People v. Atchison

Illinois Appellate Court
Criminal Court
DUI
Citation
Case Number: 
2019 IL App (3d) 180183
Decision Date: 
Thursday, July 11, 2019
District: 
3d Dist.
Division/County: 
Peoria Co.
Holding: 
Reversed and remanded.
Justice: 
O'BRIEN

Defendant was charged with misdemeanor DUI and failure to reduce speed. Court granted Defendant's motion to quash arrest, finding that officer lacked credibility based on his inexperience and his improper administration of certain field sobriety tests, and entered written order suppressing all evidence following the arrest. Court then dismissed the DUI charge. Suppression of evidence is not a final order and is not tantamount to an acquittal, and does not trigger double jeopardy. Court was without statutory authority to dismiss the DUI charge. As State is not required to establish probable cause to proceed on a misdemeanor charge, the failure to do so is not grounds for dismissal of the charge. Thus, State's alleged lack of probable cause was not a prejudicial denial of Defendant's due process rights.Claim that State's certificate of impairment was "false" did not result in a prejudicial denial fo Defendant's due process rights. (HOLDRIDGE, concurring; McDADE, specially concurring.)