People v. Chambers

953 N.E.2d 1026, 352 Ill. Dec. 3145
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedAugust 12, 2011
Docket3-09-0949
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 953 N.E.2d 1026 (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, 953 N.E.2d 1026, 352 Ill. Dec. 3145 (Ill. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

953 N.E.2d 1026 (2011)
352 Ill. Dec. 3145

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
Patrick CHAMBERS, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 3-09-0949.

Appellate Court of Illinois, Third District.

August 12, 2011.

*1027 Kerry J. Bryson (Court-appointed), Office of the State Appellate Defender, Ottawa, for Patrick Chambers.

Terry A. Mertel, Deputy Director, State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor, James Glasgow, State's Attorney, Dawn D. Duffy, State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor, for People.

OPINION

Presiding Justice CARTER delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.

¶ 1 After a jury trial, defendant, Patrick Chambers, was convicted of two counts of felony domestic battery (720 ILCS 5/12-3.2(a)(2) *1028 (West 2008)) and sentenced to two consecutive extended terms of five years' imprisonment. Defendant appeals, arguing that the trial court erred in: (1) allowing evidence of defendant's prior incident of domestic battery to be admitted at trial under section 115-20 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 (the Code) (725 ILCS 5/115-20 (West 2008)); and (2) sentencing defendant to extended-term sentences based upon the same prior offense of domestic battery that was used to elevate the charges against him to felonies. We affirm defendant's convictions; reduce defendant's sentence on each offense to three years' imprisonment, to run consecutively; and remand the case to the trial court with directions to enter an amended sentencing order to reflect our decision here.

¶ 2 FACTS

¶ 3 In December of 2008, defendant was charged with two counts of domestic battery, arising out of a confrontation that occurred between defendant and his girlfriend at the time, Amie Gaines. The charging instrument alleged that on or about December 16, 2008, defendant committed domestic battery in that he grabbed Gaines about the neck (count I) and grabbed Gaines about the face (count II). The two counts were elevated to felonies based upon defendant's prior conviction of felony domestic battery in Will County case number 08-CF-922.

¶ 4 Prior to trial, the State filed a motion in limine, pursuant to section 115-20 of the Code, seeking to admit testimony regarding the facts surrounding defendant's prior domestic battery, the one for which defendant was convicted in case number 08-CF-922, on the issue of defendant's propensity to commit the current offense. The prior domestic battery happened in April of 2008 (about eight months before the instant case), was factually similar to the instant case (according to the victim's version of events), and involved the same victim.[1] Defendant objected to the State's motion in limine. After hearing the arguments of the attorneys, the trial court found that the evidence was admissible under section 115-20 and granted the State's motion.

¶ 5 Defendant's case proceeded to a jury trial in August of 2009. The evidence presented at the trial established that in December of 2008, defendant lived with Gaines at her apartment in Will County, Illinois, along with their infant daughter, who had some medical problems, and Gaines's children from her previous marriage. During the late evening hours of December 15, a confrontation ensued between defendant and Gaines. According to Gaines's testimony, defendant threatened to kill her with a knife, choked her, and intentionally poked his thumb into her eye.[2] During the confrontation, Gaines cut defendant with the knife and also sustained some injuries herself. Gaines reported the incident the following day when she and defendant went to the hospital for treatment.

¶ 6 During the course of the trial, pursuant to the ruling on the motion in limine, the State presented testimony from Gaines and two other witnesses regarding the circumstances surrounding defendant's prior conviction of domestic battery, an incident that occurred about eight months before the current offense where defendant allegedly broke down the door of Gaines's residence, *1029 threatened to kill Gaines, and held a knife to her throat. Defendant renewed his objection to that evidence immediately before the start of the trial and maintained a continuing objection throughout the trial. In his case-in-chief, defendant took the stand and denied that he battered Gaines during the previous incident, claimed that he only pled guilty to the previous incident so that he could be out of custody for the birth of his child, and claimed that Gaines had attacked him with the knife during the current incident. Reference was also made to the previous incident during the State's closing arguments. After deliberations in the current case, the jury found defendant guilty of both counts of domestic battery.

¶ 7 Defendant filed a motion for new trial, again challenging the trial court's ruling on the motion in limine. The motion for new trial was subsequently denied. After a sentencing hearing, defendant was sentenced to two consecutive extended terms of five years' imprisonment. Defendant's eligibility for an extended-term sentence was based upon his prior felony conviction for domestic battery in case number 08-CF-922. Defendant filed a motion to reconsider sentence, which the trial court denied. This appeal followed.

¶ 8 ANALYSIS

¶ 9 On appeal, defendant argues first that the trial court erred in allowing evidence of the prior incident of domestic battery to be admitted at trial under section 115-20 of the Code. Defendant does not dispute that the underlying requirements for admissibility under section 115-20 were satisfied. Rather, defendant asserts that under section 115-20, only the fact that defendant was convicted of the prior qualifying offense may be admitted, not the factual circumstances surrounding that offense. Defendant reaches that conclusion through statutory interpretation and by comparing the language of section 115-20 to the language of a similar statute, section 115-7.3 of the Code (725 ILCS 5/115-7.3 (West 2008)). Based upon the claimed evidentiary error, defendant asks that we reverse his convictions and that we remand this case for a new trial.

¶ 10 A determination of the admissibility of evidence, including other-crimes evidence, is in the sound discretion of the trial court and will not be reversed on appeal absent an abuse of discretion. See People v. Illgen, 145 Ill.2d 353, 364, 164 Ill.Dec. 599, 583 N.E.2d 515 (1991); People v. Dabbs, 239 Ill.2d 277, 284, 346 Ill.Dec. 484, 940 N.E.2d 1088 (2010). An abuse of discretion occurs where the trial court's ruling is arbitrary, fanciful or unreasonable, or where no reasonable person would take the view adopted by the trial court. People v. Donoho, 204 Ill.2d 159, 182, 273 Ill.Dec. 116, 788 N.E.2d 707 (2003). Under the abuse of discretion standard, the reviewing court owes some deference to the trial court's ability to evaluate the impact of the evidence on the jury. Donoho, 204 Ill.2d at 186, 273 Ill. Dec. 116, 788 N.E.2d 707.

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Related

People v. Davis
2018 IL App (1st) 152413 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2018)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
953 N.E.2d 1026, 352 Ill. Dec. 3145, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-chambers-illappct-2011.