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Liberty

Court Case Shows the Evil of Illinois State Government

Alia N. Bernard

As a lifelong Illinois resident, I long ago came to believe that my state government is more than corrupt, incompetent, inept, wasteful, abusive, etc. It is evil.

Last Thursday I read a news story that convinced me of its evil. I was so bothered by it that I could not bring myself to comment on it until now.

The hard-copy version of the Chicago Sun-Times had an article headlined, “7 years for driver who had traces of pot in her system.” I am looking at it this very second. It’s about a woman, Alia N. Bernard, who reached for her sunglasses while driving. She took her eyes off the road and caused a crash that killed two motorcyclists.

Cops and prosecutors admit she was not under the influence of any substance. But a blood test detected a tiny amount of marijuana from several days earlier. Last April the Illinois supreme court had ruled “prosecutors did not have to prove impairment was a ‘proximate cause’ of a fatal crash but just that defendants have any amount of a drug in their systems,” the Sun-Times reported.

Note: ANY AMOUNT of a substance is enough for the state to level felony driving-under-the-influence charges.

This the prosecutors did, and the woman was convicted of aggravated driving under the influence and sentenced to seven years in prison despite having no criminal record, medical evidence showing she was not under the influence, and cops and prosecutors who admit she was not under the influence.

When Illinois prosecutors can charge people with crimes they admit did not occur, and when Illinois courts can accept those charges and convict and punish people for those non-existent crimes, we have an evil government. And a dangerous one.

Here’s a link to an article on the case. I can’t find the hard-copy version of the story I read, but this Sun-Times version has the same basic information.

 

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— Steve Stanek

Steve Stanek is a research fellow at The Heartland Institute and managing editor of two Heartland publications, Budget & Tax News and Finance, Insurance & Real Estate News. He has been writing and editing for Heartland since 2003. Stanek's work has appeared in numerous local, state and national publications including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Investor's Business Daily, Crain's Chicago Business, Chicago Sun-Times, The Hill, Boston Herald, New York Post, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and Washington Examiner, and he has appeared on radio and television programs including Chicago Public Television's Chicago Tonight and the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/BTZCWFDCGHJQEO3HWGMIS65AHA WilliamA

    This is the kind of thing that really drives me to despair about “justice” in the USA. I appreciate your standing up for this woman, as few other people will. They will defend the undefendable and claim that the laws are “just.”

    We are dealing with the triumph of “technical” standards over intent or even reckless behavior. It would be one thing if this woman were guilty of such, but she was not. It was an accident, and had she had any political connections, she would be free today.

    • Daniel Johnson

      An accident is slipping on ice. Killing 2 people because she “chose” not to look forward while driving 60 mph is a choice not an accident.  Too many people are not watching the road and losers like you bounce around like Tigger and yell “but it was only an accident.” 

      • The_law_is_not_for_revenge

        Your ignorance to reality astounds me Daniel.  No one is taking away from the fact that people died only the legality behind what occurred.  If you were to say that you have never looked down once while driving I would call you a liar.  As for calling William a loser, well that is just bad tact.  When you realize that law is not about penalizing moments of misjudgment but correcting gratuitous acts we’ll talk.  This issue wasn’t about right and wrong or punishing someone for a grievous act but more so about getting revenge for people that cannot forgive.  Maybe you should actually find out what happened to her, because if the sun is in your eyes and your vision is already impaired then I would suggest reaching for your sunglasses…….loser.

  • Blackhawk44

    This story has haunted me since the day I heard about it. While I feel bad that two lives were lost, this girl does NOT belong in prison. I have tried to get the word out about this as much as possible. To lock someone away for SEVEN years in this case is downright disturbing. I have child molesters walking around freely in my town, yet this poor girl is sitting in Dwight. I pray that together we find a way to right this wrong. Those that support this sentence may change their tune if they ever find themselves in Alia’s position…a victim of a corrupt system that has resulted in not 2, but now THREE lives ruined. Thank you for writing and sharing this to expose this terrible situation. And for further investigation/reference, look at the “event” I found on Facebook… https://www.facebook.com/events/260008220719160/

    • Daniel Johnson

       ”Those that support this sentence may change their tune if they ever find themselves in Alia’s position.” Oh, you mean if we ever do illegal drugs and illegally text while driving 60mph? Not likely for most people. That is something that criminals do and jail is where they belong. This was not an accident, she is not innocent, she is a criminal and let this be a lesson to all who think smoking pot is not a crime. Don’t feel sorry for Alia. She is not a good person. She lied to the judge and all those in the courtroom on the day of her sentencing. 6 years in prison will give her time to think about the people she killed and the people she harmed.

      • Blackhawk44

         Really Daniel? You’re acting like she smoked crack and got behind the wheel immediately after. There are two basic ways to look at the law: there is the “letter” of the law and the “spirit” of the law. Driving 60 mph on a highway is illegal if you go by the “letter” (it’s 55 in this state). It is the “spirit of the law” that results in you NOT getting a ticket when going 60. This law scared many with its potential consequences. Check out this link: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-07-31/news/ct-met-drug-court-opinion-20110728_1_fatal-crash-illegal-drug-illicit-drugs . It is from July of 2011, long before Alia’s sentencing. The problem is here that the only winners were the victim’s families (if you really even can call it a “win”?). Losing a loved one is tough. I get that. But now, a young girl who made a mistake is sitting in a prison next to murderers and violent criminals at the expense of taxpayers. Now, we have two innocent people that were killed and one person sitting in prison for 7 years. Do you think that Alia will EVER be able to go back to her normal life again? Do you really think that someone like that is going to pose a threat to society? What about creative sentencing? There were many ways to address what happened but THIS was not one of them. The biggest underlying issue in all of this is that she was NOT DUI. Marijuana stays detectable in a person’s system for up to TWO WEEKS although the “high” diminishes within a few hours. The only reason she received 7 years is because she was “DUI”….the problem is in this case, Ms. Bernard was NOT. It is a scary place to be when the government can legally charge and convict you of something that you did not do. The prosecutors ACKNOWLEDGED she was not high…so Daniel, I implore you…please tell me why it is EVER ok for a United States citizen to be sitting in a prison when everyone KNOWS they did not do what they were charged with?

  • dogjudge

    #1 – She pleaded guilty.
    #2 – Given the time of day, the conditions, etc. Care to tell me what you think caused the accident? Maybe her texting, instead of the comment about reaching for her sunglasses?