People v. Goleash

726 N.E.2d 194, 311 Ill. App. 3d 949, 244 Ill. Dec. 598, 2000 Ill. App. LEXIS 148
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMarch 10, 2000
Docket4-99-0302
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 726 N.E.2d 194 (People v. Goleash) 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. Goleash, 726 N.E.2d 194, 311 Ill. App. 3d 949, 244 Ill. Dec. 598, 2000 Ill. App. LEXIS 148 (Ill. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinion

JUSTICE STEIGMANN

delivered the opinion of the court:

In July 1995, defendant, Joseph J. Goleash, Jr., pleaded guilty to deceptive practices (720 ILCS 5/17 — 1 (West 1994)) and received a probationary sentence. In December 1998, the State filed a petition to revoke defendant’s probation, alleging that he violated a criminal statute by driving a car while his license was revoked (DWR) (625 ILCS 5/6 — 303 (West Supp. 1997)). Defendant admitted that he had done so, and the trial court scheduled a resentencing hearing for March 1999. At that hearing, the court discharged defendant’s probation but found him guilty of indirect criminal contempt and sentenced him to 120 days in jail for contempt.

Defendant appeals, arguing that (1) he did not violate the conditions of his probation because DWR is not a “criminal” offense and (2) the trial court erred by convicting and sentencing him for indirect criminal contempt when (a) the only charging instrument against him was the State’s petition to revoke probation and (b) he did not receive proper admonitions under Supreme Court Rule 402(a) (177 Ill. 2d R. 402(a)) when he admitted his DWR. We affirm in part and reverse in part.

I. BACKGROUND

After defendant pleaded guilty in July 1995 to deceptive practices, the trial court sentenced him to 24 months’ probation, to begin when his prison sentences from an unrelated case ended. As a condition of his probation, he was not to violate “any criminal statute of any jurisdiction” (see 730 ILCS 5/5 — 6—3(a)(1) (West Supp. 1995)). In November 1995, defendant began serving his probationary sentence.

In September 1997, while still on probation, defendant was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) (625 ILCS 5/11 — 501(a) (West Supp. 1997)). In November 1997, the State filed a petition to revoke defendant’s probation. In February 1998, the trial court found defendant in violation of a condition of his probation and later extended his probation until January 1999.

In October 1998, defendant committed the offense of DWR (625 ILCS 5/6 — 303 (West Supp. 1997)). In December 1998, the State filed a second petition to revoke defendant’s probation based upon the October 1998 offense. The State’s petition concludes as follows:

“WHEREFORE, [p]etitioner[ ] pray[s] that the probation of the defendant *** be revoked and that defendant be sentenced under the original judg[ ]ment of the [cjourt, or in the alternative for such other relief as the [cjourt may deem just, including but not limited to the defendant being found in contempt of this court for wilfully violating the [cjourt’s probation order and the defendant being sentenced for such contempt.”

In February 1999, defendant appeared for an arraignment on the State’s petition and, through counsel, defendant offered to stipulate that he had committed the DWR. However, defendant contended that DWR was not a “criminal” offense and, therefore, not a violation of the conditions of his probation. The court then engaged in the following colloquy with defendant:

“THE COURT: *** You understand, [defendant,] you are not required to admit those two [sic] allegations?
DEFENDANT: I do, your honor.
THE COURT: You understand you can require the State prove those allegations, and the burden of proof is proof by the preponderance of the evidence.
DEFENDANT: Yes, I do.
THE COURT: You understand that if you admit the allegations [and] the [cjourt finds that this indeed was a violation of your probation, you would be resentenced on the charge of deceptive practices ***?
DEFENDANT: *** It is my understanding that I will be able to have a hearing, and mitigating and aggravating evidence could be presented.
THE COURT: That’s correct.”

After the State provided a factual basis, the court accepted defendant’s admission and scheduled a resentencing hearing for March 1999. Prior to that hearing, defendant filed a motion to dismiss the petition, setting forth his argument that DWR was not a “criminal” offense.

At the March 1999 hearing, the trial court denied defendant’s motion to dismiss and then heard evidence and argument regarding sentencing. The court later discharged defendant’s probation, held him in indirect criminal contempt, and sentenced him to 120 days in jail for contempt. This appeal followed.

II. ANALYSIS

Defendant argues that the trial court erred by (1) denying his motion to dismiss the State’s petition to revoke probation and (2) convicting and sentencing him to indirect criminal contempt when (a) the only charging instrument was the State’s petition to revoke probation and (b) defendant did not receive proper admonitions under Supreme Court Rule 402(a) (177 Ill. 2d R. 402(a)) when he admitted to DWR. We agree only with defendant’s arguments regarding his contempt conviction.

A. Defendant’s Motion To Dismiss

Defendant argues that the trial court erred by denying his motion to dismiss the State’s petition. Specifically, he contends that section 6 — 303 of the Illinois Vehicle Code (Vehicle Code) (625 ILCS 5/6— 303 (West Supp. 1997)), which prohibits DWR, is not a “criminal” statute. Therefore, violating section 6 — 303 does not constitute a violation of the conditions of his probation. Defendant’s argument is based on the premise that a statute is “criminal” only if it is codified as part of the Criminal Code of 1961 (Criminal Code) (720 ILCS 5/1 — 1 et seq. (West 1998)). This premise is unsound.

Section 5 — 6—3(a)(1) of the Unified Code of Corrections (Corrections Code) (730 ILCS 5/5 — 6—3(a)(1) (West Supp. 1995)) requires that, as a condition of probation, a probationer must “not violate any criminal statute of any jurisdiction.” This broadly defined condition does not bar the probationer from violating only those statutes contained in the criminal code of any jurisdiction (including Illinois), but from violating “any criminal statute of any jurisdiction” (emphasis added) (730 ILCS 5/5 — 6—3(a)(1) (West Supp. 1995)), and for good reason. Different jurisdictions employ different systems of codification, and conduct proscribed under the “criminal code” in one jurisdiction might appear under a different location in the statutes of another.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
726 N.E.2d 194, 311 Ill. App. 3d 949, 244 Ill. Dec. 598, 2000 Ill. App. LEXIS 148, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-goleash-illappct-2000.