People v. Allen

898 N.E.2d 136, 386 Ill. App. 3d 30, 325 Ill. Dec. 403, 2008 Ill. App. LEXIS 1061
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in People v. Allen. Read the opinion of the Court — 376 Ill. App. 3d 511
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided November 3, 2008·No. 1-07-1763·Published

Opinion

JUSTICE WOLFSON

delivered the opinion of the court:

This case has taken a lengthy and tortuous path through the trial court and now to this court. It began in early 2001 when a trial judge imposed a sentence that was not authorized by statute.

On November 3, 2000, defendant Walter Allen was convicted of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver within 1,000 feet of a building used for religious worship. Two months later, he was sentenced to 24 months’ probation. Less than a year into his sentence, the State filed a petition for violation of probation, alleging defendant’s probation should be revoked in light of his arrest in April 2001 for first-degree attempted murder, attempted armed robbery, and aggravated battery with a firearm. Defendant was convicted of the charges in 2005. Following a probation revocation hearing on February 15, 2007, the circuit court revoked defendant’s probation and sentenced him to 25 years’ imprisonment. Shortly after defendant’s probation was revoked, we reversed defendant’s 2005 convictions and sent the case back for a new trial in People v. Allen, 376 Ill. App. 3d 511, 875 N.E.2d 1221 (2007).

On appeal, defendant contends his probation violation conviction should be reversed because we have reversed and remanded the underlying conviction his probation violation was based on. In response to defendant’s appeal, the State filed a separate motion with this court to void defendant’s probation sentence for his 2000 possession conviction and remand for resentencing on the original charge, contending the sentence was void because defendant was Class X mandatory and statutorily ineligible for probation. We agree with the State.

FACTS

On November 3, 2000, defendant was convicted of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver within 1,000 feet of a building used for religious worship. Following a sentencing hearing on January 10, 2001, the circuit court sentenced defendant to 24 months’ probation: “so the remand is he should be discharged from County Jail. He is placed on probation, open mandate to T.A.S.C., under Section 9172 [sic], which is taking into consideration the Mental Health Code.” The State responded that due to defendant’s background, he should be sentenced to a mandatory Class X penitentiary sentence. The circuit court did not address the State’s response. The presentence investigation report indicates defendant had six prior felony convictions, including three for residential burglary.

In the spring of 2001, two attempted armed robberies were committed at Four Star Dry Cleaners. During the second attempted robbery on April 17, 2001, Miye Goodson, an employee at the cleaners, was shot in the back. Defendant was initially arrested in connection with the first attempted robbery of the cleaners after he was identified in a photo array, but he was tried only for attempted armed robbery and attempted murder in relation to the April 17 incident.

On August 10, 2001, the State filed a petition for violation of probation and warrant, arguing defendant’s probation should be revoked in light of his arrest. Nothing much happened until October 5, 2005, when a jury found defendant guilty of first-degree attempted murder, attempted armed robbery, and aggravated battery with a firearm.

On February 15, 2007, the circuit court found defendant had violated his probation by committing the April 17, 2001, offenses. The State’s evidence during the violation hearing consisted of the transcript of the 2005 trial testimony, the trial exhibits, the trial stipulations, and the certificate of defendant’s conviction. Defendant stipulated to the admission of all of the evidence. On April 17, 2007, defendant was sentenced to a 25-year prison term for the probation violation. The court denied defendant’s motion for a new hearing and reduction of sentence. Defendant appealed.

On September 28, 2007, we reversed defendant’s first-degree attempted murder, attempted armed robbery, and aggravated battery convictions and remanded the cause for a new trial in People v. Allen, 376 Ill. App. 3d 511, 875 N.E.2d 1221 (2007). We stayed defendant’s appeal of the probation violation pending resolution of the State’s petition for leave to appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court. After the supreme court denied the State’s petition, defendant filed a motion to lift the stay and for summary reversal of his conviction for probation violation. He contended that since the 2005 convictions were the sole basis for his probation violation, the violation must be vacated. In its response, the State agreed the stay should be lifted, but argued summary reversal was inappropriate in light of the remand for a new trial.

The State also filed a separate motion to vacate defendant’s sentence on the 2000 possession conviction, contending, for the first time in a reviewing court, the probation sentence was void. The State contended defendant was ineligible for probation because he had several prior felony convictions and had been convicted of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver within 1,000 feet of a building used for religious worship. See 720 ILCS 570/401(d), 407 (West 2000). The State contended the circuit court’s order of 24 months’ probation was not authorized by statute. The State asked us to vacate as void his sentence on his 2000 possession of a controlled substance conviction, vacate the order revoking defendant’s probation, and remand the cause for a new sentencing hearing.

On May 30, 2008, we: (1) denied defendant’s motion for summary reversal; (2) denied without prejudice the State’s motion to vacate as void defendant’s sentence on his 2000 conviction for possession of a controlled substance; and (3) lifted the stay of defendant’s appeal of his probation violation. We now consider the merits of defendant’s appeal and the State’s request that we void the probation.

DECISION

The State’s Motion to Void Defendant’s Sentence

A. Void Sentence

The State contends we must hold defendant’s original sentence of 24 months’ TASC probation for his 2000 conviction for possession of a controlled substance is void, relying on the same arguments raised in its motion to vacate sentence filed with this court.

A sentence which is contrary to a statutory requirement is void and may be attacked at any time, either directly or collaterally. See People v. Whitfield, 228 Ill. 2d 502, 510-11, 888 N.E.2d 1166 (2007), citing People v. Arna, 168 Ill. 2d 107, 113, 658 N.E.2d 107 (1995); People v. Wade, 116 Ill. 2d 1, 5-6, 883 N.E.2d 762 (1987). See also People v. Simmons, 256 Ill. App. 3d 651, 652, 628 N.E.2d 759 (1993).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

People v. Allen, 898 N.E.2d 136, 386 Ill. App. 3d 30, 325 Ill. Dec. 403, 2008 Ill. App. LEXIS 1061 (Ill. Ct. App. 2008).

898 N.E.2d 136 (People v. Allen) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Blackledge v. Perry
417 U.S. 21 (Supreme Court, 1974)
United States v. Goodwin
457 U.S. 368 (Supreme Court, 1982)
People v. Simmons
628 N.E.2d 759 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1993)
People v. Janovic
850 N.E.2d 238 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2006)
People v. Allen
875 N.E.2d 1221 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2007)
People v. Arna
658 N.E.2d 445 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1995)
Doyle v. Barnett
658 N.E.2d 107 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1995)
People Ex Rel. Carey v. Bentivenga
416 N.E.2d 259 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1981)
People v. Whitfield
888 N.E.2d 1166 (Illinois Supreme Court, 2008)
People v. Flowers
802 N.E.2d 1174 (Illinois Supreme Court, 2004)
People v. Wade
506 N.E.2d 954 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1987)
People v. Hall
726 N.E.2d 213 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2000)
People v. Gregory
883 N.E.2d 762 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2008)
Cinkus v. Village of Stickney Municipal Officers Electoral Board
886 N.E.2d 1011 (Illinois Supreme Court, 2008)