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People v. Coffin6/3/1999
r, it claimed that the BAC test result, obtained while the defendant was receiving emergency medical treatment, was admissible as a business record under the exception to the hearsay rule contained in section 11-501.4 of the Code. 625 ILCS 5/11-501.4 (West 1996). The State argued that a defendant's consent is irrelevant under section 11-501.4 (625 ILCS 5/11-501.4 (West 1996)), and therefore it was not seeking to take a contrary position at the defendant's DUI prosecution.
The trial court granted the Defendant's motion, stating that all of the factors necessary to apply the doctrine of judicial estoppel had been established in this case. In particular, the trial court found that the State had taken two inconsistent positions by suspending the Defendant's license for refusing to take a BAC test, and then later attempting to use the result from the BAC test performed at the hospital to prosecute him for DUI. The State sought leave to file an interlocutory appeal pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 604(a)(1) (145 Ill. 2d R. 604(a)(1)), which the trial court granted, and a certificate of impairment is contained in the record.
The doctrine of judicial estoppel provides that when a party assumes a certain position in a legal proceeding, that party is estopped from assuming a contrary position in a subsequent legal proceeding. Department of Transportation, State of Illinois v. Coe, 112 Ill. App. 3d 506, 509, 445 N.E.2d 506, 507-08 (1983). For the doctrine to apply, the following five factors must be present: (1) the party being estopped must have taken two positions; (2) the positions must have been taken in separate judicial or quasi-judicial administrative proceedings; (3) the party must have intended for the trier of fact to accept the truth of the facts alleged in support of the position; (4) the party must have succeeded in asserting the first position and received some benefit from it; and (5) the two positions must be inconsistent. Wisbrock, 223 Ill App. 3d at 175, 584 N.E.2d at 515; Galena Park Home v. Krughoff, 183 Ill. App. 3d 206, 208, 538 N.E.2d 1366, 1367 (1989).
In this case, the trial court relied on Wisbrock, 223 Ill. App. 3d at 173, 584 N.E.2d at 513, as controlling authority when it granted the defendant's motion. However, contrary to the trial court, we do not believe that Wisbrock is factually similar to the case at bar. In Wisbrock, 223 Ill. App. 3d at 174, 584 N.E.2d at 514, the defendant took a breathalyzer test, and the machine issued a result reading "'.11 deficient sample.'" The State considered providing a deficient sample equivalent to refusing to take a breathalyzer test and summarily suspended the defendant's driver's license pursuant to section 11-501.1 of the Code. Prior to trial, the defendant filed a motion in limine and argued that the State should not also be allowed to use the result from the breathalyzer test to prosecute him for DUI. The court found that the State took an inconsistent position in the subsequent DUI proceeding and therefore was judicially estopped from using the breathalyzer result to prosecute the defendant for DUI. Wisbrock, 223 Ill. App. 3d at 174-75, 584 N.E.2d at 514-15.Here, the State is not attempting to use the same test result for two conflicting purposes. Instead, the Secretary of State summarily suspended the defendant's driver's license under section 11-501.1 of the Code (625 ILCS 5/11-501.1 (West Supp. 1997)), for his refusal to submit to a BAC test. The State now seeks to use the BAC test result, obtained while the defendant was receiving emergency medical treatment, to prosecute him for DUI under section 11-501 of the Code (625 ILCS 5/11-501 (West Supp. 1997)). Even though the defendant apparently agreed to receive medical treatme
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