People v. Fort

273 N.E.2d 439, 133 Ill. App. 2d 473, 1971 Ill. App. LEXIS 1732
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedJuly 1, 1971
Docket54227
StatusPublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 273 N.E.2d 439 (People v. Fort) 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. Fort, 273 N.E.2d 439, 133 Ill. App. 2d 473, 1971 Ill. App. LEXIS 1732 (Ill. Ct. App. 1971).

Opinion

Mr. JUSTICE McGLOON

delivered the opinion of the court:

Jeff Fort and Paul Martin were jointly charged with the offense of battery (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1967, ch. 38, par. 12—3) upon the complaint of the alleged victim, Travis Davis. The case was tried before a jury which returned a not guilty as to defendant Martin and found defendant Fort guilty as charged. Defendant Fort, the appellant in this case, was sentenced to six months confinement at the Illinois State Farm at Vandalia.

Defendant raises the following issues on appeal: First, can a conviction for battery stand where the only evidence for the State was the testimony of complainant who was himself facing a battery charge, and where the jury rejected complainant’s testimony, and where defendant and others testified that complainant was the aggressor. Second, does the constitution permit a black defendant to be tried by a jury which included one black juror so as to appear to satisfy constitutional requirements and from which all other prospective black jurors were excluded by use of State’s peremptory challenge because they were black, and which was selected under rules which systematically underrepresented the peer group of defendant in jury panels. Third, should the conviction of defendant be set aside because he was arrested, charged and tried without any prior judicial or quasi-judicial determination that there was probable cause against him and not against Davis and because the State has knowingly and intentionally refrained from prosecuting Davis. Fourth, was the overall conduct of defendant’s trial so unfair and prejudicial as to warrant reversal.

We affirm.

Because of the various issues raised in this appeal, we will begin by examining the evidence introduced at trial.

Travis Davis is the complaining witness. He testified that on October 29, 1968, at 5:15 P.M. he looked out the window of his apartment and saw a light on in his automobile. He immediately went out of the building and saw a young boy going through the car. The boy began to run and Davis pursued him, catching him a few blocks later. Davis then, while holding the boy by his arm and the front of his insulated jacket, attempted to locate a patrol car, and when this proved unsuccessful, a public telephone so that he could summon the police. The quest for an unoccupied phone brought Davis and the boy to the Wonder Food Store. While he was outside waiting for a phone, a crowd began to gather. Fort approached him and asked what he intended to do with the boy to which he responded that he was holding him for the police. The boy’s mother approached him and asked that the boy be let go. He refused to do so until such time as the police would arrive. When the boy’s mother attempted to tug her son away from Davis, Fort yelled, “Let’s get the M-F-!” then attacked him from the left side. Mr. Martin and others joined in the attack. Davis was pushed through a plate glass door, cutting his backside. Davis was being dragged, while being beaten, into 67th Street. He tried to hold on to somebody to keep from falling down, and ended up clutching defendant Fort’s leg. Mr. Fort was beating him about the head at that time, but Mr. Martin’s whereabouts were then unknown to him. When the police arrived, Davis was on his knees and was being pummeled by Fort. Upon the police command “Let him go!”, he released Fort’s leg. He never struck Fort or Martin. Davis was hospitalized for three days. On cross-examination, Davis noted the unusual garb of Martin on the day of the battery (cashmere overcoat, huge gold earrings) but admitted that he did not give the police a description of Martin when first brought to the police station.

Raymond Smith was the police officer who arrived on the scene of the disturbance. Smith testified that he proceeded to the Wonder Food Supermarket in regard to a call that a boy was being held for the police. Upon arriving he was confronted by a large crowd of 100 or more people, and a smaller group of males who were beating someone unidentified at the time. Upon command all the aggressors but Fort fled. Fort continued to strike Davis until Smith placed his revolver to Fort’s head. Davis was bleeding, and his clothes were torn; Fort’s clothing seemed rather orderly and untorn, and he was not bruised or bleeding. Martin was not seen by Officer Smith when he arrived.

At the station, Oliver Reed, the boy that Davis was holding for the police, was examined by Smith who did not notice any bruises or marks about the boy’s neck. Both the boy and his mother refused Smith’s offer to procure medical attention for him.

Oliver Reed testified for the defense that Davis grabbed him “around die coat and the collar and the neck” and dragged him around the comer. Oliver had trouble breathing. Oliver’s sister, Madeline, his mother, and others asked Davis to release him. Oliver denied being in Davis’s car.

As to the location of the disturbance, Oliver testified that Fort was present, that Fort asked Davis to let Oliver go, that Oliver did not hear Fort use any swear words, that Davis swung out at Fort, knocked him against the window and then knocked him into the street.

On cross-examination Oliver testified that he knew Fort and Martin from the neighborhood and that they were his friends.

Madeline Reed is Oliver Reed’s sister. She testified for the defense that she first saw Davis dragging Oliver down the street, and that Oliver was “hollering and crying — trying to fight back.” She asked Davis to let her brother go. He hit her hand and told her he was taking Oliver to the police. She then went to get her mother who went with her to the Wonder Food Store. She heard Fort say to Davis, “Let him go. His mother is standing here, and we will wait for the police.” She never heard Fort swear. Somebody then grabbed for Oliver’s coat and Davis swung. “Everybody jumped him.”

Mrs. Rena Reed is Oliver’s mother. When she arrived at the Wonder Food Store she saw her son standing with Davis who had his hand around Oliver’s neck. She asked Davis to release him until the police came. Davis replied, “Before I let go I will die, and if anybody touches me, this kid * * * I will kill him.” People were politely trying to get Davis to let go of the boy. She didn’t hear any “bad words.” All at once a fight broke out. She was pushed back into the crowd and couldn’t tell who was involved.

Defendant, Jeff Fort, testified that he was driving to the Wonder Food Store to shop. When he stepped out of his car, he noticed what appeared to him to be a man beating his son. A girl ran up to the man and asked him to let her brother go. Fort then asked the man (Davis) to stop choking the boy. Fort tried to give Davis literature to distract him, but Davis refused to be distracted. Mrs. Reed arrived and pleaded with Davis to release her son. Davis refused. Fort never used improper language, nor did he ever swing at Davis. Davis hit Fort with his arm, driving Fort into the glass door after which Fort was dizzy. Davis then grabbed Fort around the waist and pushed Fort into the street. Fort tried to free himself by pushing Davis away. Both halted when the police arrived.

On cross-examination Fort testified that he was a gym instructor at the First Presbyterian Church.

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

Related

People v. Johnson
507 N.E.2d 179 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1987)
People v. Frazier
469 N.E.2d 594 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1984)
People v. Payne
457 N.E.2d 1202 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1983)
People v. Gilliard
445 N.E.2d 1293 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1983)
People v. Gosberry
440 N.E.2d 954 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1982)
People v. Payne
436 N.E.2d 1046 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1982)
People v. Dordies
377 N.E.2d 245 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1978)
People v. Godbout
356 N.E.2d 865 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1976)
People v. Neville
355 N.E.2d 179 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1976)
People v. Thornhill
333 N.E.2d 8 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1975)
People v. Greene
328 N.E.2d 176 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1975)
People v. Taylor
323 N.E.2d 388 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1974)
Alberty v. Daniel
323 N.E.2d 110 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1974)
People v. Foster
319 N.E.2d 522 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1974)
People v. Hill
302 N.E.2d 403 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1973)
People v. Moore
302 N.E.2d 425 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1973)
Adams v. Superior Court
27 Cal. App. 3d 719 (California Court of Appeal, 1972)
People v. Eastland
287 N.E.2d 189 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1972)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
273 N.E.2d 439, 133 Ill. App. 2d 473, 1971 Ill. App. LEXIS 1732, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-fort-illappct-1971.