People v. Grosman

2020 IL App (3d) 180076-U
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedSeptember 23, 2020
Docket3-18-0076
StatusUnpublished

This text of 2020 IL App (3d) 180076-U (People v. Grosman) 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. Grosman, 2020 IL App (3d) 180076-U (Ill. Ct. App. 2020).

Opinion

NOTICE: This order was filed under Supreme Court Rule 23 and may not be cited as precedent by any party except in the limited circumstances allowed under Rule 23(e)(1).

2020 IL App (3d) 180076-U

Order filed September 23, 2020 ____________________________________________________________________________

IN THE

APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS

THIRD DISTRICT

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ) Appeal from the Circuit Court ILLINOIS, ) of the 21st Judicial Circuit, ) Kankakee County, Illinois. Plaintiff-Appellee, ) ) Appeal No. 3-18-0076 v. ) Circuit No. 16-CF-472 ) ANNE M. GROSMAN, ) Honorable ) Kathy S. Bradshaw-Elliott, Defendant-Appellant. ) Judge, Presiding. ____________________________________________________________________________

JUSTICE SCHMIDT delivered the judgment of the court. Justices Carter and Holdridge concurred in the judgment.

ORDER

¶1 Held: (1) Defense counsel did not render ineffective assistance in relation to defendant’s statutory right to a speedy trial; and (2) text message evidence introduced at trial was relevant for purposes other than propensity.

¶2 Defendant, Anne M. Grosman, appeals following her convictions for unlawful restraint,

unlawful use of a weapon, theft, and unlawful violation of an order of protection. She argues that

defense counsel rendered ineffective assistance resulting in a violation of her statutory right to a

speedy trial. In the alternative, she raises a number of arguments relating to the allegedly improper

use of text message evidence at her trial. We affirm. ¶3 I. BACKGROUND

¶4 The State charged defendant on October 18, 2016, with unlawful violation of an order of

protection (720 ILCS 5/12-3.4(a)(1) (West 2016)). The information alleged that defendant violated

the order of protection on October 18 in that she entered and remained in a store where Shane

Saathoff was working. On November 2, 2016, the State charged defendant with two counts of

aggravated stalking (id. §§ 12-7.4(a)(2), (a)(3)) and one count each of unlawful restraint (id. § 10-

3(a)), unlawful use of a weapon (id. § 24-1(a)(2)), and theft (id. § 16-1(a)(1)(A)). The information

alleged that defendant placed a taser against Saathoff’s body, refused to let him leave, then took

his eyeglasses from him. In an indictment filed 16 days later, the State added an additional charge

of unlawful violation of an order of protection (id. § 12-3.4(a)(1)), which alleged that defendant

came within 300 feet of Saathoff on October 31, 2016. The court initially ordered defendant held

without bond.

¶5 On November 18, 2016, defense counsel orally requested a speedy trial. That same day,

the court held a hearing on defendant’s motion to reduce bond. The court ultimately denied the

motion and ordered that defendant continue to be held without bond.

¶6 The matter was scheduled for a jury trial on January 9, 2017. On that date, defense counsel

answered ready for trial, but the State indicated that it needed additional time to procure phone

records. As a result, the State agreed to a bond order, which the court set at $30,000.

¶7 The parties and the court then discussed the setting of a new trial date. Opining that “both

sides want me to move quickly on this,” the court set a status date for January 23, 2017, and a trial

date of February 6. The court noted the possibility that it would be unavailable on February 6 but

indicated that in that event defendant could be tried before a different judge. Later, the court

reiterated: “I’m warning both sides because she’s in custody and we’re running speedy trial rights,

-2- I might ask another judge if I can’t be here to try it.” Defendant posted bond and was released from

custody that day.

¶8 When the parties reconvened on January 23, the court stated that it would be unavailable

beginning on February 8, potentially jeopardizing a February 6 trial. After the State declared that

more discovery would be forthcoming, the following colloquy ensued:

“THE COURT: Okay. So you’re going to be getting more discovery,

[defense counsel]. So you tell me, do we want to keep the 6th? Now, since

she’s out of custody—we got a lot of custody cases to try and there’s

nothing running a speedy trial at this point—

[DEFENSE COUNSEL]: Judge, I’m going to ask for a speedy trial.

THE COURT: I know but you got to put it in writing because she’s

out. So you’re looking at a 160.”

Defense counsel indicated that he would file a written speedy trial demand. He agreed to change

the February 6 trial date to status date. No written speedy trial demand was ever filed.

¶9 On February 6, 2017, the court offered defense counsel a choice of trial dates, either June

5 or June 19. Commenting that he would “like to get it as soon as we can,” counsel selected June

5.

¶ 10 At defendant’s jury trial, Saathoff testified that he was in a dating relationship with

defendant beginning in 2010. During that time, Saathoff and defendant sold items on eBay

together. Saathoff ended the relationship in either the last week of August or the first week of

September 2016. Saathoff’s decision to end the relationship angered defendant.

¶ 11 Saathoff recalled that after the breakup, defendant “started constantly contacting me around

the clock. It was on average like well over 100 calls a day. Well over 100 texts a day ***.” Saathoff

-3- usually did not answer the phone calls and he did not respond to any of the text messages after

October 1. Saathoff eventually began receiving phone calls from a rotation of five or six phone

numbers that he did not recognize. Defendant began contacting Saathoff’s relatives. On October

7, 2016, defendant appeared at the store at which Saathoff was working. Saathoff obtained an order

of protection later that day; the order was served upon defendant two days later. On October 28,

the order of protection was extended for one month.

¶ 12 On October 31, 2016, Saathoff ended his shift at work at 9 p.m. and drove home to his

apartment building. After exiting his car, Saathoff “heard some shuffling” behind him. He

continued: “I turned around and before I knew it, somebody had clawed my glasses off of me and

stuck something in my chest.” Saathoff saw a person wearing a blonde wig and a cat mask, as well

as a red light pressed against his chest. The person threatened to tase him. Saathoff recognized the

voice as defendant’s. He knew that she owned a taser.

¶ 13 Saathoff described what happened next:

“It was more or less like, why have you been avoiding me, you’re my best

friend. At one point she forcibly hugged me, and she said something along

the lines of if there weren’t so many windows open I would tase you, but I

don’t want people to hear you scream.”

After approximately 45 minutes, defendant lowered the taser and Saathoff was able to enter his

apartment, where he called the police.

¶ 14 While with the police, Saathoff received a text message from an unfamiliar number,

informing him that he would receive his glasses back if the texter was allowed to see his phone for

five minutes. At the direction of a police officer, Saathoff contacted defendant about getting his

-4- glasses back. Defendant eventually returned to the scene, at which point she was confronted by

the police.

¶ 15 The State introduced into evidence an extraction report from Saathoff’s cell phone. Over

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2020 IL App (3d) 180076-U, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-grosman-illappct-2020.