People v. Henderson

351 N.E.2d 231, 39 Ill. App. 3d 1065, 1976 Ill. App. LEXIS 2707
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided June 17, 1976·No. 61086(B)·Published·Cited by 8 cases

Opinion

Mr. JUSTICE DEMPSEY

delivered the opinion of the court:

Curtis Henderson appeals from an interdivisional transfer order entered by the Circuit Court.

Henderson, a juvenile, was convicted of murder and attempt armed robbery. He was sentenced to the Department of Corrections, Juvenile Division, and was confined at the Sheridan Correctional Center from July 1973 to November 1974. In the latter month, a petition was filed by the Juvenile Division (pursuant to Ill. Rev. Stat. 1973, ch. 38, par. 1003 — 10— 7(a)) to transfer him to the Adult Division of the Department of Corrections. The petition stated that the Sheridan Correctional Center was not capable of handling him because he refused supervision and conducted himself in a hostile manner. Attached to the petition were institutional reports of his conduct and his potential for rehabilitation.

Henderson contends that he was denied due process of law because the trial court did not give him adequate time to prepare for the hearing conducted on the interdivisional transfer petition; that the statute under which he was transferred is unconstitutional because it delegates legislative authority to the judiciary and violates article I, section 2, of the Constitution of the State of Illinois and the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States; that the court erred in granting the petition because the only evidence supporting it was inadmissible hearsay, and that the evidence failed to prove that the Sheridan Correctional Center was incapable of controlling him.

When the petition was called on the morning of November 7, 1974, the trial court appointed an assistant public defender to represent Henderson. The assistant immediately requested a continuance, saying that he was unfamiliar with the case and needed time to prepare. The court said that it would give him time to talk to his client. The case was not called again until 3:30 p.m. — an interlude of about five hours. The assistant public defender again asked for a postponement. The court refused and the hearing commenced. Henderson contends that by denying him a continuance the court deprived him of the effective assistance of counsel and denied him due process, since his court-appointed attorney needed time not only to talk to him, but to interview witnesses and to study the statutes and case law relating to the Juvenile Division of the Department of Corrections. However, at 6 p.m., after the State had presented its case, the court continued the hearing for 13 days so that the defendant could prepare his defense. It allowed the defendant until November 14 to file discovery motions and scheduled the next hearing for November 20. On November 14 the defendant’s attorney filed a discovery motion but asked that no action be taken on it because, as he perceived the case, the motion had become moot. On November 20 the defendant presented no evidence and made no motion for a further continuance. Although the court may have been mistaken in denying the defendant’s first motions for a continuance, no harm resulted from the denial. The court subsequently corrected any error that may have occurred by granting him an extension of approximately two weeks, which gave him an opportunity to controvert the reports of his behavior and otherwise prepare his defense. People v. Coleman (1970), 45 Ill. 2d 466, 259 N.E.2d 269.

Central to the consideration of the defendant’s other contentions are two statutory provisions, sections 3 — 10—7(a) and 5 — 8—6(c) of the Unified Code of Corrections (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1973, ch. 38, pars. 1003 — 10— 7(a) and 1005 — 8—6(c)). The pertinent part of section 3 — 10—7(a) states:

“Upon petition of the Juvenile Division, a committing court may, after a hearing with opportunity to be heard and defend, order a person who is 17 years or older and who was originally committed to the Juvenile Division under Section 5 — 8—6 [Ill. Rev. Stat., 1973, ch. 38, par. 1005 — 8—6(c)] to be transferred to the Adult Division. ° * *”

Section 5 — 8—6(c) provides:

“All offenders under 17 years of age sentenced to imprisonment shall be committed to the Juvenile Division of the Department of Corrections * * *. Such order of commitment shall be the sentence of the court which may be amended by the court while jurisdiction is retained * * *. The committing court shall retain jurisdiction of the subject matter and the person until he reaches the age of 21 unless earlier discharged. However, upon request of the Juvenile Division of the Department of Corrections after a person has reached 17 years of age, the court may conduct a hearing with opportunity to the offender to be heard and defend and order him transferred or committed to the Adult Division of the Department of Corrections.”

The State raises two preliminary objections to the defendant’s claim that the first of these statutes is unconstitutional: first, that this court should dismiss the defendant’s appeal because the interdivisional transfer order is nonappealable; and second, that the defendant lacks standing to challenge the constitutionality of the statute because the issue was not raised in the trial court.

The State’s argument that the transfer order was nonappealable runs directly contrary to People v. Spears (1971), 50 Ill. 2d 14, 276 N.E.2d 322, where the court allowed a juvenile imprisoned at the Sheridan Correctional Center to appeal from the order transferring him to an adult prison. The nonappealability argument may thus be rejected; however, the lack of standing argument is valid. It is a general rule of appellate procedure that failure to raise an issue in the trial court precludes its discussion on appeal. (People v. Green (1969), 118 Ill. App. 2d 36, 254 N.E.2d 663.) This waiver rule applies to an issue pertaining to a statute’s constitutionality. (People v. Bratu (1970), 121 Ill. App. 2d 439, 259 N.E.2d 607.) An emerging exception to this rule is that a reviewing court may consider the constitutionality of a statute under which a defendant has been convicted even though no objection on this ground was made at his trial. (People v. Graves (1974), 23 Ill. App. 3d 762, 320 N.E.2d 95.) Although we are concerned with a hearing on a motion rather than a trial, there is no reason why the considerations of orderly procedure are any less compelling. The only time the Constitution was mentioned in the trial court was when the judge fleetingly and parenthetically remarked that there had been no violation of the defendant’s constitutional rights. Even when the judge made this observation the defendant said nothing. Under these circumstances, we conclude that the constitutional issues urged by the defendant cannot be raised in this court.

The defendant makes two arguments concerning the nature of the evidence produced against him: (1) that it was impermissible hearsay and (2) that it did not meet the State’s burden of proof. We consider both of these arguments unsound.

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People v. Henderson, 351 N.E.2d 231, 39 Ill. App. 3d 1065, 1976 Ill. App. LEXIS 2707 (Ill. Ct. App. 1976).

351 N.E.2d 231 (People v. Henderson) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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