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Village of Mundelein v. Minx9/7/2004
Defendant, Patrick Minx, was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) and his driving privileges were summarily suspended (cf. 625 ILCS 5/11-501.1 (West 2002)). Defendant petitioned to rescind the summary suspension and moved to quash his arrest and suppress evidence, arguing that he was stopped in violation of the fourth amendment (U.S. Const., amend.IV). The trial court granted the petition and the motion, and the Village of Mundelein (the Village) timely appealed. We affirm in part and dismiss in part.
First we must consider the scope of our jurisdiction. We have an independent duty to insure that jurisdiction is proper in both civil and criminal cases (People v. O'Connor, 313 Ill.App.3d 134, 135, 245 Ill.Dec. 818, 728 N.E.2d 1175 (2000)), and thus we address the issue of jurisdiction regardless of whether the parties raise it. In this case, the Village contends that we have jurisdiction over the appeal of the rescission of the summary suspension pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 303 (155 Ill.2d R. 303) and the suppression order pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 604(a) (188 Ill.2d R. 604(a)).
**968 ***324 Supreme Court Rule 604(a)(1) provides:
"In criminal cases the State may appeal only from an order or judgment the substantive effect of which results in dismissing a charge for any of the grounds enumerated in section 114-1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963; arresting judgment because of a defective indictment, information or complaint; quashing an arrest or search warrant; or suppressing evidence." (Emphasis added.) 188 Ill.2d R. 604(a)(1).
It is well settled that Rule 604(a)(1) applies only to the State and not to municipalities. Village of Cary v. Pavis, 171 Ill.App.3d 1072, 122 Ill.Dec. 264, 526 N.E.2d 523 (1988). In this case, there is no doubt that the Village intended to prosecute under its local ordinance and not the corresponding section of the Illinois *218 Vehicle Code (Code) (625 ILCS 5/11-501(a)(2) (West 2002)). The Village conceded this issue during oral argument before this court. Further, the citation issued to defendant supports the Village's concession. On the citation issued to defendant, the form has check boxes indicating various sections of the Code. Under this are two more check boxes, "ILCS" and "local ordinance." Next to the "local ordinance" box is a space for the local ordinance citation. The "local ordinance" box is checked, but there is no citation to any ordinance. The "ILCS" box is not checked. Because the Village's concession, along with the citation issued to defendant, shows an intent to prosecute under the municipal ordinance, we lack jurisdiction to consider the suppression order relating to the DUI. See Village of Mundelein v. Thompson, 341 Ill.App.3d 842, 847, 276 Ill.Dec. 237, 793 N.E.2d 996 (2003).
The Village urges this court to overturn our decision in Village of Cary, 171 Ill.App.3d 1072, 122 Ill.Dec. 264, 526 N.E.2d 523, and hold that "a municipality can appeal the trial court's order granting a motion to quash arrest and suppress evidence under Supreme Court Rule 604(a) when the underlying charge is written exclusively as a municipal violation." We decline. Only the supreme court can make rules governing interlocutory appeals, and we are constrained to follow these rules and the long string of cases interpreting Rule 604(a) as applying only to State and not municipal appeals. See Village of Maywood v. Houston, 10 Ill.2d 117, 139 N.E.2d 233 (1956); Village of Park Forest v. Bragg, 38 Ill.2d 225, 230 N.E.2d 868 (1967); Village of Mundelein v. Aaron, 112 Ill.App.3d 134, 67 Ill.Dec. 765, 445 N.E.2d 57 (1983).
The Village also argues that this court has jurisdiction over the trial court's order regarding the municipal DUI prosecution because the Vill
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