Court Opinion

ID: 9743370
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 21:31:50.643367+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:24:40.810220
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE STOUDER, dissenting: I must respectfully dissent. In this case, the defendant contends that reversible error occurred when the State introduced irrelevant and prejudicial testimony of child molestation allegations involving the defendant. The majority in this case finds that it was error for the evidence to have been introduced but nonetheless finds that the error was cured and harmless, given the overwhelming evidence of the defendant’s guilt. I disagree. As the majority notes, the erroneous admission of evidence of prior criminal activity carries a high risk of prejudice. I agree, but go further and note that evidence of child molestation carries a particularly high risk of prejudice to the defendant. There are few crimes more heinous and that evoke more outrage than sex crimes with a child victim. As such, evidence regarding such crimes is highly inflammatory and its prejudicial taint is unlikely to be cured by a trial court’s admonishments to disregard the evidence. As the Illinois Supreme Court noted long ago, driving a nail into a board and then pulling out the nail does not remove the hole. People v. Cepek (1934), 357 Ill. 560, 192 N.E. 573. Accordingly, I find that the admission of the child molestation evidence was so substantially prejudicial that its taint could not be cured by the court’s admonishments to disregard it. I also find that the admission of the improper evidence was not harmless since the evidence of the defendant’s guilt was not so overwhelming that it outweighed the prejudicial effect of the evidence. Here, the record shows that the evidence of the incident basically consisted of the defendant’s word against that of his brother, the victim. Both parties testified that they were arguing when the fight started. The defendant testified that his brother started the fight by throwing a beer can at him. He also stated that while he did not remember the specifics of the ensuing fight, he knew he did not pull out a knife. Lastly, he noted that although he had been in fights in the past, he never used a weapon. The victim, on the other hand, stated that the fight started after the defendant became angry at him for telling him not to call their mother names. He testified that the defendant knocked him to the floor and “stomped” on his head and ribs. He also stated that it was the defendant who pulled out a knife. Admittedly, evidence was elicited showing that the defendant may have been an unreliable source of information and untruthful. However, evidence was also elicited showing that the victim had once attacked another brother with a wrench when that brother had made a comment the victim did not like. On appeal, I note that since both witnesses lacked credibility, the evidence against the defendant cannot be characterized as overwhelming. I also disagree with the majority’s conclusion that reversible error did not occur during the prosecutor’s closing argument. Here, the majority found the prosecutor’s remarks to be proper since they were based on the evidence presented. Apparently, under the majority’s view, a prosecutor is free to express his opinions or personal feelings on any topic as long as there is some basis in the record to support the opinion. This is clearly contrary to the law since it improperly places the authority and prestige of the State’s Attorney office behind the credibility of a witness and the evidence. While acknowledging that a prosecutor may not state his personal opinion regarding the veracity of a witness and that a prosecutor should refrain from expressing opinions on judgments that lie within the province of the jury, the majority nonetheless allows the prosecutor to do just that in this case. As the following three comments illustrate, several of the prosecutor’s remarks were improper. “So it’s obvious that Sister Camille didn’t believe Randy Bailey, and I don’t think that you, as jurors, should believe Randy Bailey either. * * * I think you’ll find that *** Doug is, far and away, the more believable of the two witnesses. * * * I don’t think there should be any doubt in your mind in this case as to any of the three offenses that Randy Bailey’s been charged with, but I believe that there certainly shouldn’t be a reasonable doubt of his guilt. And for that reason, I ask you to find the defendant Randy Bailey guilty ***.” As these comments show, the prosecutor improperly expressed his opinion about the veracity of two of the witnesses. In addition, he improperly gave his opinion regarding the defendant’s guilt, a judgment that clearly lies solely within the province of the jury. As such, I find that these comments amounted to plain error. Taken with the other comments in this case and the improper admission of evidence regarding the child molestation, I find that the defendant did not receive a fair trial. As such, I would reverse the defendant’s conviction and remand the cause for a new trial.