Court Opinion

ID: 9731033
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 15:31:09.935147+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:26:12.446946
License: Public Domain

Mr. JUSTICE STOUDER, concurring in part and dissenting in part: I join with the majority of the court in affirming defendant’s judgment of conviction for prostitution. However, I believe the sentence is excessive and is improper under the circumstances presented by the record. I would vacate the sentence and remand the case to the trial court for resentencing. At the outset, it seems to me the course of events which culminated in the sentence imposed present several peculiarities affecting the propriety of the sentence. The majority justifies the trial court’s action because of its reliance on defendant’s prior record. I believe this reliance on the prior conviction is misplaced. As noted in the majority opinion, the conduct which gives rise to this conviction occurred early in February 1974. Sometime after the occurrence of this offense another act of misconduct occurred of the same nature, i.e., prostitution. Defendant was tried for this subsequent occurrence in December 1975, which trial resulted in her conviction and sentencing on January 6, 1976, to one year of probation with three days incarceration as a special condition of the probation. The trial in the instant case took place on January 26, 1976, and the sentencing on February 5,1976. Thus the prior conviction upon which the trial court and majority rely represents a conviction for an offense which occurred subsequent to the misconduct which is the basis of the present conviction and sentence. When a defendant’s prior criminal record is considered as a factor in enhancement of the penalty to be imposed, the court is concerned primarily with recidivism. If the person has committed an offense, has been sentenced for the offense, has served his sentence and has thereafter committed another offense, the justification for considering the prior offense is generally stated in terms of the defendant’s demonstrated inability to conform his conduct to the standards required by society. If, as in the instant case, the defendant was not convicted and the penalty was not imposed prior to the occurrence of the misconduct charged, then it follows the prior conviction is not that kind of evidence having any substantial significance favoring an enhanced sentence. Such a conviction has even less significance when it reflects a conviction for a later occurring misconduct. Defendant was granted probation on January 6,1976, and so far as the record is concerned, there is no indication the court was unaware of the present charge. It is clear the prosecution was aware of both charges at the time of the first conviction. The prior sentence granting defendant probation is entitled to even less significance when it is considered that the conviction in this case could not be considered a violation of her probation. The majority of the court concede the statute requires the trial court to afford defendant an opportunity to make a statement in her own behalf. It appears from the record the trial court did not afford her such an opportunity. In People v. Spiler, 28 Ill. App. 3d 178, 328 N.E.2d 201, the court considered such failure of the trial court to offer defendant an opportunity to speak in his own behalf error. However, in that case it was considered harmless error because in the view of the reviewing court the same sentence would have been imposed regardless of what defendant might have said. In the instant case I do not think a similar conclusion is warranted, particularly in light of the apparently improper consideration of a prior conviction for subsequent misconduct. What I have said earlier in this opinion relates primarily to my belief the trial court and my colleagues have given the prior conviction improper and undeserved significance. In addition, there are other factors from which I conclude the sentence is excessive. The State’s Attorney recommended a sentence of six months in jail. The trial court imposed a sentence of 60 days in jail. In my opinion the record does not support either the recommended sentence or the sentence actually imposed. This is true particularly where a sentence imposed approximately one month earlier for similar conduct occurring later was substantially less. If the earlier sentence was the reasonable and customary penalty for this kind of conduct in this community, then the sentence recommended and the one imposed are excessive. As can be concluded from the facts, the sentence imposed in this case was imposed nearly two years after the occurrence. It is difficult to justify the imposition of the sentence of the kind in this case two years after the fact unless the record affirmatively demonstrates the delay was the result of defendant’s conduct. In the instant case the record does not so show and no such contention has been made. I believe we can take judicial notice the misdemeanor jury calendar in Will County has not been effectively and efficiently handled. The delays in the final disposition of misdemeanors is the result of court deficiencies. A fair administration of our judicial system requires that such factor be taken into account in fashioning an appropriate sentence under the circumstances.