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People v. Nunes6/5/1986
Defendant, Barbara Nunes, appeals from her convictions for the offenses of driving under the influence of alcohol (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 95 1/2, par. 11-501(a)(2)), improper lane usage (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 95 1/2, par. 11-708), and improper display of license plates (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 95 1/2, par. 3-413). She claims that the trial court erred in admitting certain statements defendant made at the scene without having received Miranda warnings and that she was not proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
On December 29, 1984, at approximately 4 a.m., Illinois State Trooper Steven Koenig was patrolling Interstate 94 when he observed an automobile speeding southbound in the northbound lane. Koenig pulled over to the shoulder and radioed Trooper Holt Pzisani, who was patrolling the same highway further south, that a car was headed in the wrong direction. Koenig then executed a U-turn and pursued the vehicle. Approximately one-half mile down the road, he caught up to the car and pulled it over. At that point the defendant got out of the car. Koenig later testified that she used her left hand for support as she walked along the side of the car. Koenig also got out and walked up to the defendant. As Koenig asked defendant for her driver's license, he noticed what he described as a "strong odor of alcohol." He described her eyes as "bloodshot and glassy." Koenig asked defendant if she had been drinking. He testified that defendant's response was "yes, eight drinks." Pzisani, who arrived at the scene shortly after Koenig had pulled the car over, testified that he heard defendant say six drinks. Koenig administered a field test, known as the horizontal gaze nystagmus test which, according to Koenig, defendant failed. Koenig then advised defendant that she was under arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol. It began raining, so Koenig placed defendant in his squad car. He asked Pzisani to have defendant's car towed.
At the station, Koenig read the implied consent warning and asked defendant to take a breath test. She refused, saying that she was not drunk. She also refused to take any more performance tests. Koenig described defendant's speech as slurred and "thick tongued." As he filled out the citation, he read defendant her Miranda rights. It was Koenig's opinion that defendant was under the influence of alcohol. Except for the discrepancy as to the number of drinks, Pzisani's testimony essentially corroborated Koenig's. It was also Pzisani's opinion that defendant was intoxicated.
The defendant testified that she had been at her sister's home in Fox Lake, baby-sitting her sister's children. She was taking a number of medications for a chronic bronchial condition, as well as for a chest cold. In addition, she was upset at learning of the death of her pet parakeet. She had not had anything alcoholic to drink. As she was driving to her home in Zion she used an unfamiliar route and became confused. As a result, she entered Interstate 94 by an exit ramp and found herself headed in the wrong direction. When she realized her mistake, she did not attempt to stop and make a U-turn, "because that was against the law." Instead she continued looking for an exit until she was pulled over by Trooper Koenig. According to defendant, the late hour, her depressed mental state and the combination of medications accounted for her glassy eyes, slurred speech, and unsteady walk.
Based on this evidence, the jury found defendant guilty on all three counts. On appeal, defendant's first contention is that it was error to permit the troopers to testify to defendant's statement at the scene that she had been drinking because she had not been read her rights a
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