People v. Rizzo
Annotate this CaseRizzo was charged with violation of the Vehicle Code, 625 ILCS 5/11-601.5(b), which states “A person who drives a vehicle ... at a speed that is 40 miles per hour or more in excess of the applicable maximum speed limit ... commits a Class A misdemeanor,” having allegedly driven his vehicle 100 miles-per-hour in a 55-mile-per-hour speed zone, and violation of 625 ILCS 5/11-709(a), improper lane usage, having allegedly “cut in between two semi-trucks at [a] high rate of speed.” Defendant challenged the constitutionality of the Corrections Code, 730 ILCS 5/5-6-1(p), which precluded a disposition of supervision for those who have violated the speed parameters of section 11-601.5. The circuit court found the prohibition of supervision “unconstitutional as violating the proportionate penalties clause, Article I, Section 11 of the Illinois Constitution.” The Illinois Supreme Court reversed, stating that one who challenges the constitutionality of a statutorily mandated “penalty” has the burden of clearly establishing that the challenged provision is in excess of general constitutional limitations and “cannot shift the burden of proof and research to the circuit court." That court “should proceed with the utmost caution before following an attorney’s ill-defined path to a finding of unconstitutionality” and should include an adequate discussion of relevant case law, differentiating the constitutional bases that might bear upon its finding. That was not done here.
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