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People v. Benton

Case Date: 06/22/2001
Court: 3rd District Appellate
Docket No: 3-00-0598 Rel

June 22, 2001

No. 3--00--0598


IN THE

APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS

THIRD DISTRICT

A.D., 2001


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE
OF ILLINOIS,

          Plaintiff-Appellant,

         v.

CHARLES BENTON, a/k/a Charles
Benton-Bey,

          Defendant-Appellee.

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)		 Appeal from the Circuit Court
of the 14th Judicial Circuit,
Rock Island County, Illinois


No. 00--TR--14948


Honorable
Dennis DePorter,
Judge Presiding.

PRESIDING JUSTICE HOMER delivered the opinion of the court:

 

Defendant Charles Benton, also known as Charles Benton-Bey,was charged with operating an uninsured motor vehicle (625 ILCS5/3--707 (West 1998)). At defendant's first appearance, thetrial court dismissed the case on its own motion, holding thatIllinois' mandatory liability insurance law does not apply tovehicles registered in foreign states. The State moved forreconsideration. Upon reconsideration, the court confirmed thedismissal, and the State appeals. We affirm.

The record shows that defendant was arrested while driving a1979 Buick within the City of Rock Island. The vehicle had anIowa registration number and "applied for" license tag, anddefendant's driver's license showed a Davenport, Iowa, homeaddress. Based on this information on the face of the trafficcitation, the trial court dismissed the insurance violationcharge sua sponte. In its formal written order, the court alsonoted that if the mandatory liability insurance statute appliedto nonresident motorists, it would violate the commerce clause ofthe United States Constitution (U.S. Const., art. I,