Court Opinion

ID: 9541237
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 16:23:47.108485+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:00:59.627505
License: Public Domain

PRESIDING JUSTICE BARRY, specially concurring: I concur with the majority opinion on the substantive issues generally. On the instruction issue, I believe that the majority has properly found error in the trial court’s failure to include the phrase “without legal justification” in the issues instruction on murder. I part company with the majority in its treatment of the instruction issue as “moot.” I would, instead, find reversible error (People v. Sunquist (1977), 55 Ill. App. 3d 263, 370 N.E.2d 864) with respect to the defendant’s conviction of murder. However, I believe the majority correctly finds that this error did not taint the defendant’s convictions of felony murder and armed robbery. Those convictions should not, therefore, be reversed on speculation that they “must have been” tainted, as suggested by the defendant on appeal. Accordingly, I would reverse the defendant’s murder conviction on the basis that it was obtained as a result of reversible error in the issues instruction. We are left with the felony murder conviction and sentence standing alone, because, as the majority correctly concludes, the armed robbery conviction was a lesser-included offense of felony murder. I do not believe that the majority has properly interpreted the supervisory order in People v. Miller (1980), 89 Ill. App. 3d 973, 412 N.E.2d 175. That order merely stated that “one conviction for murder” was to be vacated. In People v. Bone (1982), 103 Ill. App. 3d 1066, 432 N.E.2d 329, we held that, as between intentional murder and felony murder, felony murder is the less serious or “included” offense. Applying the Bone rationale to this case, and given the fact that the majority does not find reversible error in the issues instruction on murder, the felony murder conviction — not the intentional murder conviction — would have to be vacated. Furthermore, since armed robbery is not a lesser-included offense of intentional murder, the defendant’s conviction therefor would not be subject to vacatur, lacking other reversible error. Obviously, by my view, the majority result cannot be reconciled with Bone. Nonetheless, for the reasons given, I concur in the result reached by the majority.