995 license indicated that the lot size was only 50 feet by 250 feet, but he stated that defendant had told him that the trailers were the north boundary of the J&J lot. An inspection by the Secretary of State’s office and defendant’s 1996 license described the property size as four acres.
During the course of their inventory and inspection of defendant’s records, the auditors discovered several irregularities. Hoekstra testified that they learned that two of the vehicles included in their inventory had been reported stolen. One of these vehicles, a 1987 blue Ford Taurus station wagon, was located approximately 150 yards behind the J&J office and 20 feet from the trailers marking the south boundary of the lot. The other car, a white 1987 Ford Escort, was located approximately 20 yards behind and 40 to 50 feet north of the Taurus.
At approximately 11:30 a.m., defendant’s secretary gave Hoekstra 217 vehicle titles. After comparing the titles to the vehicles in the J&J lot, Hoekstra found that only 18 of the titles matched the 101 vehicles in the lot. He asked defendant whether he had any documentation for the other vehicles. Defendant responded that he did not. The assignment portion of 173 of the 217 titles Hoekstra examined was not completed. In addition, the auditors observed that defendant’s police book failed to indicate the disposition of 189 vehicles. That is, there were 290 entries in the book showing the acquisition but no disposition of a vehicle, yet there were only 101 vehicles in the J&J lot. In addition, defendant did not have a parts book to record the parts that he sold.
According to Hoekstra, if defendant scrapped or crushed a car, he was required to record this disposition in his police book. Hoekstra testified that defendant’s police book indicated that a few of the vehicles he had acquired had been scrapped or crushed. Defendant did not, however, have documents, such as a uniform invoice or junk certificate, showing that he had disposed of the vehicles this way.
Based on the discovery of the stolen vehicles on the J&J lot, Hoekstra contacted the Illinois State Police. During the afternoon of January 25, 1996, Special Agent Lemming, Sergeant Jeffrey Blair, and other Illinois State Police officers arrived with a warrant to search defendant’s business. Defendant told the officers that the Taurus had been in the J&J lot since December 1995, and the Escort had been in the lot for about six months. Like Hoekstra, Blair testified that the north and south boundaries of the J&J lot were each marked by a row of truck trailers. According to Blair, the boundaries were approximately 100 feet apart.
Lemming testified that, when he arrived at J&J, he spoke to Hoekstra, and Hoekstra gave him the police book and 199 of the titles he had received from defendant’s secretary. Lemming and the other State Police officers searched the J&J office. They found defendant’s 1996 license application, which had not been sent to the Secretary of State’s office.
Lemming also spoke to defendant. When Lemming informed defendant that two stolen vehicles had been found in the J&J lot, defendant replied that a man named Jim from Night and Day Towing had towed both vehicles into the lot. Defendant called Jim from the office and handed the receiver to Lemming, but Lemming heard no one on the line. Lemming recalled seeing a card for Night and Day Towing with a telephone number and the name Jim on it. Several days later Lemming attempted to get the telephone number for Night and Day Towing. The telephone company had no listing for this business, and Lemming was unsuccessful in his attempt to get the number from one of defendant’s employees.
Lemming arrested defendant late in the day on January 25, 1996. Following the arrest, Lemming questioned defendant further. Defendant explained his auto recycling business to Lemming. He stated that he placed advertisements in the Chicago Sun-Times offering to buy junk vehicles from people. Defendant used his tow truck to tow these vehicles to the J&J lot. Defendant told Lemming that he had a partner named James Crumb but that defendant
Defendant told Lemming that he had heard that the Escort and the Taurus were in his yard, but he had only seen the Escort. Defendant stated that he did not know these cars were stolen. Defendant said that he also knew that these cars were not in his police book, but this was because his secretary had probably forgotten to enter them into the book. With respect to the number of titles found in his office, defendant stated that, if he had a title without a vehicle, it meant that he had sent the vehicle to the “shredder.”
According to Lemming, in order for title to a vehicle to be properly transferred, the seller must sign the back of his or her title, then the space for the buyer’s name and address must be completed. Lemming testified that, with respect to nine of the vehicle titles recovered from defendant’s office, there had been no assignment on the back of the titles to defendant or J&J. On the back of three of these titles, the spaces for assignment had been completed, but the assignment was to an entity or individual other than J&J or defendant. The spaces for assignment on the back of the other six titles were blank. None of these nine vehicles were in the J&J lot. With respect to 16 of the other vehicle titles found in defendant’s office, some of the sellers of the vehicles had signed the back of the titles, but the spaces for assignment to the buyer were incomplete. On the back of one of the 16 titles, J&J was listed as the buyer, but there was no address for J&J or date of assignment. On the remaining 15, neither J&J nor defendant was listed as a buyer. None of these 25 titles had been entered into defendant’s police book.
Detective Paul Bernatek testified that in October 1988, he had a conversation with defendant during which he told defendant that, when defendant received the title for a vehicle, he was required to have the seller write his or her name and address on the title, after which defendant was to sign it, date it, and write the odometer reading on the title. He also told defendant that auto parts recyclers were required to maintain a book with records of their acquisitions of vehicles, including the identity of the seller, the date, the year, the make and the body style. Bernatek also informed defendant that, when a recycler disposed of a vehicle, he was required to list the date of disposition and the destination of the vehicle. In January 1989, Bernatek had another conversation with defendant, during which he again informed defendant of these record-keeping requirements for auto parts recyclers. Bernatek acknowledged that these conversations were not recorded in the reports he prepared.
Defendant and his employee, Jesse Dawkins, presented a completely different version of the events of January 25, 1996. In addition, their description of the dimensions of the J&J lot differed significantly from that of the State’s witnesses.
According to Dawkins, when the auditors arrived at 9 a.m., Dawkins told them that only defendant’s secretary was in the office, and defendant was not there. Defendant and Dawkins testified that defendant did not arrive at the J&J lot until 11 or 11:30 a.m. on January 25, 1996. At that time, Hoekstra told defendant that they were there to investigate his lot but did not ask for his police book. Hoekstra also did not ask defendant for any vehicle titles, and defendant did not give him any titles or records.
As the auditors performed their inventory, defendant and Dawkins saw them record the serial numbers of cars in the J&J lot, as well as in the two lots north of defendant’s. These two lots were owned by James Crumb and Charles Dixon, who, like defendant, were in the auto wrecking business. Although defendant told Hoekstra
Dawkins and defendant testified that the south boundary of the J&J lot was marked by truck trailers, but there were no trailers along the north boundary of the lot. According to defendant, the dimensions of the J&J lot were 51V2 feet by 887 feet. There was a private residence on the front half of the property. The property extended behind the office to the railroad tracks.
Defendant testified that he began operating J&J in January 1995. Prior to that time, the J&J lot was used as an auto wrecking yard by Dixon and Crumb. According to defendant, he and Crumb were partners, and the purpose of their partnership was to split rent. He acknowledged, however, that the 1995 license for J&J listed only defendant as the proprietor of J&J. Defendant and Dixon had a bad relationship and did not associate at all.
According to defendant, when he began operating J&J, vehicle titles belonging to Dixon and Crumb remained in the office in a file cabinet. Defendant never looked in the file cabinet and, after January 1995, Crumb and Dixon continued to use the cabinet. Defendant and Crumb also shared the desk in the office and the police book. Defendant had two drawers in the desk, and Crumb had two drawers in the desk. Defendant stated that, when he purchased a vehicle, he would place the title for the vehicle on the desk in his office, and his secretary would enter it into the police book. Crumb was supposed to enter his own vehicles into the police book, and defendant knew that Crumb had been doing so with respect to some of the vehicles he purchased. Under their partnership arrangement, defendant was the only one who could purchase a car and accept a title on behalf of J&J. Likewise, Crumb bought vehicles on his own, and defendant had no control over the vehicles Crumb purchased. With respect to the vehicles listed in the police book, defendant said that some of them had been taken to a scrap processor and others were in the J&J lot. He did not know whether any of the vehicles that the police book indicated had been taken to a scrap processor were his vehicles.
Defendant and Dawkins testified that not all of the titles in the office belonged to defendant. Defendant did not know how many of his titles were in the office, but he had 50 or 60 in the desk drawer that belonged to him. As the police searched his office, defendant saw them removing items from the file cabinet. When he told the police that the cabinet was not his, the police responded that everything in the cabinet was considered his. He had never seen the 25 titles on which the possession of title without complete assignment charges was based. According to defendant, only the titles with his name on them belonged to him; the titles assigned to J&J were Crumb’s.
Similarly, Dawkins and defendant testified that not all of the cars on the J&J lot belonged to defendant. Defendant stated that, at the time of the audit, he had only seven Or eight cars and three trucks. The other vehicles on his lot belonged to Crumb, who had failed to move these cars to his own lot.
Defendant testified that he told Lemming that he did not know anything about the Escort and the Taurus, except that they had been towed into the area by Jim Stroud from Night and Day Towing. Dawkins testified that he had seen Jim tow cars into the J&J lot before, but did not see him tow the Escort and the Taurus. Defendant testified that Dawkins had told him that Jim had towed these cars to the J&J lot. Defendant also stated that Jim was planning to sell the Taurus to him.
Dawkins and defendant testified that, while the State Police were in the J&J office, defendant placed a call to Jim of Night and Day Towing and broadcast the call on the speaker telephone in the office.
Dawkins testified that the Escort was a few feet on one side or the other of the property line between defendant’s lot and the lot north of defendant’s. Defendant testified that he told Lemming that the Escort was on Dixon’s lot. At one point he testified that he did not know where the Taurus was because he never saw it. He later testified, however, that the Taurus was on his property.
Defendant did not remember whether Detective Bernatek informed him in 1989 about the necessity of completing the assignments on the back of titles or about the record-keeping requirements. Defendant denied that Bernatek told him that, as an auto parts recycler, he had to keep records of the acquisition and disposition of vehicles.
In rebuttal, the State offered two certified copies of conviction. These documents showed that defendant had been convicted in March 1990 of possession of title with incomplete assignment. In addition, he was convicted in February 1990 of possession of a stolen motor vehicle and possession of a vehicle with its identification number removed.
At the conclusion of the presentation of this evidence, the circuit court found defendant not guilty of the charges of possession of a stolen motor vehicle. The court stated that there was conflicting testimony as to whether the Escort was on defendant’s lot. With respect to possession of the Taurus, the court also found defendant not guilty because it found defendant’s explanation that he did not see this car credible. The court also found defendant not guilty of the charges of failure to keep records related to these two vehicles. The circuit court found defendant guilty of the other charges of failure to keep records and possession of title with incomplete assignment. The circuit court sentenced defendant to three years’ imprisonment based on the convictions for failure to keep records and one year of imprisonment for possession of titles with incomplete assignment, to run concurrently.
The appellate court reversed defendant’s convictions.
The appellate court noted that, in People v. Tolliver,
For the same reason, the appellate court reversed defendant’s convictions for failure to keep records. It rejected defendant’s argument that the circuit court’s finding of guilt with respect to these offenses was inconsistent with its decision to acquit defendant on other charges.
ANALYSIS
In the briefs defendant filed with this court, defendant argued only that the appellate court erred in ordering a limited nonevidentiary hearing rather than a new trial because of the circuit court’s error in applying the mental state required for the offenses of possession of title without complete assignment and failure to keep records. In his petition for rehearing, defendant raises a new argument with respect to his convictions for failure to keep records. According to defendant’s petition,
We begin, however, with a discussion of the defendant’s arguments concerning the charges of possession of title without complete assignment. Defendant argues that the appellate court erred in ordering a limited nonevidentiary hearing rather than a new trial after reversing his convictions. According to defendant, a new trial is required when a defendant is tried under an incorrect theory of law. He asserts that, by failing to require the State to prove that he acted with knowledge plus criminal purpose, the circuit court tried him under an incorrect theory of law. Defendant contends that the limited hearing ordered by the appellate court is unfair because it would require the circuit court to perform a new credibility assessment “on a cold record and distant memory” and because the circuit court’s error may have affected the defense strategy.
The State has filed a request for cross-relief, in which it contends that the appellate court should have affirmed defendant’s convictions because (1) the circuit court’s comments indicate that it found defendant possessed the necessary mental state under
Before considering the issues raised by defendant’s appeal, it is necessary to address the State’s argument that defendant’s convictions should be affirmed, regardless of any erroneous application of the necessary mental state by the circuit court. If the appellate court erred in reversing
The State argues that, even if the circuit court erred by failing to find the existence of the mental state required to establish a violation of
Whether the evidence was sufficient to convict defendant of violating
“(a) It is a violation of this Chapter for:
2. A person to possess any manufacturers certificate of origin, salvage certificate, junking certificate, certificate of title, display certificate without complete assignment[.]
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(b) Sentence:
1. A person convicted of a violation of subsection 1 or 2 of paragraph (a) of this Section is guilty of a Class 4 felony.”
Although the statutory provision describing the offense of possession of title without complete assignment contains no mental state, this court has supplied a mental state in previous cases involving this statute. In People v. Gean,
In People v. Tolliver,
This court upheld the constitutionality of
An examination of the evidence presented at trial, in light of the necessary elements of an offense under
In reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction, the proper inquiry is “ ‘whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.’ ” (Emphasis omitted.) People v. Howery,
Our conclusion is supported by Tolliver. In Tolliver, this court reversed the defendant’s conviction under
The circuit court found defendant guilty of violating
Likewise, in this case, there was no evidence that defendant possessed title without complete assignment for a criminal purpose. As in Tolliver, no facts were presented that demonstrated that defendant stole any of the vehicles for which he possessed an incomplete title, or that he was using these titles to perpetrate á fraud. In fact, defendant was acquitted of the charges that he possessed stolen vehicles.
The State fails to identify any other type of criminal activity that might have motivated defendant’s possession of incomplete titles. The State merely asserts that some general criminal purpose may be inferred from the evidence presented at trial. In support of this argument, the State observes that the circuit court did not give credence to defendant’s argument that some of the titles and vehicles examined by the auditors were owned by Crumb. The rejection of this defense, however, does not suffice as proof of criminal purpose. The State also argues that a criminal purpose may be inferred from defendant’s experience as an auto parts recycler and his awareness of the requirements of
We now turn to defendant’s challenge to the constitutionality of his convictions for failure to keep records under
Despite the language in
In the opinion originally filed by this court in this case, we affirmed defendant’s convictions under
In his petition for rehearing, however, defendant argues for the first time that
We ordered the State to answer defendant’s petition (see 155 Ill. 2d R. 367(d)) and directed it to respond to defendant’s arguments that (1) we should address his constitutional challenge despite his failure to raise it prior to filing his petition for rehearing, and (2)
Generally, parties may not argue new points in a petition for rehearing. See 177 Ill. 2d R. 341(e)(7); 155 Ill. 2d R. 367(b); Dow v. Columbus-Cabrini Medical Center,
Our review of the merits of defendant’s constitutional challenge is guided by the following familiar principles. Statutes are presumed constitutional, and a party challenging the constitutionality of a statute has the burden of establishing its invalidity. People v. Lantz,
The legislature’s purpose in enacting
To achieve this purpose,
We agree with defendant that
This court concluded that, if the purpose of the aggravated arson statute was to impose a severe punishment for arsonists whose acts injured a policeman or fireman, it was not reasonably related to its purpose
Similarly, in People v. Zaremba,
This court found that section 16 — 1(a)(1) was not reasonably related to its purpose, which was to enable police officers to break up fencing enterprises through undercover operations. This court explained that, because section 16 — 1(a)(1) contained no culpable mental state, it could potentially subject innocent conduct, such as an evidence technician’s legitimate custody of stolen property, to a felony penalty. Accordingly, this court held that the statute violated due process principles.; Zaremba,
In State v. Saiez,
“ ‘In order to meet constitutional limitations on police regulation, this prohibition, i.e. against possession of objects having a common and widespread lawful use, must under our previous decisions be reasonably “required as incidental to the accomphshment of the primary purpose of the Act.” There is little doubt that the penalty against possession of such equipment will simplify the problem of enforcing the primary prohibition ***. Expediency, however, is not the test, and we conclude that convenience of enforcement does not warrant the broad restriction imposed by [the statute].’ ” Saiez,
According to the Saiez court, the statute at issue was not reasonably related to its purpose of preventing credit card fraud because it interfered with the rights of individuals who used the machines for noncriminal activities. The Saiez court concluded that the broad scope of the statute was not necessary and held it invalid on due process grounds. Saiez,
We find that section 5 — 401.2 is not reasonably designed to achieve its purpose. Under section 5 — 401.2, even a slight lapse in record keeping by an individual with no criminal purpose may be punished as a
To avoid this constitutional problem, defendant asserts that we should read the mental state of knowledge plus criminal purpose into section 5 — 401.2, as we did in Tolliver for section 4 — 104(a)(2). According to defendant, if knowledge plus criminal purpose is the applicable mental state under section 5 — 401.2, his convictions for failure to keep records must be reversed because the evidence is insufficient to establish that he acted with a criminal purpose. The State responds that we may not read the Tolliver mental state into section 5 — 401.2 because, unlike section 4 — 104(a), the failure-to-keep-records provision unambiguously provides that the applicable mental state is knowledge.
As the State observes, we may not read a mental state of knowledge plus criminal purpose into section 5 — 401.2. In Tolliver, we were able to imply the mental state of knowledge plus criminal purpose as an element of section 4 — 104(a)(2) because that provision contained no mental state. After determining that the legislature did not intend to create an absolute liability offense, therefore, this court was free to choose an appropriate mental state and to imply this mental state as an element of the statute. See
Unlike section 4 — 104, section 5 — 401.2 does not lack a mental state element. Section 5 — 401.2(i) expressly provides that the mental state for the offense of failure to keep records is knowledge. When a statute is unambiguous, it must be enforced as enacted, and a court may not depart from its plain language by reading into it exceptions, limitations, or conditions not expressed by the legislature. People v. Woodard,
We hold that defendant has met his burden of establishing that section 5 — 401.2 is unconstitutional and reverse his convictions for failure to keep records. Because providing an effective system of mandatory record keeping to prevent or reduce the transfer or sale of stolen vehicles and parts is a laudatory goal, we encourage the legislature to remedy this constitutional defect at' the earliest possible time.
CONCLUSION
For these reasons, we reverse the judgment of the appellate court remanding this cause for a limited evidentiary hearing. We reverse defendant’s convictions for possession of title without complete assignment under section 4 — 104(a)(2) of the Vehicle Code and failure to keep records under section 5 — 401.2(a). Defendant’s sentences are vacated.
Judgments reversed.
Concurrence Opinion
specially concurring:
I agree with the majority’s disposition of this case. I write separately merely to note that defendant’s prior convictions could have been offered as substantive evidence of his intent on the charges of possession of title without complete assignment. See People v. Oaks,
Concurrence Opinion
concurring in part and dissenting in part:
I agree with the-majority that the defendant’s convictions for the offense of possession of title without complete assignment, in violation of section 4 — 104(a)(2) of the Illinois Vehicle Code (
The record-keeping requirements of section 5 — 401.2 are part of a group of statutes found in chapter V of the Vehicle Code
As the majority recognizes, the legislative purposes for this statutory scheme are expressed in section 5 — 100—1 of the Vehicle Code.
It is readily apparent that the records that scrap yard operators and licensees like the defendant are required to keep under section 5 — 401.2 represent an integral part of this statutory scheme. The defendant, as a licensee under the Vehicle Code, is a participant in a highly regulated industry, and the legislature has reasonably determined that extensive record keeping is a responsibility of licensees under the Code. Despite the legislature’s clear findings and statement of intent, the majority concludes that the offense found in section 5 — 401.2 does not bear a rational relationship to the evil it is designed to address. Specifically, the majority concludes that the statute might punish what, in the majority’s view, is wholly innocent conduct. I disagree.
The record-keeping requirements of section 5 — 401.2 apply only to persons licensed under the provisions of chapter V of the Vehicle Code. I believe that the legislature may define offenses in this manner and impose on persons who engage in certain trades and occupations the duty to compile and maintain records of their business. The pertinent constitutional question in these circumstances is not whether there might be an innocent explanation for a licensee’s knowing failure to keep certain records, as the majority suggests, but whether the record-keeping requirements imposed by the legislature are rationally related to the evils the legislation is designed to remedy. The second question must be answered in the affirmative, in light of the obvious relationship between the record-keeping requirements of section 5 — 401.2 and the legislature’s goal of reducing the traffic in stolen automobiles and automobile parts.
Given the state’s significant interest in regulating the business of automobile recyclers and parts dealers, and the corresponding necessity for extensive record keeping by licensed operators, I believe that the present case is much different from the cases cited by the majority, in which challenged offenses might irrationally criminalize conduct legitimately performed without a criminal purpose (see People v. Zaremba,
The present appeal does not involve circumstances remotely similar to those
CHIEF JUSTICE HARRISON joins in this partial concurrence and partial dissent.
Concurrence Opinion
also concurring in part and dissenting in part:
I agree with the majority that defendant’s convictions for possession of title without complete assignment under
The legislature is empowered to declare and define conduct constituting a crime, and to determine the nature and extent of the punishment. People v. Steppan,
“The General Assembly finds that: (1) crimes involving the theft of vehicles and their parts have risen steadily over the past years, with a resulting loss of millions of dollars to the residents of this State; (2) essential to the criminal enterprise of vehicle theft operations is the ability of thieves to transfer or sell stolen vehicles or their parts through legitimate commercial channels, making them available for sale to the automotive industry; (3) vehicle dealers, scrap processors, automotive parts recyclers, repairers and rebuilders who comprise the vast majority of the persons engaged in the automotive business in this State are frequently exposed to pressures and influences from motor vehicle thieves; (4) elements of organized crime are constantly attempting to influence businessmen engaged in the sale and repair of motor vehicles so as to further their own criminal interests; and (5) close and strict government regulation of vehicle dealers, scrap processors, automotive parts recyclers, repairers and re-builders will provide a system of tracking the flow of vehicles and their essential parts and therefore significantly reduce the numbers of vehicle-related thefts in this State. It is, therefore, the intent of the General Assembly to establish a system of mandatory licensing and record keeping which will prevent or reduce the transfer or sale of stolen vehicles or their parts within this State.”625 ILCS 5/5 — 100—1 (West 1996).
The record-keeping requirements of
Significantly, the application for a license as an automotive parts dealer must include a statement that the applicant understands chapters I through V of the Vehicle Code. See
The statutory scheme set forth above provides licensees with notice that the industry into which they are entering is subject to close scrutiny and regulation. This is not a recent and unexpected development in the law. The automobile and automotive parts industry in Illinois has long been the subject of extensive regulation. See People v. Krull,
The legislature’s extensive findings and stated purpose in enacting chapter V of the Vehicle Code, and the obvious and intrinsic link between the record-keeping requirements and the statute’s purpose, along with the industry’s long history of regulation, compel a finding that
In Zaremba, we held that the following provision of the theft statute offends due process:
“A person commits theft when he knowingly:
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(5) Obtains or exerts control over property in the custody of any law enforcement agency which is explicitly represented to him by any law enforcement officer or any individual acting in behalf of a law enforcement agency as being stolen.” Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 38, par. 16 — 1(a)(5). A violation of section 16 — 1(a)(5) involving property valued in excess of $300 was a felony offense. See Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 38, par. 16 — 1(b)(4).
Unlike other provisions of the theft statute, section 16 — 1(a)(5) required neither that the control over the property was unauthorized, nor that there was an intent to permanently deprive the rightful owner of the subject property. See Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 38, pars. 16 — 1(a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(4). Section 16 — 1(a)(5) could thus have been applied to conduct that was unrelated to the purpose of this statutory section, that being to provide an effective method of breaking up fencing operations. For example, section 16 — 1(a)(5) could have been applied to the wholly authorized and innocent conduct of an evidence technician who lawfully obtained possession of stolen goods from an arresting officer. In these circumstances, the absence of a culpable mental state rendered section 16 — 1(a)(5) of the theft statute unconstitutional. Zaremba,
Our decision in Zaremba was guided by this court’s decision in People v. Wick,
In Zaremba and Wick, the subject statutes irrationally criminalized lawful conduct of innocent parties not intended to fall within the scope of the statutes. In contrast,
In light of the foregoing, I would hold that