People v. Bonutti
Case Date: 12/31/1969
Court: Supreme Court
Docket No: 96218 Rel
|
Docket No. 96218-Agenda 3-May 2004. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Appellant, v. BORIS Opinion filed September 23, 2004. JUSTICE THOMAS delivered the opinion of the court: Defendant, Boris P. Bonutti, was charged with driving whileunder the influence of alcohol (625 ILCS 5/11-501(a)(2) (West2002)) and driving with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more(625 ILCS 5/11-501(a)(1) (West 2002)). Defendant moved tosuppress the results of his breath-alcohol test, arguing that an episodeof gastroesophageal reflux rendered those results unreliable.Following an evidentiary hearing, the circuit court of EffinghamCounty granted the motion and suppressed the test results. Theappellate court affirmed. 338 Ill. App. 3d 333. We allowed the State'spetition for leave to appeal. 177 Ill. 2d R. 315(a). BACKGROUND On the evening of April 26, 2001, Illinois State Trooper RichardLargen stopped defendant's vehicle for speeding. After noticing thatdefendant smelled of alcohol and was slurring his speech, OfficerLargen administered a battery of field sobriety tests, which defendantfailed. Officer Largen then arrested defendant for driving under theinfluence of alcohol (625 ILCS 5/11-501(a)(2) (West 2002)). At thestation, defendant submitted to a breath-alcohol test, which showedthat defendant had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.174.Accordingly, defendant was also charged with driving with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more (625 ILCS 5/11-501(a)(1)(West 2002)). In addition, defendant's driving privileges weresummarily suspended (625 ILCS 5/11-501.1(c) (West 2002)), andthat suspension was later confirmed by the Secretary of State (625ILCS 5/11-501.1(h) (West 2002)). On July 26, 2001, defendant asked the trial court to rescind thesummary suspension. In his motion, defendant argued that the resultsof his breath-alcohol test were unreliable because the test wasadministered in violation of the statutorily mandated procedures.Specifically, defendant argued that, in violation of section 1286.310(a)of chapter 20 of the Illinois Administrative Code (20 Ill. Adm. Code |