Court Opinion

ID: 9722731
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 09:47:59.258885+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:24:39.462502
License: Public Domain

Mr. JUSTICE CRAVEN, concurring in part and dissenting in part: I agree with the majority opinion so far as it goes. My difficulty with it is that it doesn’t go far enough. We should reverse the conviction for incompetence of counsel at trial and sentencing. If this case is to be retried or another sentence imposed, it should be before a different judge. The issue as stated rather succinctly by the defendant gives the basis for my dissent. Patty Morgan was denied the effective assistance of counsel where, as here, it appears her appointed counsel failed to make an opening statement, did not call any witnesses for the defense, failed to impeach a key prosecution witness with evidence available in discovery, waived the transcription of closing arguments and allowed his client to be sentenced to a 6-year term of imprisonment as a felon, when the offense for which she was convicted was subject to sentence as a Class A misdemeanor. By any standard, to ascertain incompetence of counsel the foregoing should qualify. The majority by its opinion finds incompetence of counsel at sentencing. That is borne out by the record. The representation permeated the whole trial. The majority remands for the imposition of sentence and refuses to mandate that sentence be imposed before a different judge. The offense here was the attempt delivery of less than 1/10 of a gram of a substance containing methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA). The offense was as set forth in the majority opinion a Class A misdemeanor. The maximum penalty with no extended term possible would be 364 days. The trial court imposed an extended term of 6 years and in so doing stated: “We have here testimony presented by the defendant that the defendant is involved in the offense of fornication. It is a violation of Sec. 11 — 8 of the Criminal Code of the State of Illinois. The defendant has produced that testimony here.” Defense counsel objected to the court’s findings and argued that it was not against the law for a person to involve himself in activities with another consenting adult in private. The court seemed to find that the behavior was open and notorious. It seems clear to me that the court was expressing a disapproval of a lifestyle and was concluding that the defendant was guilty of the offense of fornication. The reasons expressed by the court in McAndrew are applicable here, and in my view fundamental fairness requires sentencing by a different judge, if another sentence is to be imposed.