Opinion ID: 2028779
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Existence of Authority

Text: A reviewing court should not set aside a conviction on grounds of insufficient evidence unless the proof is so improbable or unsatisfactory that there exists a reasonable doubt of the defendant's guilt. ( People v. Collins (1985), 106 Ill.2d 237, 261, 87 Ill.Dec. 910, 478 N.E.2d 267.) `[T]he relevant question is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.'    `[O]nce a defendant has been found guilty of the crime charged, the factfinder's role as weigher of the evidence is preserved through a legal conclusion that upon judicial review all of the evidence is to be considered in the light most favorable to the prosecution.' (Emphasis in original.) Collins, 106 Ill.2d at 261, 87 Ill.Dec. 910, 478 N.E.2d 267, quoting Jackson v. Virginia (1979), 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 2789, 61 L.Ed.2d 560, 573. The State argues that the appellate court misconstrued the trial court's finding and that, applying the above principles to the case at bar, the evidence is sufficient to sustain the defendant's conviction. We agree. The crime of residential burglary requires a person to knowingly and without authority enter the dwelling of another with the intent to commit a felony or theft therein. (Ill.Rev.Stat.1989, ch. 38, par. 19-3.) The defendant does not deny that he is guilty of theft. Therefore, if the reviewing court finds that a rational trier of fact could find, beyond a reasonable doubt, that defendant did not have authority to enter the dwelling, the conviction must stand. In this case, Officers Dylak and Brown testified that the defendant made oral statements specifically denying that he had permission to go back to Dammon's house after the move. There was no evidence that defendant repudiated this statement. While it is true Thelma Withrow testified that she asked her son and defendant to go back to check if she left anything at her old address, there is no evidence to corroborate her testimony. Indeed, the testimony of her son, Michael, directly contradicts her assertion that she asked him and the defendant to return to the house. He specifically stated that he stayed at the new home and took a shower after the last load had been dropped off. Further, Michael disavowed any knowledge of his mother's asking defendant to return to Dammon's residence. Accordingly, we find that a rational trier of fact could have found that defendant did not have authority to return to the house beyond a reasonable doubt. The appellate court found, however, that the trial court did not find the police officers' testimony more convincing than that of Thelma Withrow. In doing so, the appellate court considered a portion of the trial court's findings at the end of the trial, in which it stated: So the question is what was [defendant's] intention when he entered this residence and was he there with or without authority. Well, there are numerous cases that indicate that a person who uses a ruse in order to get into a residence or building in order to commit a theft is there without authority even though the person may have been let in by somebody. In this case the defendant in his oral statement told the police that he did not have permission to enter, and he told them that he did not have permission to take the gun or guns. Now, whether Thelma Withrow [defendant's aunt] thought the defendant was going back to check to make sure that she hadn't forgotten anything or some other purpose, the real point here is what was the defendant's state of mind. Was he going there with an innocent reason under authority and once in there formed an intent to commit a theft, or is this something where the defendant went into the residence with the express intention of committing a theft inside knowing that he was not authorized to enter for that purpose. Clearly it's the latter by his own statement. The appellate court found that this comment demonstrated that the trial court credited Thelma Withrow's testimony to the exclusion of all others. The appellate court stated: It is clear that the trial court did not reach its conclusion because it disbelieved Thelma that defendant had authority to reenter the Dammon residence and believed defendant when he stated he did not have permission to enter the Dammon residence. Rather, the trial court applied the limited-authority doctrine and found that since defendant only had authority to enter to look for Thelma's belongings and in fact he entered with the intent to steal Dammon's guns, his authority to be there had been withdrawn. The only support articulated by the appellate court in finding that the trial court applied the limited-authority doctrine, however, lies in the statement of the trial court quoted earlier. We find that this statement by the trial court is at most ambiguous as to its rationale. By that statement, it is by no means clear that the trial judge found Thelma Withrow's testimony more credible than that of Deputy Dylak and Detective Brown. Therefore, rather than reverse the conviction in toto due to an insufficiency of the evidence, the better solution would have been to remand the cause and have the trial court articulate whether application of the limited-authority doctrine was the basis for finding lack of authority. In this case, however, a remand was not necessary, as the trial court had already provided the answer in the negative. After trial, defendant hired new counsel who promoted a post-trial claim that trial counsel had rendered ineffective assistance by failing to call defendant's wife as a witness to support the claim that defendant had received permission to reenter the house. At the hearing, defendant's wife testified to having been present when defendant received permission to reenter the premises, while trial counsel testified that defendant had told him that he had not had permission to do so. In addressing the claim against trial counsel, the trial court initially dismissed the defendant's wife's testimony for lack of foundation. The court then made the following findings: I did hear from Thelma Withrow herself, who was the person who allegedly was the one who gave permission. I heard that at the trial and determined that the defendant did not have permission. In addition, I recall the police said that the defendant had made a statement to them that he did not have permission, and Mr. Freek's [defendant's trial counsel's] testimony today is that the defendant told him the same thing. Namely, that he did not have permission to return even though initially he had permission to be on the premises to move his aunt's items out. There's also the case of People versus Walker, 191 Illinois Appellate 3rd 382 in which the court held that the fact that a victim allowed perpetrators to enter his home and telephone for help following a purported accident after which he was attacked and robbed did not negate the required lack of authorized entry to support a conviction for residential burglary where the evidence established that the perpetrators entered with the intent to commit a robbery and the victim did not authorize their entry with such intent. It was my view of the law at the time of the trial and I stated that in my decision and it's still my view today that even if Thelma Withrow had explicitly authorized the defendant to go back at the time he entered, that if in fact he entered with the intent to commit a theft that would still constitute a residential burglary based on that case. So I found first that he did not have permission to go back at the time that he entered and took the guns. But even if he had, I think that case indicates that this would not have affected the guilt or innocence as far as residential burglary. From the foregoing, it is clear that while the judge referred to case law in which the limited-authority doctrine was applied, the judge rejected the testimony which would have made resort to the doctrine necessary. The appellate court should not have reached the issue of the limited-authority doctrine and the trial court decision should have been affirmed pursuant to the standard of review established in People v. Collins (1985), 106 Ill.2d 237, 87 Ill.Dec. 910, 478 N.E.2d 267. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the appellate court and affirm the judgment of the circuit court. Given our resolution of the matter, we find it unnecessary to address the State's alternative contention that the appellate court erred in rejecting the limited-authority doctrine. Appellate court judgment reversed; circuit court judgment affirmed.