Court Opinion

ID: 9743608
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 21:38:21.092393+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:24:42.501615
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE SIMON, dissenting: I disagree with the majority’s conclusion that no reversible error occurred here. I believe the failure to give Illinois Pattern Jury Instruction, Criminal, No. 25.05 (1968) (hereinafter cited as IPI Criminal) was a serious error that could not be remedied by arguments of counsel. IPI Criminal No. 25.05 lists the elements of the crime of murder that must be proved by the State in cases like this one in which the defendant claims self-defense. The trial judge instead gave IPI Criminal No. 7.02, which defines what the State must prove without any reference to legal justification and is the proper instruction only when no evidence of justifiable use of force has been presented. Only No. 25.05 explains that lack of self-defense must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt — something that is not readily apparent to many jurors and potentially vital to defendants like Mr. Huckstead whose sole defense is self-defense. I agree with the cases of People v. Whitney (1980), 86 Ill. App. 3d 617, People v. Martinez (1979), 76 Ill. App. 3d 280, People v. Pernell (1979), 72 Ill. App. 3d 664, People v. Sunquist (1977), 55 Ill. App. 3d 263, and People v. Wright (1975), 32 Ill. App. 3d 736, that the failure to give IPI Criminal No. 25.05, when appropriate, constitutes plain error, cognizable on appeal despite the fact it is not objected to at trial. In a case such as this one in which the sole disputed issue is whether the defendant reasonably believed he was acting in self-defense, I believe it is grave error. Moreover, I cannot agree with the majority that the arguments of counsel effectively substituted for the proper court instruction. Arguments of counsel are, in my opinion, a poor substitute for court instruction, even when both the defense and prosecuting attorneys agree on the legal point in issue. They lack the credibility of the court. Their words are apt to be forgotten as soon as the judge instructs the jury on what the law “really is.” I therefore would reverse the defendant’s conviction.