Court Opinion

ID: 9710628
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 04:13:40.066237+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:22:58.554681
License: Public Domain

MR. JUSTICE WARD, dissenting: I must dissent from the majority’s conclusion, which I consider sanctions an irregular and incongruous proceeding by the circuit court and offends plain language. The defendant moved to dismiss the two counts of the information on the ground that neither of them adequately pleaded the commission of the crime alleged, and because of this both counts lacked legal efficacy. The court in its order stated that the motion of the defendant was allowed and said that the two counts were dismissed. The majority says that the court “did not intend to dismiss the charges,” but this assertion is difficult to reconcile with the courts’s order holding the defendant was correct in his contention that the information was a nullity. His motion was allowed, and because the information was a nullity it was dismissed by the court. The court did say the State was given leave to file an “amended information,” and the court continued the defendant on bond and set an arraignment date. This language, however, was contradictory of the court’s allowance of the motion and the dismissal of the information. The court had agreed with the defendant that the information was void. I consider the People are correct in their contention that the effect of the court’s order stating that the counts were dismissed was to dismiss the charges against the defendant and make the order appealable under Rule 604. I would hold, too, that the circuit court’s order constituted an attempted interference with the discretionary authority of the State’s Attorney to determine whether he would file another information. The State’s Attorney was not required to initiate a new prosecution or forgo prosecuting the defendant. The counts had been dismissed, and the prosecutor had the right to appeal from the trial court’s dismissal. Considering this, I must disagree with the majority’s statement that the record here' presents no attack on the State’s Attorney’s discretionary powers. I would note that the appellate court’s opinion dismissing the appeal, after stating that the circuit court’s order was not “sufficiently final” to be appealable, said that the court’s order “mandated that the State file an amended information within 5 days.” Thus, the appellate court, though it dismissed the People’s appeal, appeared to acknowledge abridgement by the circuit court of the State’s Attorney’s discretionary powers. I would observe, too, that the rights of the accused have been totally disregarded by the circuit court, the appellate court and this court. Over two and one-half years ago this motion to dismiss the counts of the information was held to be well founded and the motion was allowed and the court ordered the counts dismissed. Incongruously, he remains on bond. I say incongruously, of course, because the circuit court said the charges against him were void and ordered them dismissed.