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People v. Bock4/22/2005
After a bench trial, defendant Candace Bock was found guilty of driving while under the influence of alcohol (DUI) and improper lane usage; she was given a conditional discharge sentence of one year of supervision, which included a requirement that she attend alcohol education classes, perform 10 days of community service, and pay $505 in fines. She appeals the DUI conviction, contending that she was improperly cross-examined with the results of an unreliable preliminary Breathalyzer test; that she was prejudiced by the admission of evidence that she was told of the civil penalties for refusing to take a second breath test; that she was denied her constitutional right to the effective assistance of counsel by her counsel's failure to present expert testimony of the effect of her use of prescription medications; and that she was not proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. We affirm.
BACKGROUND
1. Testimony of Officer Drews
South Barrington police officer Steven Drews testified that on July 13, 2002 at approximately 9:15 p.m., he was on duty and driving his marked squad car when an oncoming white truck drove partly onto the center line dividing the two lanes of traffic. Drews swerved to the shoulder of his lane, then turned his car around to pursue the truck, and saw it again drive its left side wheels onto the center line. The truck pulled over, and Drews saw that its only occupant was the driver, defendant Candace Bock, who was talking on a cellular phone. Drews asked Bock to roll down her window; she instead opened the door of the truck.
Drews testified that he observed Bock's eyes to be "red," "glassy," and "bloodshot," and that he noticed the strong smell of alcohol on her breath. Bock produced her driver's license and proof of insurance, and Drews asked her to exit the truck and walk to its rear. According to Drews, Bock "was swaying a little bit" as she walked to the back of the truck. Drews said that Bock told him that she needed to speak to her children, that she began another cell phone call, and that he observed slurring of her speech in her conversation with him and on the phone.
Drews estimated that, approximately two to three minutes after he stopped Bock's truck, two of his fellow officers joined the scene. One of them, an Officer Haniszewski, administered an initial field sobriety test to Bock: the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, which Drews had not yet been trained to perform. Drews then asked Bock to perform a "walk-and-turn" test on a yellow line at the shoulder of the road. Drews testified that he instructed Bock to take nine heel-to-toe steps on the line with her hands at her sides, turn, and return in the same manner. According to Drews, Bock "danced" down the line, waving her arms as she went, stepping from side to side and failing to take any heel-to-toe steps. Drews concluded that Bock failed this sobriety test.
Drews then testified to the administration of a second test, which required Bock to stand with one foot raised approximately six inches and her hands at her sides while counting off the passing of 30 seconds. According to Drews, Bock raised one foot "probably an inch or two off the ground," with her arms extended away from her sides, before he finished his instructions to her. Drews said that Bock was unable to keep her balance, swayed from side to side, put her foot down after "2 to 3 seconds," and told the officers to perform the test themselves. Drews concluded that Bock failed this sobriety test.
According to Drews, after Bock failed the leg-raise test, he informed her that she was under arrest, and he and Officer Haniszewski took positions on either side of her to escort her to D
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