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Docket No. 92554-Agenda 9-May 2002.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Appellee, v. LYNETTE S. GHERNA, Appellant.

Opinion filed January 24, 2003.

CHIEF JUSTICE McMORROW delivered the opinion of thecourt:

On August 26, 1999, officers approached a vehicle driven bydefendant, Lynette Gherna, observed certain items in the vehicle,asked defendant to exit the vehicle in order to conduct a search,and later arrested and charged defendant with one count ofpossession of a controlled substance (720 ILCS 570/402(c) (West2000)). Prior to trial, defendant filed a motion to suppressevidence. After conducting a hearing, the circuit court ofVermilion County granted defendant's suppression motion,rejecting the State's contention that the officers' encounter withdefendant was entirely consensual. The State filed a certificate ofsubstantial impairment and appealed the circuit court's rulingpursuant to Supreme Court Rule 604(a) (188 Ill. 2d R. 604(a)).With one justice dissenting, a panel of the appellate court reversedthe judgment of the circuit court and remanded this cause forfurther proceedings. 325 Ill. App. 3d 157. We allowed defendant'spetition for leave to appeal pursuant to our Rule 315 (177 Ill. 2dR. 315). For the reasons that follow, we reverse the judgment ofthe appellate court.

BACKGROUND

Defendant was arrested by Danville police officers on August26, 1999, and charged with one count of possession of a controlledsubstance (720 ILCS 570/402(c) (West 2000)). Approximately onemonth after defendant's arrest, on September 23, 1999, the circuitcourt held a preliminary hearing on defendant's motion to suppressthe evidence seized by the police officers when defendant wasarrested. Danville police officer Troy Wasson, who was the onlywitness to testify during the hearing, stated that at 9 p.m. onAugust 26, he and his partner, Officer Doug Smalley, were onbicycle patrol. At that time the officers observed two femalessitting in a pickup truck parked in an apartment complex parkinglot. Officer Wasson testified that as he and his partner were ridingby the truck, he "observed a bottle of beer in the-sitting in a cupholder console-or in the center console between the two girls."Officer Wasson stated that because the passenger in the truck"appeared to me to be pretty young," he and his partner suspectedpossible underage drinking and therefore "stopped to identify boththe people inside the vehicle." The officers determined thatdefendant, the driver of the truck, was over the age of 21, and thatthe passenger in the vehicle was defendant's 13-year-old daughter.The officers also examined the bottle of beer and determined thatthe bottle was unopened and in its original container.

Officer Wasson further testified that after ascertaining that nounderage drinking had occurred, he began "casually talking" withdefendant. Officer Wasson stated that defendant became "verynervous" as they conversed. Officer Wasson testified that it wasduring this conversation that he observed an item resembling acredit card located underneath defendant's left thigh as she wassitting inside the truck. Wasson stated that he asked defendantabout the card, that defendant showed the card to him, and thatWasson saw that it was an Illinois Link card in the name of LowellBriggs. Officer Wasson then asked defendant where she hadobtained the card. Defendant replied that she did not know howthe card got into her vehicle and that possibly someone haddropped it there when the police arrived. Officer Wasson testifiedthat "[a]t that point I asked [defendant] to exit the car so I couldspeak with her in private, not around her 13-year-old daughter."According to Officer Wasson, he and defendant "then stepped nextto the vehicle," and he asked defendant if there were any otheritems in the car that could belong to Lowell Briggs and of whichdefendant was unaware. According to Wasson, defendant statedthat the officers were "free to look." Officer Wasson testified thathe and his partner did not search the vehicle at that time becauseWasson "was still talking with [defendant]." Wasson then askeddefendant if she "had anything on her that belonged to LowellBriggs," including any illegal drugs or narcotics, to whichdefendant replied in the negative. Officer Wasson testified that"[a]t that point I paused," and defendant then began emptying herfront pockets. As defendant was removing various items from herpockets, a clear plastic baggie fell to the ground that containedseveral yellowish-white rocks, which subsequently field-testedpositive for cocaine. Officer Wasson stated that defendant wasthen placed under arrest.

Prior to trial, defendant filed with the circuit court a motionto suppress evidence, alleging that she was searched without awarrant and without probable cause in violation of the fourthamendment of the United States Constitution (U.S. Const., amend.IV) and article I, section 6, of the Illinois Constitution of 1970 (Ill.Const. 1970, art. I,