In this case, the officers saw the defendant with what they believed to be a gun in his waist although they had no proof he possessed it illegally. When the police approached, he ignored their requests to
stop and he walked into a front yard, where the police stopped him and
recovered the gun. Police then
learned of Bloxton's criminal record and charged him with multiple
counts of possessing a firearm by a felon and possession of a defaced
firearm. The trial court found Bloxton guilty and sentenced him to five years'
in prison. The Appellate Court reversed his conviction based on the Clinic's argument
that defendant's trial counsel was ineffective for not arguing at a motion to
suppress that the police lacked probable cause where the police
suspected only that he had a gun, but did not know whether he was
legally permitted to carry it.
The case is People v. BLOXTON, 2020 IL App (1st) 181216
Appeal from the Circuit Court of Cook County, No. 17 CR 17955
Attorneys for Appellant: DePaul University Legal Clinic, of Chicago (Aliza R. Kaliski, of counsel, and Abigail Horvat, law student), for appellant.
Attorneys for Appellee: Kimberly M. Foxx, State's Attorney, of Chicago (Alan J. Spellberg,
Jon J. Walters, and Victoria L. Kennedy, Assistant State's Attorneys, of
counsel), for the People.