Judge denies bus driver's motion to quash arrest

The court denied the defense's motion to quash the arrest of former Mount Prospect Elementary District 57 bus driver Betty Burden, who was charged with aggravated DUI on March 9 after, police say, she drove 50 schoolchildren while intoxicated.

Burden attorney Ernie Blomquist argued during Tuesday's hearing before Cook County Circuit Court Judge John Scotillo that the traffic stop that led to his client's arrest violated Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure.

“Only unreasonable seizures are prohibited, said Scotillo, whose ruling followed more than two hours of detail legal arguments from Blomquist and Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Maria McCarthy.

Scotillo found police acted reasonably in stopping Burden, based on the information they obtained from Burden's co-worker who informed their supervisor that she smelled alcohol on Burden's breath earlier that afternoon and from the supervisor who reported the co-worker's suspicion to police. Police stopped Burden as she was returning to the “barn, although both officers involved in the stop testified that they did not observe Burden driving erratically, nor did she commit any traffic violations to their knowledge.

As for the ensuing drunken driving charge, Scotillo found that the traffic stop “ripened into probable cause after Burden failed to successfully complete field sobriety tests and a preliminary breath test officer Tom Hoskinson administered after he testified that he smelled an odor of an alcoholic beverage on her breath. The preliminary breath test read .230, nearly three times the legal limit, authorities said.

For a traffic stop to be valid, it must “give rise to a suspicion that there's criminality afoot, said Scotillo, who found that to be the case in this instance.

Blomquist pointed out that Burden's supervisor told police he followed the bus, boarded it, but detected no odor of alcohol about Burden -- only that she appeared “tired and lethargic.

Arguing that “hunches, wishful thinking and speculation led to his client's arrest, Blomquist insisted that “arresting officers going on faith is not enough. An arrest demands “articulable facts, he said.

Like Blomquist, McCarthy cited voluminous cases and quoted from one in which the court held that police can use information from a tipster when the tip involves a suspected drunken driver.

“DUI is sufficiently dangerous to the public for an officer to follow a suspect's car and wait for an offense, said McCarthy, quoting the court's opinion.

“Based on the totality of circumstances, the danger posed to the public, the police had a reasonable reason to conduct the stop, McCarthy said.