[42] No reported cases in Illinois address the admissibility of Lidar laser evidence to measure the speed of vehicles. Where the question of the general acceptance of a new scientific theory is raised, the court is oftentimes asked to establish the law of the jurisdiction for future cases. People v. Dalcollo, 282 Ill. App. 3d 944, 955, 669 N.E.2d 378, 385 (1996). The formulation of the law is a "quintessentially appellate function." Dalcollo, 282 Ill. App. 3d at 955, 669 N.E.2d at 385. In the present case, however, the trial court took judicial notice of a Frye hearing that was conducted on the acceptance in the scientific community of the use of laser technology to measure the speed of vehicles in another case in the circuit court. Courts are not bound to follow decisions of equal or inferior courts. Village of Northbrook v. Cannon, 61 Ill. App. 3d 315, 322, 377 N.E.2d 1208, 1213 (1978). Moreover, the Frye hearing in the Sobol case occurred in 1996, was conducted at the sentencing hearing after defendant pleaded guilty, involved different parties, and the testimony centered on the reliability of the LTI 2020 (a laser- based speed-detection system manufactured by Laser Technology, Inc.), rather than the Lidar laser unit used here. In addition, the record indicates that defendant was not aware that a Frye hearing was going to be conducted prior to the sentencing hearing and, therefore, did not present any evidence or have an expert present. When the trial court asked defense counsel if he had any further questions of the expert witness, defense counsel stated:
[43] "Well, I don't have any scientific expert obviously because I just got the notice, and I was[,] as I explained earlier to the court[,] somewhat surprised to find out that the lasers have been far from accepted in the legal community. I think the witness' own testimony is that there has [sic] been ten out of fifty states that have accepted them so far. I have not been able to find other than one decision in New York that has accepted it as an appellate case obviously because it is a speeding device[;] maybe not all that many cases get to the appellate court that quickly.
[44] I believe at least with the LTI 2020 it is far from being an accepted device, and I think where there is no knowledge, the laser itself tests distances, we don't know the calibrations that go into [sic] get the numbers. My client has plead[ed] guilty. I'm not here to belabor the issue, but there are certainly questions in my mind about its accuracy."
[45] Based on the transcript from the Frye hearing conducted in Sobol, we find that the issue of scientific acceptance of laser technology to measure the speed of vehicles has not been adequately litigated. See Donaldson, 199 Ill. 2d at 84, 767 N.E.2d at 328 (relying exclusively upon prior judicial decisions to establish general scientific acceptance can be a "hollow ritual" if the underlying issue of scientific acceptance has not been adequately litigated).
[46] We find the use of Lidar laser technology to measure the speed of an automobile constitutes "new" or "novel" evidence. Therefore, a Frye evidentiary hearing was necessary to determine whether these instruments were admissible as a matter of law. The trial court erred in admitting the results of the Lidar laser unit without conducting a Frye hearing. Because the only evidence of the speed of defendant's vehicle was obtained through the use of a Lidar laser unit, whose general acceptance has not been thoroughly litigated in precedential cases, defendant was denied a fair trial. Moreover, because the State did not present the speed of defendant's vehicle through any other evidence, no fact finder could find beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant was traveling 80 miles per hour in a 65-mile-per-hour zone. Double jeopardy considerations, therefore, prevent retrial.
[47] III. CONCLUSION
[48] For the foregoing reasons, we reverse the trial court's judgment without remand.
[49]
Reversed.
[50] KNECHT and COOK, JJ., concur.
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