People v. Chambers

303 N.E.2d 24, 15 Ill. App. 3d 23, 1973 Ill. App. LEXIS 1601
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedOctober 25, 1973
Docket72-132
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 303 N.E.2d 24 (People v. Chambers) 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. Chambers, 303 N.E.2d 24, 15 Ill. App. 3d 23, 1973 Ill. App. LEXIS 1601 (Ill. Ct. App. 1973).

Opinion

Mr. JUSTICE DIXON

delivered the opinion of the court:

The defendant, Joann Chambers, was indicted for the offenses of indecent liberties with a child and aggravated battery. She was found guilty of both offenses at a bench trial and was sentenced by the circuit court of WiU County to a term of from four to six years on the first count, and to a term of from three to six years on the aggravated battery count.

On April 7, 1971 Bassaroni Person, aged four, went to play with Jo-Jo Hinton. After being gone 20 or 25 minutes he returned home walking wide-legged, his rectum bleeding, his penis scratched and swollen and the side of his face had a red hand print on it. A physician examined him shortly thereafter and noticed “a little sweUing at the base of the scrotum, that on the skin of the penis there were a few scratches and irritated areas * * * ” He saw a tear in the rectal area from which Bassaroni was bleeding. He was shown a toilet brush and stated that it was one of a general type of instrument which could have caused the tear. He was unable to determine what caused the other injuries.

Bassaroni’s mother testified that after discovering his condition she took him to the Hinton home where they met the defendant and Mrs. Hinton. Bassaroni at that time did not indicate that defendant was the person who injured him. Mrs. Hinton testified that Bassaroni indicated that defendant had done it. Shortly thereafter, Bassaroni did point to the defendant, who then stated, “If I did do it, ain’t no mother fucker going to do nothing about it and that goes for you too, lady.” Bassaroni also pointed out another woman and later told a police officer at first that a man did it and then changed his story saying he had been injured by a woman.

An expert analyzed hair samples taken from Bassaroms clothes. They could have originatéd from either defendant or Mrs. Hinton. The same expert determined that Bassaroni had type A blood which was found on the Hintons toilet bowl, bathroom floor, bathroom rug and on the toilet brush. It was also found on defendant’s jacket near the right cuff. Blood was also found on defendant’s blouse but it could not be told if it was human in origin.

Defendant was arrested almost within the hour and was taken to the police station. On the way she was given the “Miranda Warnings”. She made no statement other than to the effect that she didn’t do anything. After being booked, she was questioned again after being given her rights. At about 11:00 P.M. she was questioned again. At 10:00 A.M. she was awakened, read her rights and questioned again. She complained that her hands were swollen and that she was pregnant. She, at that time, confessed. She repeated the confession for the tape recorder. She said that Bassaroni came to the house and asked for Jo-Jo, then asked to go to the bathroom so she hit him across the face, that she followed him to the bathroom where she first scratched and then bit his penis, that she then took the toilet brush and put it up his rectum.

After the confession defendant was taken to her home. She was crying there and her husband said, ‘Why are you crying, you didn’t do anything.” She replied, “But I did.”

On this appeal defendant first contends that section 12 — 4 of the Criminal Code is unconstitutional for the reason that it creates an unreasonable classification in violation of the equal protection clause. She argues that while she was convicted of a felony under section 12 — 4, one committing the same acts under the same circumstances could be convicted of a misdemeanor under that section, thus depriving her of equal protection of the law. She cites People v. McCollough, 8 Ill.App.3d 963, 291 N.E.2d 505; People v. Yonker, 351 Ill. 139, and Olson v. Delmore, 48 Wash. .2d. 545, 295 P. 2d 324.

We believe that People v. Keegan, 52 Ill. 2d 147 is dispositive of this contention. On page 151 the court said, “There are a number of sections of the Criminal Code in which the penalty provided for the same proscribed conduct ranges from confinement in the penitentiary, * * * to confinement other than in the penitentiary for less than one year and or a fine, * * The opinion then, on page 152, lists over half a page of examples including aggravated battery. In disposing of the argument that the statute gives unguided discretion to a grand jury or a magistrate to determine whether a defendant should be charged with a misdemeanor or a felony the court said, “We have previously held that if the conduct for which a defendant is prosecuted constitutes a misdemeanor under one statute and a felony under another, there is no error in convicting him of the felony. (People v. Singer, 288 Ill. 113). With respect to the discretion to be exercised in determining under which statute the defendant is to be prosecuted, in People v. Rhodes, 38 Ill.2d 389, at page 396, we said: ‘The State’s Attorney is the representative of the People and has the responsibility of evaluating the evidence, and other pertinent factors and determining what offense can properly and should properly be charged.’ We hold, therefore, that in being charged under section 11 — 4, although the same conduct could have been the basis of a conviction under section 11 — 5, the defendant was not denied equal protection of the law.”

Certiorari was denied by the U.S. Supreme Court in Keegan v. Illinois, 406 U.S. 964, 32 L.Ed.2d 663.

The court in People v. McCollough, was apparently unaware of the Keegan case since it was not discussed. We would further point out that Olsen v. Delmore, 48 Wash. 2d 545, 295 P.2d 324 was decided in 1956. Since that time in at least three decisions the Supreme Court of Washington has taken a contrary view thus overruling Olsen. In State v. Boggs, 57 Wash.2d 484, 358 P.2d 124 (1961); in State v. Saylors, 422 P.2d 477 (1966); and in State v. Barton, 454 P.2d 381 (1969), the court held there was no denial of equal protection of the laws.

In People v. Yonker, the court held that the act of the legislature vested an unwarranted discretion in the city clerk and for that reason was invalid. That holding has no application here.

In People v. Morrissey, 52 Ill.2d 418, citing People v. Coleman, 45 Ill.2d 466, the court upheld the power of a State’s Attorney to prosecute aggravated battery as a misdemeanor rather than as a felony.

Defendant further argues that there is nothing in the statute to prevent the judge when sentencing from treating one person as a felon and another as a misdemeanant. She cites no cases. In Williams v. Illinois, 399 U.S. 235, 26 L.Ed.2d 586 the Court said, “Sentencing judges are vested with wide discretion in the exceedingly difficult task of determining the appropriate punishment in the countless variety of situations that appear.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
303 N.E.2d 24, 15 Ill. App. 3d 23, 1973 Ill. App. LEXIS 1601, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-chambers-illappct-1973.