Court Opinion

ID: 9744495
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 22:04:37.715953+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:24:49.685628
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE THOMAS, dissenting: The majority reverses defendant’s conviction and remands for a new trial on the ground that the trial court’s in limine ruling constituted prejudicial error. Because I believe that any error was, at most, harmless error, I dissent from the majority opinion. In contrast to the majority, I believe this case is distinguishable from People v. Gonzalez, 104 Ill. 2d 332 (1984), and Clark v. O’Leary, 852 F.2d 999 (7th Cir. 1988). In Gonzalez, the defendant claimed that one of the State’s witnesses fabricated his testimony identifying defendant as the shooter in order to “get” defendant for withdrawing from the witness’ gang. Gonzalez, 104 Ill. 2d at 335. The trial court ruled that there would be no reference to gang affiliation in the case. Gonzalez, 104 Ill. 2d at 335. This court agreed with the appellate court that the trial court’s restriction of gang evidence was reversible error, noting that there was little if any physical evidence linking the defendant to the shooting, and the remaining evidence consisted almost entirely of testimony from a witness whose testimony at trial differed from the report he had given to the police, and who had been sequestered in the State’s custody prior to trial with the gang member witness. Gonzalez, 104 Ill. 2d at 339. Likewise, in Clark, the defendant, a gang member, claimed that the State’s witnesses, rival gang members, had lied in identifying defendant as the shooter in order to retaliate for an earlier altercation with defendant’s gang. Clark, 852 F.2d at 1001. The trial court granted the State’s motion in limine to exclude all reference to gang affiliation. Clark, 852 F.2d at 1001. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals found that the trial court had committed reversible error, noting that the State had relied entirely on the rival gang witnesses to place the defendant at the scene of the crime. Clark, 852 F.2d at 1007. Here, in contrast, even excluding the testimony of Taylor, Myrick and Blakemore, the three rival gang members, the evidence supporting defendant’s conviction was overwhelming. Terrance Hall, the attendant at the Amoco station, testified that while he was filling the defendant’s van with gas, a car containing the victim came into the gas station. Hall said that the victim got out of the car, approached the van, spoke to the van’s driver, then walked over toward the cashier’s booth. The defendant then walked toward the cashier’s booth and began arguing with the victim. As defendant and the victim were arguing, Hall returned to the cashier’s booth. Hall heard the men arguing about a woman, but heard nothing about gangs or drugs. The victim did nothing while he was arguing with defendant, although defendant became angrier as the argument continued. Hall did not see anything in the victim’s hands, and did not see the victim reach into his jacket or make any unusual movements with his hands. Hall said that defendant then shot the victim once, and pursued the victim as he turned to run and shot him again. The defendant continued to shoot the victim after the victim fell to the ground. The autopsy of the victim revealed 14 gunshot wounds. The other witness that was not affiliated with any gang, Irma Pane, testified that she saw the victim get out of a car, stop for a moment to count money, then get in line at the cashier’s booth. She saw defendant’s van pull into the gas station and observed defendant get out of the van and go over to speak with the victim. Pane heard defendant call the victim a mother — , and saw defendant pull out a gun and shoot the victim. Pane never saw a weapon in the victim’s hands and never saw him reach for a weapon. This court has recognized three approaches to determine whether an error is harmless beyond a reasonable doubt: (1) whether the error contributed to the defendant’s conviction; (2) whether the other evidence in the case overwhelmingly supported the defendant’s conviction; and (3) whether the excluded evidence would have been duplicative or cumulative. Gonzalez, 104 Ill. 2d at 338-39, citing People v. Wilkerson, 87 Ill. 2d 151, 157 (1981). In this case, each approach establishes that any error in this case was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. First, because the testimony of Pane and Hall alone supported defendant’s conviction, it is unlikely that any error in restricting the cross-examination of the State’s other three witnesses contributed to defendant’s conviction. See People v. Smith, 185 Ill. 2d 532, 541 (1999) (even testimony of single witness, if positive and witness is credible, sufficient to convict). Second, even excluding the testimony of those three witnesses, the evidence in the case was overwhelming. Both Hall and Pane testified that they never saw the victim with a weapon, nor did he ever appear to reach for a weapon, in contrast to defendant’s testimony that he shot the victim because he thought the victim was reaching for a gun. The testimony of Pane and Hall also negates any claim that the victim was threatening or aggressive, or that defendant and the victim were arguing over drugs. Further, although defendant claimed he acted in self-defense, the fact that he shot the victim 14 times, and continued to shoot even as the victim turned and ran, tends to belie defendant’s claim. Third, and in contrast to Gonzalez and Clark, the trial court in this case did not bar all evidence of gang affiliation, but in fact allowed defendant to testify that he and the victim were rival gang members and that the victim’s drug operation was located one block from defendant’s drug operation. Defendant also testified that Myrick and Blakemore were members of the gang that sold drugs with the victim. Defendant claimed that just prior to the shooting, the victim had accused defendant of shooting at the block where the victim sold drugs, which caused defendant to be apprehensive at the time of the shooting. Consequently, the excluded evidence of gang affiliation would have been duplicative of the evidence presented at defendant’s trial. Because any error in restricting the cross-examination of the State’s witnesses concerning gang affiliation was, at most, harmless error, I dissent from the majority’s finding that defendant’s conviction should be reversed and remanded. JUSTICE CABMAN joins in this dissent.