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People v. Bonutti9/23/2004
Defendant, Boris P. Bonutti, was charged with driving while under the influence of alcohol (625 ILCS 5/11-501(a)(2) (West 2002)) and driving with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more (625 ILCS 5/11-501(a)(1) (West 2002)). Defendant moved to suppress the results of his breath-alcohol test, arguing that an episode of gastroesophageal reflux rendered those results unreliable. Following an evidentiary hearing, the circuit court of Effingham County granted the motion and suppressed the test results. The appellate court affirmed. 338 Ill.App.3d 333, 273 Ill.Dec. 22, 788 N.E.2d 331. We allowed the State's petition for leave to appeal. 177 Ill.2d R. 315(a).
BACKGROUND
On the evening of April 26, 2001, Illinois State Trooper Richard Largen stopped defendant's vehicle for speeding. After noticing that defendant smelled of alcohol and was slurring his speech, Officer Largen**491 administered a battery of field sobriety tests, which defendant failed. Officer Largen then arrested defendant for driving under the influence of alcohol (625 ILCS 5/11-501(a)(2) (West 2002)). At the station, defendant submitted to a breath-alcohol test, which showed that defendant had a blood-*185 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 were summarily suspended (625 ILCS 5/11-501.1(c) (West 2002)), and that suspension was later confirmed by the Secretary of State (625 ILCS 5/11- 501.1(h) (West 2002)).
On July 26, 2001, defendant asked the trial court to rescind the summary suspension. In his motion, defendant argued that the results of his breath-alcohol test were unreliable because the test was administered 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 § 1286.310(a) (2002)), Officer Largen failed to observe defendant continuously for 20 minutes prior to administering the test and failed to confirm that defendant had not regurgitated during the 20-minute observation period.
On September 10, 2001, a hearing was held on defendant's petition to rescind. At the hearing, Officer Largen testified that he is trained and certified in the administration of breath-alcohol tests. Pursuant to that training, Officer Largen observed defendant continuously for at least 20 minutes prior to administering the breath-alcohol test. During that period, defendant did not ingest anything by mouth, did not show any outward manifestations of pain, and did not burp, belch, or regurgitate. Although defendant did request a glass of water during the observation period, his request was denied. When asked by Officer Largen whether he had taken any medications within the last six hours, defendant responded that he had taken both aspirin and Prilosec.
Defendant, in turn, testified that he suffers from esophageal reflux disorder, which causes acid from his *186 stomach to rise through his esophagus to the back of his throat. This process causes defendant to suffer pain "similar to a heart attack," and defendant was experiencing a reflux episode during his wait at the police station. Although he did not tell anyone at the station that he was experiencing a reflux episode, he did request a glass of water, which relieves the burning sensation caused by such episodes. Defendant testified that he takes Prilosec to control the buildup of acid in his stomach, and that reflux episodes, while often painful, are usually silent.
The trial court denied defendant's petition for rescission. In so doing, the trial court specifically found that Officer Largen was credible and t
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