SPRINGFIELD, Ill. 鈥� While Cortez Turner was in a hospital room being treated for a gunshot wound to his leg in 2016, police took his clothes. Now, the Illinois Supreme Court is weighing whether that action violated Turner鈥檚 expectation of privacy under the Fourth Amendment.
The arguments in the case were among several heard by the high court Tuesday, including a case that could change how police handle certain firearms possession violations.
Turner was ultimately convicted of perjury and murder in 2019, at least partially as a result of the evidence police gathered from his room at a Murphysboro hospital, according to court filings in the case.
Police had arrived at the hospital in response to a separate gunshot victim and, in the process, seized evidence from Turner鈥檚 hospital room, according to court filings. Turner, on the night of the incident in 2016, told hospital staff he was waiting for a ride when he heard gunfire and was hit by an errant bullet, court records show. The filings also stated Turner did not object when police told him they were going to seize his belongings.
A forensic examiner later determined by examining Turner鈥檚 clothes that the damage to them was caused by gunfire within a range of three inches. Police used that and other evidence to piece together a case against Turner as being part of a drive-by shooting that resulted in the death of a 38-year-old Murphysboro man.
Upon his 2019 conviction, Turner was sentenced to 30 years in prison. But he now argues police violated his Fourth Amendment right protecting him from unreasonable governmental search and seizure, and that he had a reasonable expectation of privacy in a hospital trauma room, and police lacked a warrant.
Assistant Attorney General Michael Cebula argued that police did not need a warrant, and that the evidence is admissible to courts, due to what鈥檚 known as the 鈥済ood-faith鈥� exception 鈥� a legal principle through which evidence is viewed as permissible in circumstances where the officers were acting out of good faith when conducting a search.
鈥淧olice were told that he was a gunshot victim,鈥� Cebula told the Supreme Court. 鈥淭hey walk by the room, the door is open, so a police officer acting in good faith believe they have the right to enter this room, certainly when they see bloody clothes in plain view.鈥�
Richard Whitney, a lawyer for Turner, told the court there needs to be consideration of how someone in a hospital trauma room not only deserves to be free from search and seizure but may be far from normal critical faculties, which presumes privacy.
鈥淏eing in a state of undress and vulnerability, experiencing physical pain, receiving medical treatment that exposes large parts of the body, being hooked up to monitors and an IV, these are all intimate activities that you don't want the general public to be gazing in on,鈥� Whitney said.
A motion to suppress the evidence obtained from Turner鈥檚 hospital room was denied by a circuit court. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday questioned whether there is a reasonable expectation of privacy in a hospital setting, regardless of room or location within the hospital.
Attorney General Kwame Raoul鈥檚 office argued even if the Supreme Court finds the evidence should have been suppressed, it would be moot in the face of other evidence.
鈥淎ny error in admitting defendant鈥檚 bloody clothes at his bench trial was harmless because the remaining evidence against him is overwhelming,鈥� the attorney general鈥檚 office wrote in a .
Concealed carry聽
In 2021, Anthony Harvey was arrested and later charged with unlawful use of a weapon after police found a semiautomatic pistol during a traffic stop. During that stop, officers asked Harvey if he had a Firearms Owners Identification card or concealed carry license and he said he didn鈥檛.
Now, that the Supreme Court reverse his conviction.
Harvey鈥檚 lawyer argued that the state didn鈥檛 provide 鈥渁ffirmative evidence鈥� that he was illegally in possession of the gun. In saying he didn鈥檛 have a concealed carry license, Harvey could have meant that he didn鈥檛 have documentation on his person, which could have resulted in a different charge.
鈥淭hat is the burden of proof that's placed on the state and if the state wanted to extinguish any ambiguity or lack of clarity on that, then the officer could have asked a follow-up question,鈥� Philip Payne, Harvey鈥檚 state-appointed lawyer, said in court Tuesday. 鈥淭he state is never required to rely on the defendant to tell him himself.鈥�
Instead of using potentially insufficient evidence, according to Payne, the state should have checked whether Harvey had a concealed carry license using the database of CCL holders maintained by the Illinois State Police.
But some of the high court鈥檚 justices seemed to be wary of this argument during questions to Erin O鈥機onnell, the lawyer representing the state.
鈥淭he statute seems to put the burden on the licensee to respond to the question from the police officer, correct?鈥� Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis asked.
鈥淐orrect,鈥� O鈥機onnell replied.
O鈥機onnell went on to argue that the state had still met the burden of proof to demonstrate that Harvey illegally possessed the weapon, relying on testimony from officers that Harvey exhibited 鈥渇urtive movements鈥� to conceal the weapon.
鈥淭he court doesn't have to suspend common sense when it's looking at evidence鈥︹�� O鈥機onnell said Tuesday. 鈥淗e's being asked by the officers, 鈥榓re you licensed?鈥� And he says 鈥榥o.鈥� That tends to corroborate that he had never been issued a concealed carry license.鈥�
The case follows a recent trend of reexamining firearms regulations following the U.S. Supreme Court鈥檚 2022 decision in , a case dealing with New York鈥檚 concealed carry permitting law. Subsequent cases at the federal level and in state courts have further strengthened Second Amendment protections for firearms owners and put additional requirements on prosecutors in proving crimes related to weapon possession.
Harvey鈥檚 lawyers relied on this in written briefs, arguing that in the post-Bruen legal framework, Harvey had a 鈥減resumptive right鈥� to possess a firearm.
The justices are set to deliberate on the two cases before issuing rulings in the coming months, although no timeline is set for when the justices might deliver their opinion.
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