People v. Johnson

              No. 2--07--0307 Filed: 3-4-08
______________________________________________________________________________
IN THE
APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS
SECOND DISTRICT
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THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE ) Appeal from the Circuit Court
OF ILLINOIS, ) of Du Page County.
)
Plaintiff-Appellant, ))
v. ) No. 06--CF--494
)
DONNELL JOHNSON, ) Honorable
) Perry R. Thompson,
Defendant-Appellee. ) Judge, Presiding.
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JUSTICE BOWMAN delivered the opinion of the court:
The State appeals from an order quashing the arrest of defendant, Donnell Johnson, and
suppressing the evidence resulting from that arrest. It asserts that defendant's driving on a Sunday
at about 4:30 p.m. was sufficient for the arresting officer to have reasonable suspicion to stop
defendant for violating the terms of his restricted driving permit (RDP), despite the officer's not
knowing the RDP's terms. The State also asks this court to consider under the plain-error doctrine
its alternative assertion that the stop of defendant was permissible under the special-needs doctrine.
We hold that the time defendant was driving was an insufficient basis for the officer to stop him. We
also hold that any justification of the stop under the special-needs doctrine does not fall within the
scope of matters we can consider under the plain-error doctrine. We therefore affirm the order of
the trial court.