Court Opinion

ID: 9745138
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 22:37:02.209118+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:24:56.687068
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE RARICK, specially concurring: I write separately to express my concern with the manner in which the State obtained the order to have the defendant examined for fitness. The State did not file any type of pleading or serve any notice upon defendant or his counsel prior to seeking ex parte the examination order. Such ex parte orders are not to be condoned, especially in criminal cases. (See, e.g., People v. Bryant (1988), 176 Ill. App. 3d 809, 814, 531 N.E.2d 849, 852 (defendant has right to be present at all proceedings affecting his substantial rights).) At least defendant or his counsel should have been present for the State’s presentation of the motion. Because section 104 — 11 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 38, par. 104 — 11) allows the court itself to raise the issue of a defendant’s fitness for trial at any time and because it fails to set forth any procedure for obtaining such an examination, my concern does not rise to the level of dissent on this point. Furthermore, I agree with the majority opinion on all other issues. I too see no bad-faith motive for obtaining the fitness examination order, but I do see great potential for abuse in handling such orders in the manner the State pursued here. For these reasons, I specially concur.