People v. Anderson

650 N.E.2d 648, 208 Ill. Dec. 954, 272 Ill. App. 3d 537, 1995 Ill. App. LEXIS 347
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMay 16, 1995
Docket1-93-4153
StatusPublished
Cited by29 cases

This text of 650 N.E.2d 648 (People v. Anderson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Anderson, 650 N.E.2d 648, 208 Ill. Dec. 954, 272 Ill. App. 3d 537, 1995 Ill. App. LEXIS 347 (Ill. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinion

JUSTICE HARTMAN

delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant appeals his conviction for attempted vehicular invasion, questioning whether the governing statute (720 ILCS 5/12— 11.1 (West 1992)) is constitutional. He also raises as an issue for review whether he was entitled to notice of the State’s intention to seek an enhanced sentence pursuant to section 111 — 3(c) of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 (725 ILCS 5/111 — 3(c) (West 1992)) and whether the mittimus issued requires correction.

Julie Wagner testified at defendant’s bench trial that on December 4, 1992, she was sitting in the passenger seat of her mother’s truck parked at 7500 W. 63rd Street in Summit, Illinois. She was waiting for her mother to come out of a nearby pharmacy. The motor was running. Defendant approached and grabbed the passenger door handle. Julie punched the door lock button with her elbow. Defendant continued pulling on the door handle, banging on the window and shouting, "Bitch. Get out of the truck. Give me your money, bitch.” Defendant then ran around the back of the truck, over to the driver’s door, but Julie locked it before he could enter. He continued his shouting and banging.

At the approach of a shopper, defendant ran across the street to a hotdog stand. Julie and her mother telephoned the police. Defendant fled when two squad cars arrived. Two days later, Julie viewed a lineup at the Summit police station and positively identified defendant as the individual who attempted to enter her mother’s vehicle.

The circuit judge found defendant guilty of attempted vehicular invasion and sentenced him to six years’ imprisonment as a Class X offender, based upon two prior Class 2 felony convictions. Defendant timely filed this appeal.

I

Defendant contends that the crime of vehicular invasion and, therefore, the crime of attempted vehicular invasion, violates the due process and proportionate penalties provisions of the Illinois Constitution. (Ill. Const. 1970, art. I, §§ 2, 11.) Specifically, defendant compares vehicular invasion (720 ILCS 5/12 — 11.1 (West 1992)), a Class 1 felony, to robbery (720 ILCS 5/18 — 1 (West 1992)), a Class 2 felony, and concludes that vehicular invasion is less serious because it does not require a taking. As a result, defendant submits that the vehicular invasion statute impermissibly imposes a more severe punishment for a crime that is essentially an attempted robbery.

Article I, section 2, of the Illinois Constitution (Ill. Const. 1970, art. I, § 2) provides:

"No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law nor be denied the equal protection of the laws.”

Article I, section 11 (Ill. Const. 1970, art. I, § 11), provides, in pertinent part:

"All penalties shall be determined both according to the seriousness of the offense and with the objective of restoring the offender to useful citizenship.”

The policy underlying these constitutional provisions would be violated if the penalty prescribed for an offense is not as great or greater than the penalty prescribed for a less serious offense. People v. Wisslead (1983), 94 Ill. 2d 190, 196, 446 N.E.2d 512.

Vehicular invasion (720 ILCS 5/12 — 11.1 (West 1992)) is defined as follows:

"A person commits vehicular invasion who knowingly, by force and without lawful justification, enters or reaches into the interior of a motor vehicle as defined in The Illinois Vehicle Code while such motor vehicle is occupied by another person or persons, with the intent to commit therein a theft or felony.”

Robbery (720 ILCS 5/18 — 1 (West 1992)) is defined:

"A person commits robbery when he takes property from the person or presence of another by the use of force or by threatening the imminent use of force.”

Statutes enjoy a presumption of constitutionality. One challenging a statute must clearly establish its invalidity. (People v. Bales (1985), 108 Ill. 2d 182, 188, 483 N.E.2d 517.) Any doubt in construction will be decided in favor of the validity of the law challenged, and it will be presumed the legislature did not intend absurdity, inconvenience or injustice. (Illinois Crime Investigating Comm’n v. Buecieri (1967), 36 Ill. 2d 556, 561, 224 N.E.2d 236.) The function of the courts in construing statutes is to ascertain and give effect to the intent of the legislature. (People v. Steppan (1985), 105 Ill. 2d 310, 316, 473 N.E.2d 1300.) In ascertaining the intent of the legislature, a court considers not only the language employed by the statute, but also the reason and necessity for the law, the evils to be remedied, and the objects and purposes to be obtained. Steppan, 105 Ill. 2d at 316; Mid-South Chemical Corp. v. Carpentier (1958), 14 Ill. 2d 514, 517, 153 N.E.2d 72.

The legislature has the power to declare and define conduct constituting a crime and to determine the nature and extent of punishment for it. (People v. Taylor (1984), 102 Ill. 2d 201, 205, 464 N.E.2d 1059.) Although sections 2 and 11 of the Illinois Constitution place some restraint on this power, courts have been reluctant to invalidate penalties prescribed by the legislature since, institutionally, the legislature is more aware than the courts of the evils confronting society and more capable of gauging the seriousness of various offenses. (Steppan, 105 Ill. 2d at 319; People v. Williams (1993), 250 Ill. App. 3d 80, 81, 621 N.E.2d 62.) Accordingly, with regard to the due process provision, the penalty prescribed for the particular crime need only be reasonably tailored to remedy the evil which the legislature has determined to be a threat to the public health, safety and general welfare. (Steppan, 105 Ill. 2d at 319; Williams, 250 Ill. App. 3d at 82.) Interference with legislative judgment in regard to the limitation of penalties provision is justified only where the designated punishment is cruel, degrading or so wholly disproportionate to the offense committed as to shock the community’s moral sense. People v. Gonzales (1962), 25 Ill. 2d 235, 240, 184 N.E.2d 833; Williams, 250 Ill. App. 3d at 82.

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Bluebook (online)
650 N.E.2d 648, 208 Ill. Dec. 954, 272 Ill. App. 3d 537, 1995 Ill. App. LEXIS 347, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-anderson-illappct-1995.