People v. DiPace9/30/2004
ty must be provided to justify the stop. Adams v. Williams, 407 U.S. 143, 145-48, 92 S.Ct. 1921, 1922-24, 32 L.Ed.2d 612, 616-18 (1972); Village of Gurnee v. Gross, 174 Ill.App.3d 66, 69-70, 123 Ill.Dec. 866, 528 N.E.2d 411 (1988). Corroboration of details of the informant's tip supports the veracity and reliability of that tip. See People v. Smith, 258 Ill.App.3d 1003, 1017, 196 Ill.Dec. 903, 630 N.E.2d 1068 (1994) (stating the rule in the context of finding probable cause); see also Ertl, 292 Ill.App.3d at 869, 226 Ill.Dec. 955, 686 N.E.2d 738 (stating that the reliability determinations for probable cause and reasonable suspicion are analogous, with an allowance given for the lower standard of reasonable suspicion). Tips from known informants are more reliable than those from anonymous informants, because a known informant's veracity, reputation, and basis of knowledge may be assessed by the investigating officer. See Florida v. J.L., 529 U.S. 266, 269, 120 S.Ct. 1375, 1378, 146 L.Ed.2d 254, 259 (2000). The fact that the information supporting the officer's reasonable suspicion came from the victim or an eyewitness does not make the tip presumptively reliable, but it is entitled to particularly great weight in evaluating the informant's reliability. People v. Aguilar, 286 Ill.App.3d 493, 496-97, 221 Ill.Dec. 803, 676 N.E.2d 324 (1997); Ertl, 292 Ill.App.3d at 870, 226 Ill.Dec. 955, 686 N.E.2d 738. When a tip comes from an identifiable witness, only a minimum of corroboration or other verification of the reliability of the information is required, because the witness puts himself or herself in position to be criminally liable for a false complaint. Thompson, 341 Ill.App.3d at 851, 276 Ill.Dec. 237, 793 N.E.2d 996.
In this case, the police had reasonable suspicion to support the stop of defendant's vehicle. The police obtained a tip from two eyewitnesses who observed and described defendant's erratic driving. The eyewitnesses gave a description of defendant's car and its location, and a specific description of the erratic driving they had witnessed. They provided the car's license number. They also provided their names and contact information. Defendant's car, which the witnesses pointed out to the police, met their description and bore the license number the witnesses had provided the police dispatcher. Given this corroboration of the witnesses' information, along with the fact that the tip was from identified citizen eyewitnesses who had provided a detailed tip to police in person, the information the police used in forming a reasonable suspicion was extremely reliable [FN1].
A brief survey of relevant case law reveals that courts have found reasonable suspicion to support vehicle stops based on less compelling facts than we see here. For example, in Thompson, 341 Ill.App.3d at 845, 850-52, 276 Ill.Dec. 237, 793 N.E.2d 996, an informant called police to report a driver in front of him who appeared to be drunk. The caller described the van in front of him and also gave its license number and location. Thompson, 341 Ill.App.3d at 845, 276 Ill.Dec. 237, 793 N.E.2d 996. The dispatcher did not obtain the caller's name until after police attempted to pull over the van. Thompson, 341 Ill.App.3d at 845, 276 Ill.Dec. 237, 793 N.E.2d 996. The court found that there was reasonable suspicion because the caller was identified and was a fellow motorist and a witness. Here, the tipsters gave their identities and personally reported specific information to the police before the police attempted to stop defendant.
*4 Likewise, in Adams, 407 U.S. at 145-48, 92 S.Ct. at 1922-24, 32 L.Ed.2d at 616-18, the Supreme Court found that a tip was reliable where it was personally given to police by an informant. Though the police officer in Adams had
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Illinois DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|