People v. Grotti

Following a bench trial in the circuit court of Washington County, the defendant was convicted of driving while license suspended. He was sentenced to nine months’ probation, the first seven days to be served in the Washington County jail. He appeals from his conviction and sentence and argues that his conviction was the product of an illegal arrest.

The sole witness at defendant’s brief trial was Thomas Lantner, former police chief of Ashley, Illinois. On February 14, 1981, he stopped the defendant, who was driving in Ashley, and asked for his driver’s license, which had been suspended. The…