People v. Relwani

Defendant was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. His driver’s license was summarily suspended under Illinois’s implied consent statute (625 ILCS 5/11-501.1). Defendant filed a petition to rescind the statutory summary suspension, arguing that he was arrested in a privately-owned Walgreens parking lot that was not a “public highway,” as defined by the implied consent law. At his hearing, defendant, the only witness, testified that he was parked in a Joliet Walgreens parking lot and “was sleeping behind the wheel” when he “was woken up by police officers,” who arrested him. The state successfully moved for a directed finding, arguing he had not met his initial burden of proof. The Appellate Court and the Illinois Supreme Court affirmed. Defendant was required to present affirmative evidence to make a prima facie case for rescission. Defendant’s testimony did not specify the proximity or physical connection of the parking lot to the storefront or the location of his car within the parking lot; was obliged to produce “enough evidence to allow the fact-trier to infer the fact at issue and rule in [his] favor.” Defendant’s mere reference to “Walgreens,” without more, establishes nothing about either the identity of the entity that maintained the lot or the public’s use of the lot, the essential components for a prima facie showing that the parking lot was not a “public highway.” View "People v. Relwani" on Justia Law