People v. Benda

PRESIDING JUSTICE SEIDENFELD

delivered the opinion of the court:

The State appeals from a midtrial ruling in a bench trial excluding certain evidence, pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 604(a)(1) (87 Ill. 2d R. 604(a)(1)), contending that the ruling had the substantive effect of suppressing evidence. Following the ruling the State filed a notice of appeal. Finding that the question was purely evidentiary and that the order was not appealable, the trial judge ordered the State to continue with the trial and, when it refused, granted the defendant’s motion for a directed finding of not guilty. The…