People v. Bush

623 N.E.2d 1361, 157 Ill. 2d 248, 191 Ill. Dec. 475, 1993 Ill. LEXIS 100
CourtIllinois Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 18, 1993
Docket73681
StatusPublished
Cited by78 cases

This text of 623 N.E.2d 1361 (People v. Bush) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Illinois Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Bush, 623 N.E.2d 1361, 157 Ill. 2d 248, 191 Ill. Dec. 475, 1993 Ill. LEXIS 100 (Ill. 1993).

Opinion

JUSTICE HARRISON

delivered the opinion of the court:

Following a jury trial in the circuit court of Kane County, defendant, John Bush, was convicted of home invasion (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 38, par. 12 — 11) and aggravated battery (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 38, par. 12— 4(b)(l)). The trial court sentenced defendant to six years’ imprisonment on the home invasion conviction and two years’ imprisonment on the aggravated battery conviction, with the sentences to run concurrently. The appellate court subsequently reversed on the grounds that the trial court had erroneously submitted to the jury a non-IPI instruction concerning the limited-authority doctrine. (227 Ill. App. 3d 81.) We granted the State’s petition for leave to appeal (134 Ill. 2d R. 315) and now affirm the judgment of the appellate court.

According to evidence presented at defendant’s jury trial, at approximately 2 a.m. on August 30, 1989, Joyce Fay was asleep in her Carpentersville home with her daughters Rebecca Cuniff and Christy Fay; her son, Michael Cuniff; her granddaughter, Meghan Burrows; and Rebecca’s boyfriend, John McPhee. Also present in the home that morning were family friends Chris and Holly Huber, and Mike Ferraro, a friend of the Hubers.

Michael Cuniff testified that he was sleeping near the front door of the Fay residence at approximately 2 a.m. when he was awakened by a knock at the door. As he opened his eyes, he saw five or six men run through the house. One man carried a wooden stick, another an aluminum frame, and defendant carried a crowbar. Cuniff asked the men why they were there and told them to leave. The men replied that they would not leave until they received their money. After the men located and surrounded Michael Ferraro in the hallway, defendant seized him by the neck. Cuniff testified that John McPhee attempted to exit one of the bedrooms, but was restrained. Cuniff watched as the men yelled at and slapped Ferraro. When defendant hit Ferraro, McPhee left the bedroom and grabbed defendant. Defendant and the other men then began punching and kicking McPhee. Cuniff stated that the fighting lasted approximately 10 minutes. Cuniff testified that he did not invite the men into his home or hear anyone else do so.

John McPhee testified that he was awakened by noises emanating from the hall and, upon attempting to exit the bedroom, saw Ferraro surrounded by several men. The men were grabbing Ferraro’s shirt and shaking their fists at him. Ferraro looked frightened and told McPhee to call the police. Defendant and the other men then “jumped” Ferraro, prompting McPhee to enter the brawl. McPhee testified that during the fight he was punched, kicked, and struck with the crowbar and a wooden stick, sustaining several bruises and a cut on the head which required 12 stitches.

Salvatore Macaluso, a Carpentersville police officer, arrived on the scene shortly after defendant and the other men had left the Fay residence. Macaluso testified that the front door showed signs of recent damage; the inside door jamb and the striker plate had been forced off the wall, the lock was hanging out of the door, and the door itself was cracked and broken. Macaluso conceded that this information was not contained in his incident report. Joyce Fay’s testimony confirmed that, after the incident, her front door had “little dents,” and the lock “looked like it was pushed in kind of.”

Mathew Huisel testified that he and a group of his friends, including defendant, had gone to the Fay residence looking for Michael Ferraro. Huisel stated that the group had given Ferraro $900 to buy drugs, but that he had taken it and never returned. Huisel testified that the men approached the house, looked in the windows, and saw Ferraro. They then knocked on the door and informed Chris Huber that they were looking for Ferraro. According to Huisel, Huber denied that Ferraro was in the house and invited the men inside to prove this point. Huisel further testified that he did not see defendant strike anyone in the Fay residence. The State impeached Huisel with his prior written statement to police wherein he said that he and his friends were not invited into the residence and that he saw defendant strike McPhee on the head. Huisel explained that the police had been concerned only with whether the men had been invited inside by the homeowner, Joyce Fay, and it was for this reason that he told them there had been no invitation.

Defendant testified that on August 30, he and his friends went to the Fay home to get their money back from Ferraro. Defendant stated that when Chris Huber answered the door and said that Ferraro was not there, defendant told him that all they wanted was their money and that they did not mean to make trouble. Defendant testified that Huber then repeated that Ferraro was not there, and invited the men in to look for themselves. Someone said Ferraro was in the basement, so everyone ran downstairs.

Defendant further testified that when he reached the basement, one of his friends had found Ferraro and had been given a portion of the money. Everyone then went upstairs and defendant was attempting to retrieve the balance of the money from Ferraro when Rebecca Cuniff emerged from her bedroom and yelled at them. McPhee emerged from the bedroom and immediately began to punch one of the men. Someone else began to fight with Ferraro, then Ferraro ran out the back door. Defendant stated that, although others were still yelling and fighting, he then left the residence. Defendant denied threatening or striking anyone, but admitted entering the Fay residence with the crowbar and possessing it during the entire incident, explaining that he took the crowbar because he had been warned that they would need to protect themselves.

The record shows that after closing arguments the trial court submitted to the jury, inter alia, IPI instructions 11.21 and 11.22 concerning home invasion (Illinois Pattern Jury Instructions, Criminal, Nos. 11.21, 11.22 (2d ed. 1981)). Over defendant’s objections, the court supplemented these instructions with the following non-IPI instruction concerning the limited-authority doctrine:

“For purposes of the offense of home invasion, an entry into the dwelling in question is unauthorized even when initially invited when the defendant or one for whose conduct he is legally responsible commits illegal acts within the dwelling.”

On direct review of defendant’s convictions, the appellate court held that giving this non-IPI instruction was reversible error because it “had the potential to confuse the jury regarding the elements of the offense of home invasion.” (227 Ill. App. 3d at 90.) We agree.

Under our Rule 451(a) (134 Ill. 2d R. 451(a)), when an IPI criminal instruction does not accurately state the law with respect to a particular subject, the trial court may, in its discretion, give a non-IPI instruction on the subject. (People v. Blackwell (1979), 76 Ill. App. 3d 371, 379.) In this appeal, the State maintains that the trial court properly exercised its discretion by submitting the non-IPI instruction concerning the limited-authority doctrine to the jury. However, while, as we recently discussed in People v. Peeples (1993), 155 Ill.

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

Related

People v. Larue
2025 IL App (5th) 220613-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2025)
People v. James
2025 IL App (3d) 230195-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2025)
People v. Shepherd
2024 IL App (3d) 230283-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2024)
People v. Black
2024 IL App (1st) 230051-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2024)
People v. Shaffer
2024 IL App (1st) 211556-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2024)
People v. Campos
2024 IL App (2d) 230056-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2024)
People v. Washington
2023 IL App (1st) 210987-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2023)
People v. Polk
2021 IL App (1st) 181938-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2021)
People v. Garcia
2021 IL App (2d) 190321-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2021)
People v. Merriweather
2021 IL App (2d) 190144-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2021)
People v. Cheek
2021 IL App (2d) 200281-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2021)
People v. Acklin
2020 IL App (4th) 180588 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2020)
United States v. Glispie
2020 IL 125483 (Illinois Supreme Court, 2020)
People v. Hall
2020 IL App (2d) 170723-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2020)
People v. Cook
2020 IL App (1st) 161737-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2020)
People v. Witherspoon
2019 IL 123092 (Illinois Supreme Court, 2019)
People v. Brown
2015 IL App (1st) 131552 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2015)
People v. Warrington
2014 IL App (3d) 110772 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2014)
People v. Anderson
2012 IL App (1st) 103288 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2012)
People v. Gutierrez
Appellate Court of Illinois, 2010

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
623 N.E.2d 1361, 157 Ill. 2d 248, 191 Ill. Dec. 475, 1993 Ill. LEXIS 100, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-bush-ill-1993.