People v. Donalson

336 N.E.2d 539, 32 Ill. App. 3d 195, 1975 Ill. App. LEXIS 2948
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedSeptember 10, 1975
Docket60097
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 336 N.E.2d 539 (People v. Donalson) 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. Donalson, 336 N.E.2d 539, 32 Ill. App. 3d 195, 1975 Ill. App. LEXIS 2948 (Ill. Ct. App. 1975).

Opinion

Mr. JUSTICE JOHNSON

delivered the opinion of the court:

After a jury trial, Carl Donalson was convicted of murder and attempt armed robbery and sentenced to a term of 20 to 40 years in the Illinois State Penitentiary. He appeals from the conviction and raises the following issues on review: (Í) whether the motions by the defendant were delays attributable to him; (2) whether defendant was deprived of his right to communicate with his family and whether he knowingly and intelligently waived his right to counsel during questioning by the police; (3) whether the defendant waived the issue of probable cause for arrest or, alternatively, whether there was probable cause for arrest; (4) whether the defendant’s confession was sufficiently corroborated; and (5) whether convictions for two offenses arising out of divisible acts during the same transaction may be affirmed.

Defendant was arrested on January 29, 1972, and, on January 31, 1972, he was. taken before an associate judge where bail was denied. On defendant’s motion the cause was continued until February 15, 1972. The grand jury indicted him for murder on April 17, 1972, and he was arraigned on April 25, 1972. Then the following events transpired: on April 25, 1972, the State filed its motion for discovery; on May 5, 1972, the defendant filed a motion for discovery; on May 19, 1972, defendant’s attorney filed a motion to suppress, a motion for a copy of the minutes of the preliminary hearing' without charge, and a motion for physical examination of the defendant; on June 8, 1972, the State filed its answer to defendant’s discovery .motion, and filed a request for notice of alibi defense; and then on June 12,1972, the defendant filed a notice of motion for dismissal of the indictment for failure to bring him to trial within 120 days. This motion was denied by the trial court on July 7,1972. . ,

. The defendant argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion to dismiss for lack of prosecution on July . 7, 19.72, because the discovery motion submitted by defendant on May 5, 1972, was not a delay occasioned by him. The State, on the other hand, maintains that defendants motions for discovery, suppression of the confession and physical examination of the defendant, entered in May 1972, were deláys occasioned by the defendant and tolled the running of the 120-day térm.

We must determine whether the motions submitted by the defendant caused or contributed to a delay in the trial. The speedy-trial provision of the Criminal Code provides in pertinent part:

“Every person in custody in this State for an alleged offense shall be tried by the court having jurisdiction within 120 days from the date he was taken into custody unless delay is occasioned by the defendant, * * (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1971, ch. 38, §103— 5(a).)

In computing the 120-day period within which an accused is required to be brought to trial, the first day' is excluded and the last day is included. (People v. Behning (1970), 130 Ill.App.2d 536, 263 N.E.2d 607.) However, a delay attributed to the defendant tolls the 120-day period and the period begins to run anew from the date to which the defendant Caused the delay. (People v. Bombacino (1972), 51 Ill.2d 17, 280 N.E.2d 697. See also People v. Lee (1969), 44 Ill.2d 161, 254 N.E.2d 469; and People v. Cornwell (1973), 9 Ill.App.3d 799, 293 N.E.2d 139.) In this case the statute began to run on February 15, 1972, not January 31, 1972, since defendant continued the cause to that date. The 120-day period ran on June 14, 1972, and the motion to dismiss for lack of prosecution was heard on the 143rd day of the period.

We have' carefully reexamined the chronology of the events because time is crucial when the 120-day rule is involved. The State contends that the defendant first tolled the statute with his motion for discovery on May 5, 1972, the 80th day of the term. Both sides were‘given 15 days to reply to the opponent’s discovery motion of May 5,1972, and the State filed an answer on June 8, 1972, 6 days before the 120-day period ran. When the trial court next convened, defendant’s motion to dismiss was denied, with the court adopting the State’s position and relying on People v. Nunnery (1972), 4 Ill.App.3d 217, 280 N.E.2d 537. However, the Illinois Supreme Court reversed the appellate court’s decision and held that a discovery motion is not inherently dilatory and, therefore, does not automatically extend the period within which an accused must be brought to trial. People v. Nunnery (1973), 54 Ill.2d 372, 297 N.E.2d 129.

We think that discovery is such an integral part of pretrial practice that we refuse to hold that the mere filing of a discovery motion tolls the statute since a trial is a search for truth and disclosure aids this process. Disclosure promotes the proper administration of criminal justice (Dennis v. United States (1966), 384 U.S. 855, 870, 16 L.Ed.2d 973, 86 S.Ct. 1840), advances the fullest possible presentation of facts, and minimizes the opportunities for falsification of evidence. (United States v. Feinberg (N.D. Ill. 1974), 371 F.Supp. 1205; People v. Wimberly (1970), 384 Mich. 62, 179 N.W. 2d 623.) See also ABA Standards for Criminal Justice, Discovery Procedures Before Trial.

In determining whether a discovery motion occasions delay, reviewing courts must scrutinize the motion and apprise its need, its timeliness, and its complexity. (People v. Scott (1973), 13 Ill.App.3d 620, 301 N.E.2d 118.) In this case, the discovery motion would have to be considered timely since defendant was arraigned on April 25, 1972, and the motion was filed 10 days later, on May 5, 1972. Forty days remained in the term and the State responded on June 8, 1972, leaving 6 days for the State to commence its prosecution before the term expired. Finally, the motion could not be considered complex since it was a form motion merely requesting disclosure of evidence to which defendant is entitled under Supreme Court Rule 412. Being familiar with the Rule, the motion was one the State had seen before, and by no means was a time-consuming answer necessitated by the motion since the information requested was in the control and possession of the State, and was provided some 34 days later.

Next, the State contends that defendant’s motion to suppress, filed on May 19, 1972, constituted a delay occasioned by the defendant. In support of this contention, the State relies on People v. Schoeneck (1971), 1 Ill.App.3d 395, 274 N.E.2d 483, and People v. Jones (1971), 130 Ill.App. 2d 769, 266 N.E.2d 411.

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Related

People v. Blackwell
394 N.E.2d 1329 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1979)
People v. Donalson
365 N.E.2d 658 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1977)
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356 N.E.2d 776 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1976)

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Bluebook (online)
336 N.E.2d 539, 32 Ill. App. 3d 195, 1975 Ill. App. LEXIS 2948, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-donalson-illappct-1975.