People v. Bruce

393 N.E.2d 1343, 75 Ill. App. 3d 1042, 31 Ill. Dec. 36, 1979 Ill. App. LEXIS 3184
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedAugust 29, 1979
DocketNo. 78-511
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 393 N.E.2d 1343 (People v. Bruce) 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. Bruce, 393 N.E.2d 1343, 75 Ill. App. 3d 1042, 31 Ill. Dec. 36, 1979 Ill. App. LEXIS 3184 (Ill. Ct. App. 1979).

Opinion

Mr. JUSTICE KARNS

delivered the opinion of the court:

This case is before us on the State’s appeal from an order of the Circuit Court of Wayne County denying forfeiture of defendant’s bail bond. Defendant was charged with aggravated battery and intimidation. Bail was set at $25,000 on each charge and defendant was released after posting 10 percent of the total amount. As conditions of his release, defendant was ordered, inter alia, to refrain from contacting or harassing his estranged wife and children, alleged conduct out of which the charges arose, to observe the law, and to reside in Ohio for employment purposes. On March 21, 1978, while the battery and intimidation charges were pending, the state’s attorney applied for a warrant against defendant for breach of bond conditions, alleging that defendant had violated the conditions of his bond by attempting to break into his wife’s home in Wayne County.

A bond revocation hearing was held on April 13, 1978. The court heard testimony from defendant’s wife and two neighbors who were in the house at the time defendant attempted to enter. The court determined that there was clear and convincing evidence of defendant’s commission of a forcible felony while on bail and accordingly ordered the revocation of defendant’s bond as authorized by section 110 — 6(e) (3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1977, ch. 38, par. 110 — 6(e)(3)).

Subsequently, defendant pleaded guilty to the initial charge of aggravated battery and the charge of intimidation was dismissed. During the sentencing hearing on June 8, the assistant state’s attorney addressed the subject of defendant’s bail deposit:

“Mr. Robison [Assistant State’s Attorney]: * # ” The State would further ask that some type of order, which may be somewhat out of order, but an order be entered in connection with the bail deposit. In light of the fact that bond was violated, the State would ask that an order be entered for the $5,000 that was posted in, I think, 77 — CF—35 and 36 and that if any court costs are assessed that these be taken out of the additional two thousand dollar bail money that was posted for the bail bond violation. # # #
Mr. Van Winkle [defense counsel]: * * ” Now, on the order,we don’t feel — I suppose what he’s asking here, he’s asking that the bail of five thousand dollars be forfeited, so forth, so on. What we would like to do on that is do a little research and submit a written brief on that particular portion. We aren’t really prepared to argue that.”

The court reserved its ruling on the forfeiture.

The court informed both parties by letter on July 13, 1978, that the State’s forfeiture motion would be denied because “there was not a forfeiture declared nor was there any notice given as required by law to effectuate the taking of the bail on the forfeiture, as required by section 110 — 7(g).” (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1977, ch. 38, par. 110 — 7(g), renumbered 110 — 7(h) by Pub. Act. 80-1149, eff. July 1, 1978).) An order denying forfeiture was entered on July 19, 1978.

The State’s motion to vacate the July 19 order was denied on September 14, 1978 on grounds that:

“1. The by the filing of an Application For Warrant For Breach of Conditions of Bail Bond on March 21,1978, the State elected to ' seek remedies provided by Ill. Rev. Stat. ch. 38, §110 — 6(e).
2. That by an Order entered in the above-entitled cause on April 13,1978, the Court revoked the Defendant’s bond and ordered him to be held without bond pursuant to the provisions of Ill. Rev. Stat. ch. 38, §110 — 6(e).
3. That no request was made by the State for forfeiture or for a judgment pursuant to the provisions of Ill. Rev. Stat. ch. 110, §7 (g), prior to the conclusion of the sentencing hearing held on June 8, 1978.”

On appeal, the State contends that the circuit court erred in denying the motion for forfeiture and further contends that forfeiture may be accomplished without the 30-days’ notice required by section 110 — 7(h) when the defendant has been present at the hearing which established the violation of a condition of the bond.

Defendant would have us affirm the trial court’s order on grounds that the State’s appeal is not timely and that forfeiture is contemplated by statute only when a defendant violates the bond condition that requires his presence in court by failing to appear. We find the appeal timely taken from a final order of September 14, 1978, and address that issue no further.

The circuit court apparently proceeded on the theory that revocation and forfeiture were mutually exclusive and that by pursuing revocation, the State had elected not to seek forfeiture. The court also observed that the sentencing hearing was conducted before the State moved by a forfeiture. The order of July 13 noted that no forfeiture was entered, nor were the procedural requirements of section 110 — 7(h) followed by the State.

It appears to us that the relationship between forfeiture and revocation has been misapprehended by all concerned. Bond revocation is an exercise of the court’s inherent authority to enforce its orders and require reasonable conduct from those over whom it has jurisdiction. (People ex rel. Hemingway v. Elrod (1975), 60 Ill. 2d 74, 83, 322 N.E.2d 837, 842-43.) The amount of bail may be increased and additional conditions may be imposed for violation of any condition of the bond required or authorized by section 110 — 10 (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1977, ch. 38, par. 110 — 10). Revocation may be ordered following a hearing initiated by the state’s attorney’s verified application reciting facts or circumstances constituting a breach or threatened breach by a criminal defendant of any condition of his bail bond. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1977, ch. 38, par. 110 — 6.) If clear and convincing evidence is adduced that the defendant committed a forcible felony, revocation is authorized. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1977, ch. 38, par. 110 — 6(e) (3).) Upon revocation the defendant is incarcerated and his trial on the initial offense is expedited. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1977, ch. 38, par. 110 — 6(e)(4).) Neither the order nor the proceedings based on clear and convincing evidence are admissible in a subsequent trial for the forcible felony.

Forfeiture, in contrast, is a civil judgment “that [the] accused stood charged with a public offense, that he obtained his release under bond, that the bond was executed in the particular case, and that some condition of [the] bond was broken.” (People v. Brown (1962), 35 Ill. App. 2d 182, 186-87, 182 N.E.2d 347, 350.) Upon entry of a judgment, the obligation of the defendant becomes a debt of record as a civil liability. People v. Arron (1973), 15 Ill. App. 3d 645, 648, 305 N.E.2d 1, 3.

Statutory authority for forfeiture is found in sections 110 — 2 and 110 — 7 of the Code. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1977, ch. 38, pars. 110 — 2, 110 — 7.) Section 110 — 7(g) provides:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
393 N.E.2d 1343, 75 Ill. App. 3d 1042, 31 Ill. Dec. 36, 1979 Ill. App. LEXIS 3184, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-bruce-illappct-1979.