Opinion ID: 2197150
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: comparative sentencing information in the trial court

Text: The majority fails to draw a distinction between the different applications of comparative sentencing in trial and reviewing courts and uses the same analysis for both. Here, defendant pleaded guilty and received the highest sentence ever given in McHenry County for the particular offense. Defendant filed a motion to reconsider in which he asked the court to compare his sentence with those given other offenders who had committed the same offense. Defendant's evidence showed that his sentence was almost twice as long as sentences given to other defendants who had substantially fewer mitigating factors. The State moved to strike this information from defendant's motion. The trial court granted the motion to strike based on its belief that it was prohibited from considering this information because the Appellate Court, Second District, does not engage in comparative sentencing review. The factors controlling the admission of evidence at a sentencing hearing are relevance and reliability, and the determination of admissibility lies within the sound discretion of the trial court. People v. Lyles, 106 Ill.2d 373, 414, 87 Ill.Dec. 934, 478 N.E.2d 291 (1985). In my opinion, the trial court should have discretion to decide whether to consider evidence of sentences in other cases. Here, the trial court should not have stricken the information, but rather should have exercised its discretion in determining whether to consider the evidence and what weight to give it. Whether the appellate court finds comparative sentencing information relevant in reviewing sentences under an abuse of discretion standard should have no bearing on whether the sentencing court has the discretion to consider comparative sentencing information in fashioning an appropriate sentence.