Court Opinion

ID: 9721403
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 08:58:17.594392+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:24:25.507647
License: Public Domain

Mr. JUSTICE HEIPLE, specially concurring: While I concur with the result reached by the majority, I do not concur with the rationale which cites People v. Dalton (1981), 93 Ill. App. 3d 264. Two of the members of this panel also participated in the Dalton decision. Dalton, in my view, was a gratuitous and unnecessary reversal of a convicted sex offender on the grounds that his age was not established. Yet, there was no dispute as to the defendant Dalton’s age. No dispute at all. He was of the requisite age. Likewise, in this case, there is no dispute as to age. The crime here is indecent liberties. The law requires that the defendant be 17 years of age or older. Defendant told the officer that he was 23 years old and that his birthday was June 11, 1957. The majority opinion would reverse if there were no other corroborating evidence. I would not. His age was given, and the judge and jury had an opportunity to observe the defendant and thus, by observation, to corroborate the stated age. That should be quite sufficient. Opprobrium should not be heaped on this court, however, for the decision in Dalton nor for their rationale in this case. The majority is attempting to follow judicial precedent and correctly cites an earlier decision of our supreme court which supports their line of argument. That is People v. Rogers (1953), 415 Ill. 343. That case insulted common sense. Stare decisis is a valid legal proposition. When the position is wrong, however, courts should not remain wedded to error in perpetuity. This is just such a case. A person’s statement as to his own age is always hearsay. No one remembers his own birth. When a person gives his age, he is repeating what someone has told him, or what he has seen written down. This is so whether his statement as to age is given in court or out of court. When a person states his age, however, the other party has an opportunity to look at the person and make observations by way of verification or denial. That is evidence enough. Any other ruling flies in the face of ordinary experience and common sense. People v. Dalton and People v. Rogers do precisely that. I, for one, do not care to republish and perpetuate that error.