People v. Gimza

371 N.E.2d 1135, 56 Ill. App. 3d 477, 14 Ill. Dec. 82, 1977 Ill. App. LEXIS 3993
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedDecember 29, 1977
Docket77-328
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 371 N.E.2d 1135 (People v. Gimza) 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. Gimza, 371 N.E.2d 1135, 56 Ill. App. 3d 477, 14 Ill. Dec. 82, 1977 Ill. App. LEXIS 3993 (Ill. Ct. App. 1977).

Opinion

Mr. JUSTICE ROMITI

delivered the opinion of the court:

The issue in this case is whether the 160-day period within which an accused, on bail, must be brought to trial continues to run if the charge is dismissed at the preliminary hearing for want of probable cause, and a subsequent indictment is brought based on the same facts. We hold that it does not and reverse the trial court’s dismissal of the subsequent indictment on the grounds the 160-day period had run.

On July 16, 1975, Theodore Gimza, the defendant, allegedly pushed Eugene Hunsaker through a window causing his death. He was arrested that same day and charged with involuntary manslaughter. He allegedly made a demand for trial on July 17,1975, before he was released on bond and again on July 30,1975. Because of the conclusion we reach, we need not determine if in fact a valid and effective demand was made on either of those two dates. There is no question that the defendant did, on August 13, 1975, demand trial. The preliminary hearing was held, after several continuances requested by the State, on September 9, 1975. The judge found there was no probable cause and discharged the defendant. Immediately the defendant again demanded trial. On December 30,1975, the grand jury, after hearing evidence based on the same events, including a witness who had not appeared at the preliminary hearing, indicted Gimza for murder. He was arraigned on January 12,1976, again released on bond and asked for a continuance. On February 19,1976, he filed a petition for discharge, contending that the 160-day period within which the trial must be held, pursuant to section 103—5 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1975, ch. 38, par. 103—5), had expired. The trial court granted the motion on November 5,1976. Thereafter the defendant again demanded trial. The State has appealed.

Under Illinois law (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1975, ch. 38, par. 103 — 5), a defendant on bail must be brought to trial within 160 days of the date on which he demands trial unless the delay is caused by the defendant, by an interlocutory appeal or by certain other circumstances not relevant here; under the statute applicable to the defendant here, any delay attributable to him would toll the running of the term and start it anew. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1975, ch. 38, par. 103 — 5(b).) (Under a recently enacted amendment not applicable here because it only applies to offenses committed on or after March 1, 1977, any delay by the defendant would only suspend the running of the term for the period of the delay.) (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1976, ch. 38, par. 103 — 5(f).) It is uniformly recognized by Illinois law, that as provided by statute, the period does not run for a defendant not in custody, until a demand is made. (Village v. Midlothian v. Walling (1969), 118 Ill. App. 2d 358, 255 N.E.2d 23; People v. O’Shea (1975), 26 Ill. App. 3d 826, 326 N.E.2d 230.) The only demand made by the defendant after he was indicted for murder on December 30, 1975, occurred after his discharge on November 5, 1976. Accordingly, it is obvious that we can only affirm the trial court’s ruling if we find (1) that a demand was made on either July 17,1975, or July 30,1975, since any subsequent date was less than 160 days before January 12, 1976, the day on which the defendant asked for a continuance and (2) that the period continued to run after the defendant’s discharge on September 9, 1975. Since we conclude that the period did not continue to run, but that a totally new period began to run only after a proper demand was made after the indictment on December 30, 1975, we need not determine whether a proper demand was made in July 1975.

The defendant has contended that since the 160-day period (or 120-day period if the defendant is in custody) continues to run if the State nolle presses the case (People v. Lee (1969), 44 Ill. 2d 161, 254 N.E.2d 469; People v. Fosdick (1967), 36 Ill. 2d 524, 224 N.E.2d 242), or has the charge stricken with leave to reinstate (People v. Baskin (1967), 38 Ill. 2d 141, 230 N.E.2d 208), it should be found to continue to run when the charge is dismissed at preliminary hearing for lack of probable cause. First we note as the Illinois Supreme Court has pointed out in People v. McAdrian (1972), 52 Ill. 2d 250, 255, 287 N.E.2d 688, 691:

“We have held that the 120-day rule implements a constitutional right to a speedy trial and that its purpose should not be avoided by technical evasions, such as by dismissing and refiling the same charge. (People v. Fosdick (1967), 36 Ill. 2d 524, 528.) Under certain circumstances, this court has held that the statutory term began to run on the date of a subsequent commitment after the earlier identical charge had been dismissed for want of prosecution. See People v. Lindner (1914), 262 Ill. 223, 227.
This suggests that the real issue, when a charge against a defendant is dismissed and he is later re-indicted on the same offense, may be whether the circumstances suggest that the State is seeking to evade the consequences of the 120-day rule, or whether the delay, in any event, would constitute a denial of the defendant’s constitutional right to a speedy trial.” (Emphasis added.)

There was no evidence in this case that the State deliberately withheld any evidence or otherwise acted in bad faith at the preliminary hearing so as to obtain the dismissal for want of probable cause. (Compare People v. Hamby (1963), 27 Ill. 2d 493, 190 N.E.2d 289, cert. denied sub nom. Hamby v. Pate (1963), 372 U.S. 980, 10 L. Ed. 2d 145, 83 S. Ct. 1116, cert. denied. (1963), 375 U.S. 857, 11 L. Ed. 2d 84, 84 S. Ct. 120 where the court rejected defendant’s contention that the period of delay caused by his motion to quash the indictments should not be attributed to him because of the State’s failure to present properly drawn indictments.) Furthermore, contrary to the implication in the defendant’s contention, a discharge for want of probable cause with a subsequent indictment is clearly distinguishable from a nolle prosse or a motion to strike the charge with leave to reinstate. A nolle prosse or a motion to strike the charge with leave to reinstate is made by the State, is within the State’s control and presumably is made on behalf of the State. But a discharge for want of probable cause is not an act within the State’s control. Following this discharge, additional evidence was presented to the grand jury from a witness who did not testify at the preliminary hearing, and the grand jury returned an indictment not for involuntary manslaughter but for murder. (Compare People v. Wildey (1967), 86 Ill. App. 2d 274, 229 N.E.2d 882.) Under such circumstances there is no reason for us to ignore the requirement of the statute that it only runs when a charge is pending against the defendant. (People v. Lowe (1965), 61 Ill. App.

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Bluebook (online)
371 N.E.2d 1135, 56 Ill. App. 3d 477, 14 Ill. Dec. 82, 1977 Ill. App. LEXIS 3993, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-gimza-illappct-1977.