People v. Jameson

626 N.E.2d 230, 252 Ill. App. 3d 604, 193 Ill. Dec. 197
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedAugust 17, 1993
Docket1-91-0454, 1-91-2876, 1-92-0240 cons.
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 626 N.E.2d 230 (People v. Jameson) 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. Jameson, 626 N.E.2d 230, 252 Ill. App. 3d 604, 193 Ill. Dec. 197 (Ill. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinion

PRESIDING JUSTICE McCORMICK

delivered the opinion of the court;

This is a consolidated appeal arising from the separate trial and convictions of defendants Willie Jameson, Willie Davis and Larry Smith. On the State’s motion we consolidated defendants’ appeals from those convictions because all three defendants contend that their enhanced Class X sentences must be vacated because the State failed to give them statutorily mandated pretrial notice of the State’s decision to seek such enhancement. Defendant Jameson also questions the sufficiency of the sentencing-hearing evidence permitting such enhancement, but we find this contention to be unavailing in light of People v. Williams (1992), 149 Ill. 2d 467, 599 N.E.2d 913.

In docket No. 1 — 91—2876, following a bench trial in the circuit court of Cook County, defendant Willie Davis was found guilty of the Class 1 felony of possession with intent to deliver 2.4 grams of cocaine (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 56x/2, par. 1401(cX2)), but he was then sentenced as a Class X offender (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 38, par. 1005 — 5—3(c)(8)) to a term of seven years’ imprisonment.

In docket No. 1 — 92—0240, defendant Larry Smith was convicted of the Class 2 felony of burglary (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 38, par. 19— 1), in a bench trial, but then sentenced as a Class X offender to a term of 13 years’ imprisonment.

In docket No. 1 — 91—0454, defendant Willie Jameson was also convicted of burglary in a bench trial and sentenced as a Class X offender to a term of 12 years’ imprisonment.

All three defendants were sentenced as Class X offenders pursuant to section 5 — 5—3(c)(8) of the Unified Code of Corrections (Code), which provides in pertinent part:

“When a defendant, over the age of 21 years, is convicted of a Class 1 or Class 2 felony, after having twice been convicted of any Class 2 or greater Class felonies in Illinois, and such charges are separately brought and tried and arise out of different series of acts, such defendant shall be sentenced as a Class X offender. This paragraph shall not apply unless (1) the first felony was committed after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1977; and (2) the second felony was committed after conviction on the first; and (3) the third felony was committed after conviction on the second.” Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 38, par. 1005-5-3(c)(8).

All three defendants contend that their sentences must be vacated because the State failed to properly notify them of its decision to seek an enhanced sentence under section 111 — 3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 (Code) (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 38, par. 111 — 3). The State replies that such notice was not required under the statute; and in any event, the State urges that defendants’ sentences should be affirmed because they did not raise this objection in the trial court where their eligibility for Class X sentencing was established and where they sustained no prejudice as a result.

Section 111 — 3 of the Code provides in pertinent part:

“When the State seeks an enhanced sentence because of a prior conviction, the charge shall also state the intention to seek an enhanced sentence and shall state such prior conviction so as to give notice to the defendant. However, the fact of such prior conviction and the State’s intention to seek an enhanced sentence are not elements of the offense and may not be disclosed to the jury during trial unless otherwise permitted by issues properly raised during such trial. For the purposes of this Section, ‘enhanced sentence’ means a sentence which is increased by a prior conviction from one classification of offense to another higher level classification of offense ***; it does not include an increase in the sentence applied within the same level of classification of offense.” (111. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 38, par. Ill — 3(c).)

Defendants argue that this section is applicable to their situation and that the failure of the State to plead its intent to seek the enhanced penalty in the charging instrument or in some way provide them with notice of its intent prior to trial deprived them of their right to due process of law requiring that their sentences be vacated. We disagree.

The plain language of this statute shows that its provisions apply to those situations where the State intends to enhance the penalty by raising the classification of the offense due to a prior conviction. By definition, the term “enhanced sentence” specifically excludes those situations, as the one at bar, where the sentence is increased for a crime within the same level of classification of offense. Where the sentence, but not the classification of offense, was enhanced by defendants’ prior convictions, there was no statutory violation in the sentencing procedure employed here where defendants were sentenced as Class X offenders in compliance with People v. Williams. People v. Contreras (1993), 241 Ill. App. 3d 1023, 609 N.E.2d 949.

The defendants’ sentences were enhanced because of their prior convictions, but the offenses of which they were convicted were not raised to a higher classification. (Cf., e.g., retail theft (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 38, par. 16A — 10(2)); criminal sexual assault (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 38, par. 12 — 13(b)).) Thus, by definition, the provisions of section 111 — 3 requiring that the intention to seek such a higher penalty be included in the charge are inapplicable. But see dicta in People v. Osborne (1992), 233 Ill. App. 3d 420, 423, 599 N.E.2d 126.

In addition, we observe that the Class X sentencing statute at issue contains no notice requirement, and in this respect contrasts with the habitual criminal statute (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 38, par. 33B — 1), where defendant must first be “adjudged” a habitual criminal (see Williams, 149 Ill. 2d at 477-78), and specific procedures followed in order to secure a sentence of life imprisonment (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 38, par. 33B — 2). The procedures incorporated therein conform to the ruling of the United States Supreme Court in Oyler v. Boles (1962), 368 U.S. 448, 451-52, 7 L. Ed. 2d 446, 450, 82 S. Ct. 501, 503-04, that due process does not require advance notice that the trial on the substantive offense would be followed by a habitual criminal proceeding, although a defendant must receive reasonable notice and an opportunity to be heard relative to the recidivist charge.

In this case where the sentence but not the classification of the offense was enhanced, section 111 — 3 was clearly inapplicable. Rather, the situation was governed by section 5 — 5—3(c)(8), which contains no specific notice provision, and the record shows that the procedure employed in the circuit court did not run afoul of the due process ruling of the United States Supreme Court cited above.

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Related

People v. Jameson
642 N.E.2d 1207 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1994)
People v. Smith
637 N.E.2d 1128 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1994)
People v. Newell
632 N.E.2d 244 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1994)
People v. Murphy
630 N.E.2d 1257 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1994)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
626 N.E.2d 230, 252 Ill. App. 3d 604, 193 Ill. Dec. 197, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-jameson-illappct-1993.