SPRINGFIELD - The Illinois Supreme Court is weighing whether the Herrin Police Department can be blamed for the death of an intoxicated woman who walked out of city's police station and was hit by a car.

The state's high court took oral arguments Wednesday in a case over the 2003 death of Chelsea Keener of Harrisburg. Keener was walking in Herrin after being released from police custody early in the morning when she was struck by a car.

Herrin's mother has sued the police department arguing they shouldn't have let her leave the station while intoxicated.

In August of 2003, Keener, 18, was arrested for underage drinking early in the morning and taken to the Herrin police station. She was released from custody on bond, and sat in the station's lobby under the watch of an officer there, waiting for someone to pick her up and take her home.

The officer had to take another call, and he told Keener to stick around until her ride arrived. Instead, Keener left the station, and was hit by a car and killed about 10 blocks from the station.

Keener's family argues the Herrin officer shouldn't have left Keener unattended because she was drunk. They argued the officer said waiting for a ride was a condition of her being released from custody.

"His actions are inconsistent with his words," said attorney Mark Prince.

Joseph Bleyer, the attorney for Herrin, said after Keener was released from custody, the police aren't any longer legally responsible for her.

"At that point … the police department was not exerting any control over the situation," Bleyer said.

So the Supreme Court has to decide whether Herrin police should have been responsible for Keener's care and safety after she was released.

Justices peppered both attorneys with questions.

"Is it that simple?" asked Justice Bob Thomas.

A decision likely won't come for months. Keener's family is asking to be allowed to take the case before a jury. The city is trying to have the case dismissed.

In 2004, Donald Wayne Tate was sentenced to five years in prison and two years probation for hitting Keener with his car. He had originally fled the scene, but his role in the incident was discovered through a video from a camera at a nearby gas station.