People v. Collins
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Collins ran from Chicago police who were approaching on the street where he was standing in a group. An officer saw him drop a handgun while running. Collins was convicted of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon and of being an armed habitual criminal. The circuit court merged the counts and sentenced him to 90 months. Collins argued that the prosecution improperly presented audio recordings from a bodyworn camera that were subject to exclusion as hearsay statements.
The Appellate Court reversed the conviction and remanded for a new trial. The Illinois Supreme Court granted the state’s petition for leave to appeal, which raised the issue of whether the Law Enforcement Officer Body-Worn Camera Act (50 ILCS 706/10-1) “provides that relevant body-worn camera recordings are admissible without limitation and, in any event, [whether] such recordings are … hearsay.” The state argued that such “audiovisual recordings are not hearsay and are admissible provided they are relevant and properly authenticated.” The court dismissed the appeal, finding that the state failed to argue the threshold question presented through its petition and upon which leave to appeal was granted.
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