Opinion ID: 2234450
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Montrell D.H.

Text: On June 28, 2001, the City of Champaign filed a complaint against 15-year-old Montrell D.H., alleging that he had violated curfew. See Champaign Municipal Code § 23-211(b) (1985). A violation of this ordinance is punishable by a fine not exceeding $750, by 20 to 100 hours of public service work, by restitution, or by court supervision as defined in the Unified Code of Corrections. See Champaign Municipal Code §§ 1-21(b), (e), (f) (1985). The Code itself does not provide for incarceration, but it does note that a person who fails to pay a fine may be subsequently incarcerated for contempt of court. Champaign Municipal Code § 1-21(g) (1985). Like Andrew, Montrell appeared in city court with his mother and an unspecified number of others charged with ordinance violations. The trial court advised the assembled defendants of their right to present evidence, confront witnesses, and testify on their own behalf, as well as their right to retained counsel, noting, This is not a case where I can appoint a Public Defender to represent you. The trial court called Montrell's case and described the charges against him. Montrell pleaded guilty; the court admonished him about the consequences of his plea and accepted it. The City recommended a sentence of six months of court supervision and 20 hours of public service. The City also asked the court to order Montrell not to violate any criminal statutes or municipal ordinances, to attend school, and to follow household rules, including the curfew imposed by his mother. The court followed the City's recommendation. Just more than a month later, Montrell left home without permission for 11 days between August 3 and August 14, 2001. On August 14, he stole two compact discs, a T-shirt, and a pair of shorts from a discount store. He again left home without permission for five days between August 17 and August 22, 2001. The City filed an indirect criminal contempt petition, and the trial court appointed counsel for Montrell. Montrell filed a motion to dismiss the City's petition, echoing the subject matter jurisdiction arguments made by Andrew: The Juvenile Court Act specifically precludes minors from being jailed unless they are delinquents or a ward of the court. The Municipal Court lacks jurisdiction to place a minor in the Juvenile Detention Center because only minors who are delinquents or wards of the court can be placed there. The court denied Montrell's motion to dismiss, found him in contempt for violating the terms of his court supervision, and sentenced him to 12 months' conditional discharge and 60 days' detentionthree days to be served immediately, and the remainder subject to remission. Montrell appealed, arguing that section 5-125 of the Juvenile Court Act violates equal protection and due process. The appellate court followed its earlier decision in Andrew's case and affirmed. In dissent, Justice Cook argued that section 5-125 mandates any detention of a juvenile for a municipal ordinance violation must comply with the protections offered by article V of the Act: It makes sense that a minor can be prosecuted for a minor municipal ordinance violation just like anyone else, without the necessity of commencing a Juvenile Court Act proceeding. The juvenile defendants in these cases [Andrew and Montrell], however, were not prosecuted just like anyone else. The court did not employ indirect criminal contempt as a method to collect the fine, but as a substitute juvenile court, as a means of guiding the actions of the juvenile defendants. The court's actions seem well-intentioned but the court should not have evaded the provisions of the Act. An indirect criminal contempt proceeding is essentially a misdemeanor criminal proceeding. [Citation.] The Act must be followed if a juvenile is prosecuted for a criminal misdemeanor. Even more basically, how can an ordinance violation with a maximum punishment of a $75 [ sic ] fine be transformed, by going the indirect criminal contempt route, into an offense carrying at least 8 days of jail time and perhaps 180 days of jail time? The court is entitled to take reasonable steps for the collection of the $75 [ sic ] fine but that was not its goal in these cases. 336 Ill.App.3d 558, 560-61, 271 Ill.Dec. 217, 784 N.E.2d 435 (Cook, J., dissenting). We granted Montrell's petition for leave to appeal (177 Ill.2d R. 315) and consolidated the two cases.