{
  "id": 1209129,
  "name": "THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. JOSEPH E. SMITH, Defendant-Appellant",
  "name_abbreviation": "People v. Smith",
  "decision_date": "2002-06-27",
  "docket_number": "No. 3\u201401\u20140772",
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    "parties": [
      "THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. JOSEPH E. SMITH, Defendant-Appellant."
    ],
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      {
        "text": "JUSTICE SLATER\ndelivered the opinion of the court:\nDefendant Joseph Smith was convicted of unlawful possession of a controlled substance (720 ILCS 570/402(c) (West 2000)) at the conclusion of a stipulated bench trial and he was sentenced to a term of two years\u2019 probation. On appeal, the defendant contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress. We reverse.\nFacts\nThe only witness to testify at the suppression hearing was Officer Darrell Gavin of the Joliet police department. Gavin and his partner, Officer Jose, were on patrol on November 24, 2000, when they saw the defendant at 1:43 a.m. walking in the Fairmont housing project in Joliet, Illinois. The defendant had his hands clenched, and Gavin saw the defendant put something into one of his coat pockets. Gavin decided to question the defendant because Joliet has a \u201ctrespass agreement\u201d with Fairmont which requires a \u201cpass\u201d to be in the housing project. However, before the officers reached the defendant, he crossed the street, thereby leaving the housing project and the City of Joliet and entering Lockport, Illinois.\nBy the time Officers Gavin and Jose drove around to the defendant\u2019s location, he was standing in front of a building that Gavin described as a \u201cknown drug house.\u201d Gavin testified that the defendant was not doing anything other than simply \u201c[sjtanding there with his hands in his pockets.\u201d The two officers got out of their squad car, approached the defendant and asked him what he was doing. The defendant replied that he was waiting for his cousin. Officer Gavin then asked the defendant what he had in his pockets and the defendant did not answer. Gavin told the defendant to take his hands out of his pockets and the defendant appeared to become nervous and looked around.\nNext, Gavin initially testified that the defendant turned and began to walk away. After reviewing his written report, however, Gavin testified that the defendant began to back away from the officers. The officers told the defendant to stop and to take his hands out of his pockets. The defendant continued to back away and kept his hands in his pockets. After asking the defendant \u201ca few more times\u201d to take his hands out of his pockets, both officers grabbed the defendant\u2019s arms. After the defendant began to struggle, the officers forced him to the ground and placed him under arrest. A subsequent search disclosed that defendant was in possession of one-tenth of a gram of cocaine.\nOfficer Gavin admitted that he had no idea what the defendant might have had in his pockets. He also acknowledged that he never asked the defendant if he had a \u201cpass\u201d for the Fairmont housing project. At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court denied the defendant\u2019s motion to suppress.\nAnalysis\nDefendant asserts that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress because: (1) the Joliet police officers had no jurisdiction to arrest him in Lockport; and (2) the officers had no justification for detaining, frisking or arresting him and therefore violated his rights under the fourth amendment. Because we find that the latter contention requires reversal of the defendant\u2019s conviction, we do not address the jurisdictional argument.\nA ruling on a motion to quash arrest and suppress evidence is generally subject to reversal only if it is manifestly erroneous. People v. Krueger, 175 Ill. 2d 60, 675 N.E.2d 604 (1996). However, where, as here, neither the facts nor the credibility of witnesses is at issue, de novo review is appropriate. See People v. Dilworth, 169 Ill. 2d 195, 661 N.E.2d 310 (1996).\nThe fourth amendment to the United States Constitution provides that \u201c[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated.\u201d U.S. Const., amend. IV However, the fourth amendment was not intended to eliminate all contact between citizens and the police, but to prevent arbitrary and oppressive interference with an individual\u2019s privacy and personal security. United States v. Mendenhall, 446 U.S. 544, 553-54, 64 L. Ed. 2d 497, 509, 100 S. Ct. 1870, 1877 (1980). Thus the police do not violate the fourth amendment by merely approaching an individual on the street and putting questions to him if the person is willing to listen. Florida v. Royer, 460 U.S. 491, 497, 75 L. Ed. 2d 229, 236, 103 S. Ct. 1319, 1324 (1983).\n\u201cThe person approached, however, need not answer any question put to him; indeed, he may decline to listen to the questions at all and may go on his way. [Citations.] He may not be detained even momentarily without reasonable, objective grounds for doing so; and his refusal to listen or answer does not, without more, furnish those grounds.\u201d Royer, 460 U.S. at 497-98, 75 L. Ed. 2d at 236, 103 S. Ct. at 1324.\nThe State contends that the initial encounter between the defendant and Officers Gavin and Jose involved no coercion or detention and was a consensual police-citizen interaction. We agree. \u201cObviously, not all personal intercourse between policemen and citizens involves \u2018seizures\u2019 of persons.\u201d Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 19 n.16, 20 L. Ed. 2d 889, 905 n.16, 88 S. Ct. 1868, 1879 n.16 (1968); see also Florida v. Bostick, 501 U.S. 429, 434, 115 L. Ed. 2d 389, 398, 111 S. Ct. 2382, 2386 (1991) (\u201cSince Terry, we have held repeatedly that mere police questioning does not constitute a seizure\u201d). In this case there was initially no seizure because the defendant was already stopped, standing in front of a \u201cknown drug house.\u201d Furthermore,\nwhen the officers left their vehicle and asked the defendant what he was doing, he was not seized. \u201cThere is nothing in the Constitution which prevents a policeman from addressing questions to anyone on the streets.\u201d Terry, 392 U.S. at 34, 20 L. Ed. 2d at 913, 88 S. Ct. at 1886 (White, J., concurring).\nOf course, the defendant was free at that point to answer the officers\u2019 questions or ignore them; he could also remain where he was or simply walk away. See Royer, 460 U.S. at 497-98, 75 L. Ed. 2d at 236, 103 S. Ct. at 1324. Defendant chose to respond to the question about what he was doing but to ignore the question concerning the contents of his pockets. Somewhere in the sequence of events which followed, a seizure occurred: (1) defendant was told to take his hands out of his pockets; (2) defendant became nervous, looked around and began to back away from the officers; (3) defendant was told to stop and to take his hands out of his pockets; (4) defendant continued to back up and kept his hands in his pockets; (5) defendant was told a few more times to take his hands out of his pockets; and (6) the officers grabbed the defendant\u2019s arms.\nA person is seized within the meaning of the fourth amendment when the police, by means of physical force or show of authority, have in some way restrained that person\u2019s liberty. Terry, 392 U.S. at 19 n.16, 20 L. Ed. 2d at 905 n.16, 88 S. Ct. at 1879 n.16. That is, a seizure occurs if, in view of all the circumstances, a reasonable person would have believed that he was not free to leave. Mendenhall, 446 U.S. at 554, 64 L. Ed. 2d at 509, 100 S, Ct. at 1877. Alternatively, \u201cthe appropriate inquiry is whether a reasonable person would feel free to decline the officers\u2019 requests or otherwise terminate the encounter.\u201d Bostick, 501 U.S. at 436, 115 L. Ed. 2d at 400, 111 S. Ct. at 2387. In Mendenhall, the Court gave examples of circumstances that might indicate a seizure, including: (1) the threatening presence of several officers; (2) displaying a weapon; (3) physical touching of the defendant; or (4) using language or a tone of voice indicating that compliance with the officer\u2019s request might be compelled. Mendenhall, 446 U.S. at 554, 64 L. Ed. 2d at 509, 100 S. Ct. at 1877; see also People v. Murray, 137 Ill. 2d 382, 560 N.E.2d 309 (1990).\nUnder other circumstances we would find that a seizure occurred no later than when the defendant was told to stop and to remove his hands from his pockets. At that point the defendant had begun to back away from the officers, indicating his intent to leave. The officers just as clearly indicated their intent that he remain. However, because the defendant did not submit to the officers\u2019 commands, but continued to back away, no seizure occurred at that point. It was not until the officers physically restrained the defendant that he was seized. See California v. Hodari D., 499 U.S. 621, 113 L. Ed. 2d 690, 111 S. Ct. 1547 (1991) (assertion of authority by police does not constitute seizure unless defendant submits); see also People v. Ramirez, 244 Ill. App. 3d 136, 613 N.E.2d 1116 (1993) (following Hodari D.). Therefore, we must decide whether the police had valid justification for seizing the defendant at that time.\n\u201cAn investigatory stop of a private citizen is allowed only when the police officer has specific, articulable facts which, when taken together with rational inferences, create a reasonable suspicion that the private citizen is involved in criminal activity.\u201d People v. Lockhart, 311 Ill. App. 3d 358, 361, 724 N.E.2d 540, 542 (2000). Mere hunches and unparticularized suspicions are not sufficient. People v. Moore, 286 Ill. App. 3d 649, 676 N.E.2d 700 (1997).\nThe State argues that the following factors established reasonable suspicion sufficient to warrant a Terry stop: (1) defendant was in a high crime area at night; (2) defendant began to look around nervously and back away from the officers; (3) defendant refused to remove his hands from his pockets; and (4) defendant attempted to \u201cflee\u201d from the officers.\nThe mere fact that a person is in a high crime area is not sufficient to support a reasonable suspicion that a person is committing a crime, although it is \u201camong the relevant contextual considerations in a Terry analysis.\u201d Illinois v. Wardlow, 528 U.S. 119, 124, 145 L. Ed. 2d 570, 576, 120 S. Ct. 673, 676 (2000). Similarly, we do not believe that the lateness of the hour justifies a Terry stop, although it may be a factor contributing to a reasonable suspicion. And while nervous behavior has been recognized as a pertinent factor (Wardlow, 528 U.S. at 124, 145 L. Ed. 2d at 576, 120 S. Ct. at 676), it \u201cis not a characteristic that generally invokes reasonable suspicion\u201d (People v. Penny, 188 Ill. App. 3d 499, 503, 544 N.E.2d 1015, 1017 (1989); see also People v. Smith, 315 Ill. App. 3d 772, 734 N.E.2d 1039 (2000)). As for defendant\u2019s behavior in backing away from the officers and refusing to remove his hands from his pockets, his acts were consistent with his right, in the context of a consensual police-citizen encounter, to ignore the police requests and go on his way. Moreover, his exercise of those rights cannot be used to justify a Terry stop. See Royer, 460 U.S. at 498, 75 L. Ed. 2d at 236, 103 S. Ct. at 1324 (citizen\u2019s refusal to listen or answer questions does not, without more, furnish grounds for detention). After all, consensual encounters do not implicate the fourth amendment only because they are consensual. To hold that exercising the right to refuse to answer and going about one\u2019s business supplies the basis for reasonable suspicion creates a \u201cheads I win, tails you lose\u201d situation for the State, with the fourth amendment as the loser.\nFinally, the State\u2019s characterization of defendant\u2019s conduct as \u201cunprovoked attempted flight,\u201d and its attempt to rely on Wardlow merit little comment. As we have explained, the defendant\u2019s actions were consistent with his right to terminate the consensual encounter with Officers Gavin and Jose. The \u201cheadlong flight\u201d which justified a Terry stop of the defendant in Wardlow (528 U.S. at 124, 145 L. Ed. 2d at 576, 120 S. Ct. at 676) bears no resemblance to the instant defendant\u2019s conduct.\nViewed individually, then, defendant\u2019s actions were not sufficient to cause a person of reasonable caution to believe that defendant was engaged in criminal activity. However, facts and circumstances that might appear innocent when viewed independently may provide reasonable suspicion when viewed in their entirety. People v. Lockett, 311 Ill. App. 3d 661, 725 N.E.2d 27 (2000).\n\u201cIn deciding whether a reasonable suspicion existed, we must consider the \u2018 \u201ctotality of the circumstances \u2014 the whole picture\u201d \u2019 of each case. [Citation.] We recognize that a reasonable suspicion may emerge from seemingly innocent, noncriminal conduct. [Citation.] The question for the court is the degree of suspicion which attaches to the circumstances surrounding a defendant\u2019s actions. [Citation.] The facts used to support an investigatory detention are insufficient when they describe \u2018a very large category of presumably innocent travelers, who would be subject to virtually random seizures.\u2019 [Citation.]\u201d People v. Anaya, 279 Ill. App. 3d 940, 945-46, 665 N.E.2d 525, 529 (1996).\nWe believe that, considering the totality of the circumstances as they existed on November 24, 2000, there were insufficient specific, articulable facts to create a reasonable suspicion that defendant was committing a crime. Essentially, defendant put something in his pocket (drugs, a knife, cigarettes, keys, gum?) while walking late at night. He then stood in front of a known drug house with his hands in his pockets. Nothing about this activity suggests criminal conduct. Certainly, putting something in one\u2019s pocket is not a hallmark of criminal activity. See People v. F.J., 315 Ill. App. 3d 1053, 734 N.E.2d 1007 (2000); People v. Anderson, 304 Ill. App. 3d 454, 711 N.E.2d 24 (1999). Nor did defendant\u2019s presence in the vicinity of a house where drugs had been sold in itself create a reasonable suspicion. See Lockhart, 311 Ill. App. 3d 358, 724 N.E.2d 540 (fact that defendant entered and quickly left house where prior drug arrests had been made did not establish reasonable suspicion to stop defendant); People v. Harper, 237 Ill. App. 3d 202, 205, 603 N.E.2d 115, 116 (1992) (no reasonable suspicion where defendant was stopped after exiting \u201cknown dope house\u201d). With respect to defendant\u2019s nervous behavior, we believe it is significant that, according to Officer Gavin\u2019s testimony, defendant did not become nervous until after he was told to remove his hands from his pockets. Such an order may have been considered by the defendant as a signal that what had been a casual inquiry was now the prelude to something more serious, thereby creating anxiety. Finally, we do not lbelieve that defendant\u2019s decision to keep his hands in his pockets and terminate the \u201cconsensual encounter\u201d can provide the basis for reasonable suspicion, for the reasons stated earlier. We hold, therefore, that defendant was improperly seized in violation of the fourth amendment. The circuit court\u2019s ruling denying the defendant\u2019s motion to suppress is accordingly reversed. In addition, because the State cannot prevail on remand without the suppressed evidence, we reverse the defendant\u2019s conviction and vacate his sentence.\nFor the reasons stated above, the judgment of the circuit court is reversed.\nReversed.\nLYTTON, EJ., and McDADE, J., concur.",
        "type": "majority",
        "author": "JUSTICE SLATER"
      }
    ],
    "attorneys": [
      "Mark D. Fisher (argued), of State Appellate Defender\u2019s Office, of Ottawa, for appellant.",
      "Jeff Tomczak, State\u2019s Attorney, of Joliet (John X. Breslin, of State\u2019s Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor\u2019s Office, of counsel), and Deidre Donnellan (argued), of Plainfield, for the People."
    ],
    "corrections": "",
    "head_matter": "THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. JOSEPH E. SMITH, Defendant-Appellant.\nThird District\nNo. 3\u201401\u20140772\nOpinion filed June 27, 2002.\nMark D. Fisher (argued), of State Appellate Defender\u2019s Office, of Ottawa, for appellant.\nJeff Tomczak, State\u2019s Attorney, of Joliet (John X. Breslin, of State\u2019s Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor\u2019s Office, of counsel), and Deidre Donnellan (argued), of Plainfield, for the People."
  },
  "file_name": "1049-01",
  "first_page_order": 1067,
  "last_page_order": 1074
}
