Fink v. Ryan
Case Date: 12/31/1969
Court: Supreme Court
Docket No: 79404
|
filing of the opinion to request a rehearing. Also, opinions are subject to modification, correction or withdrawal at anytime prior to issuance of the mandate by the Clerk of the Court. Therefore, because the following slip opinion is being made available prior to the Court's final action in this matter, it cannot be considered the final decision of the Court. The official copy of the following opinion will be published by the Supreme Court's Reporter of Decisions in the Official Reports advance sheets following final action by the Court. Docket No. 79404--Agenda 17--May 1996. CHRISTOPHER J. FINK, Appellee, v. GEORGE RYAN, Secretary of State, Appellant. Opinion filed October 18, 1996. JUSTICE MILLER delivered the opinion of the court: This appeal results from a final order entered in the circuit court of Lake County finding a portion of the Illinois Vehicle Code (625 ILCS 5/11--501.6 (West 1994)) unconstitutional under the fourth amendment of the United States Constitution. The portion of the Vehicle Code found unconstitutional provided that if a traffic accident occurred in which death or personal injury resulted and a driver involved in the accident had been issued a Uniform Traffic Ticket for a nonequipment offense, the driver would be subject to chemical testing to determine whether the person was impaired by drugs or alcohol. See 625 ILCS 5/11--501.6(a) (West 1994). Following the circuit court's ruling, the Secretary of State appealed directly to this court pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 302(a). 134 Ill. 2d R. 302(a). We reverse and remand. I. BACKGROUND The circuit court found section 11--501.6 of the Illinois Vehicle Code unconstitutional. The statute provides: "Any person who drives or is in actual control of a motor vehicle upon the public highways of this State and who has been involved in a personal injury or fatal motor vehicle accident, shall be deemed to have given consent to a breath test *** or to a chemical test or tests of blood, breath, or urine for the purpose of determining the alcohol or other drug content of such person's blood if arrested as evidenced by the issuance of a Uniform Traffic Ticket for any violation of the Illinois Vehicle Code or a similar provision of a local ordinance, with the exception of equipment violations contained in Chapter 12 of this Code, or similar provisions of local ordinances." 625 ILCS 5/11--501.6(a) (West 1994). The statute further provides that a "personal injury shall include any type A injury." 625 ILCS 5/11--501.6(g) (West 1994). According to the statute, type A injuries "shall include severely bleeding wounds, distorted extremities, and injuries that require the injured party to be carried from the scene." 625 ILCS 5/11-- 501.6(g) (West 1994). The circuit court's rationale in finding the statute unconstitutional was that the statute was "no different, substantively" than a predecessor statute (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1991, ch. 95 |