Court Opinion

ID: 9739515
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 20:16:48.482979+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:24:12.780813
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE RYAN, dissenting: The majority opinion finds that “[tjhe trial court’s statement demonstrates a prejudice against incarcerated defendants, rather than a reasoned and informed judgment based upon the evidence contained in the record.” (129 Ill. 2d at 494.) I do not agree with the opinion’s assessment of the trial judge’s statement. Things have been read into the judge’s comment that cannot reasonably be deducted from what was said. Not only do I think the above inference is wrong, but also, as demonstrated below, other conclusions were drawn with which I do not agree. I do not think that the trial judge’s statement demonstrates a prejudice against incarcerated defendants. Also, I do not agree with the conclusion in the majority opinion that the statement of the judge implies that he reasoned “that in his experience all of the inmates who [have been] before him could be classified as having paranoid personalities.” (129 Ill. 2d at 495.) The statement from which the opinion draws these erroneous conclusions was made by the court in evaluating Dr. Cuneo’s opinion that the defendant had a paranoid personality disorder that was influencing him at the time of the offense. The judge’s statement set forth the reasons that he did not give great weight to Dr. Cuneo’s opinion. The judge’s statement referred to testimony of Dr. Cuneo that the defendant displayed a certain guardedness which the doctor said characterizes a paranoid personality disorder. The judge noted that based upon his observation of numerous inmates who had appeared before him, they all, to a certain extent, evidenced this same type of guardedness. The trial court then concluded that the testimony of Dr. Cuneo did not establish a mitigating factor which would preclude the imposition of the death penalty. In my opinion, the trial judge did not demonstrate a prejudice against incarcerated defendants. For the judge to say that all inmates who appeared before him, to a certain extent, evidenced the same type of guardedness, which the doctor says characterizes a paranoid personality disorder, is simply an observation by the trial judge as to why he did not give much weight to the doctor’s opinion. It does not demonstrate a prejudice against incarcerated defendants. It does not show that the judge reasoned that all inmates who have appeared before him could be classified as having paranoid personalities. These are just erroneous conclusions which this court has drawn from the judge’s statement. The judge simply-stated that all of the inmates who appeared before him, to a certain extent, demonstrated the characteristics which the doctor considered significant. The opinion states that the credibility and weight to be given to Dr. Cuneo’s testimony are for the trier of fact. Yet the opinion rejected the trial judge’s evaluation of Dr. Cuneo’s testimony because of the erroneous conclusions drawn from the trial judge’s statement made during the evaluation of that testimony. I think that the erroneous conclusions drawn by this court are unfair to the trial judge. I think the finding, judgment and sentence of the trial court should be affirmed. I, therefore, dissent. JUSTICE STAMOS joins in this dissent.