Court Opinion

ID: 9711174
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 04:25:44.961464+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:23:02.632628
License: Public Domain

Mr. JUSTICE BARRY, specially concurring. I agree with the result reached by Justice Alloy in his opinion in this cause. However, I also agree wholeheartedly with the views expressed by Justice Stouder. As this case so clearly reveals, the constitutional guarantee of a prompt preliminary hearing, as currently construed by the Illinois judiciary, is virtually meaningless. So long as a grand jury indictment is held to cure the constitutional violation which occurs when the State unduly delays in holding a preliminary hearing to determine probable cause, the defendant’s right to such a hearing is, as Justice Stouder aptly points out, one that is without remedy. I believe that legislative action is necessary to eliminate the advantage that exists to the State in circumventing a constitutional mandate through manipulation of the grand jury process. Accordingly, I specially concur.