Case Name: THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. DERRICK POTTS, Defendant-Appellant
Court: Illinois Appellate Court
Jurisdiction: Illinois
Decision Date: 1996-01-12
Citations: 277 Ill. App. 3d 567
Docket Number: No. 3-94-0781
Parties: THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. DERRICK POTTS, Defendant-Appellant.
Judges: 
Reporter: Illinois Appellate Court Reports, Third Series
Volume: 277
Pages: 567–571

Head Matter:
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. DERRICK POTTS, Defendant-Appellant.
Third District
No. 3—94—0781
Opinion filed January 12, 1996.
McCUSKEY, J., specially concurring.
Verlin R Heinz, of State Appellate Defender’s Office, of Ottawa, for appellant.
Clarke Erickson, State’s Attorney, of Kankakee (John X. Breslin and J. Paul Hoffmann, both of State’s Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor’s Office, of counsel), for the People.

Opinion:
JUSTICE SLATER
delivered the opinion of the court:
The trial court found defendant Derrick Potts guilty of possession of explosive or incendiary devices (720 ILCS 5/20 — 2 (West 1994)) and sentenced him to a six-year term of imprisonment. On appeal, defendant argues that his conviction must be reversed and the cause remanded because he did not make a written waiver of jury trial. The State responds that defendant waived this issue, a written jury waiver was not required, the statute requiring written waivers is unconstitutional, and any error was harmless.
The right to a jury trial is a substantial right, the waiver of which this court will consider even when the issue is not properly preserved for appeal. (People v. Jennings (1994), 268 Ill. App. 3d 439, 644 N.E.2d 1199; see also People v. Daniels (1995), 273 Ill. App. 3d 645, 653 N.E.2d 408.) Section 115 — 1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 provides that all criminal trials shall be tried before a jury unless the defendant waives a jury trial in writing. (725 ILCS 5/115 — 1 (West 1994).) The statute is mandatory. (People v. Nuccio (1994), 263 Ill. App. 3d 315, 636 N.E.2d 1154.) The statute insures that a defendant's personal right to waive a jury trial is not lightly relinquished, and it is not unconstitutional. (Jennings, 268 Ill. App. 3d 439, 644 N.E.2d 1199.) For these reasons, we reject the State's arguments. We reverse defendant's conviction, and we remand the cause for a new trial.
Reversed and remanded.
LYTTON, J., concurs.