People v. Johnson

788 N.E.2d 152, 338 Ill. App. 3d 213, 272 Ill. Dec. 848, 2003 Ill. App. LEXIS 350
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMarch 28, 2003
Docket1-01-1664
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 788 N.E.2d 152 (People v. Johnson) 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. Johnson, 788 N.E.2d 152, 338 Ill. App. 3d 213, 272 Ill. Dec. 848, 2003 Ill. App. LEXIS 350 (Ill. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

JUSTICE GALLAGHER

delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant Randoll Johnson appeals the dismissal of his petition for postconviction relief. This procedural posture aside, defendant’s appeal involves the validity of the trial court’s order placing him on probation following his plea of guilty to aggravated possession of a stolen motor vehicle. For the reasons that follow, we vacate defendant’s eight-year sentence for that offense and remand his case for the resumption of plea negotiations.

On July 24, 1998, defendant pled guilty to aggravated possession of a stolen motor vehicle, which is a Class 1 felony. See 625 ILCS 5/4— 103.2(c) (West 1998). The trial judge sentenced defendant to five years’ probation and ordered him to participate in the Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities program (TASC). A June 1998 TASC report included in the record stated that defendant was a drug addict and alcoholic and recommended treatment in that program.

Pursuant to section 5 — 5—3(c)(2)(F) of the Unified Code of Corrections (the Code) as it read at the time of the offense, defendant was not eligible for probation due to his prior convictions. 730 ILCS 5/5— 5 — 3(c)(2)(F) (West 1998). Under that section, probation shall not be imposed for “[a] Class 2 or greater felony if the offender had been convicted of a Class 2 or greater felony within 10 years of the date on which [the offender] committed the offense for which he is being sentenced.” 730 ILCS 5/5 — 5—3(c)(2)(F) (West 1998). 1 Defendant had been convicted of two Class 2 offenses in the previous 10 years, specifically a conviction in 1993 for possession of a stolen motor vehicle and a conviction in 1994 for burglary. See 625 ILCS 5/4 — 103(b) (West 1992); 720 ILCS 5/19 — 1(b) (West 1994).

On December 1, 1998, the State presented evidence that defendant had violated his probation by selling narcotics. The trial court revoked defendant’s probation and sentenced him to eight years in prison on the original charge of aggravated possession of a stolen motor vehicle. On April 28, 1999, defendant filed a petition for postconviction relief. 2 The State moved to dismiss the petition, and the trial court granted the motion.

On appeal, defendant asserts that the trial court’s order placing him on probation was void because he was not eligible for probation. Thus, he argues, the December 1998 order revoking his probation and sentencing him to eight years’ imprisonment also was void. In addition, defendant contends that his due process rights were violated at the December 1998 hearing because the trial court failed to admonish him as to his understanding of the specific allegations and the voluntariness of his admission and also did not require the State to present a factual basis that a probation violation had occurred.

The State concedes that the order of probation for defendant’s original conviction was not authorized by statute and is therefore void. Nevertheless, the State argues that the trial court properly dismissed defendant’s postconviction petition because it failed to allege a substantial showing of a constitutional violation. In addition, the State asserts that defendant has forfeited his present assertions by failing to raise them in the trial court.

The State’s forfeiture argument fails in light of its concession that the order of probation for defendant’s original conviction was void. A void judgment is one entered by a court that lacks the power to make or enter a particular order. People v. Wade, 116 Ill. 2d 1, 5, 506 N.E.2d 954, 955 (1987). A sentence that does not conform to statutory requirements is void. People v. Arna, 168 Ill. 2d 107, 113, 658 N.E.2d 445, 448 (1995); People v. Dorethy, 331 Ill. App. 3d 504, 507, 771 N.E.2d 609, 611 (2002). Because defendant had been convicted of more than one Class 2 felony within the 10 years prior to his latest offense, defendant was not eligible for probation. 730 ILCS 5/5 — 5—3(c)(2)(F) (West 1998); People v. Konrad, 117 Ill App. 3d 555, 559, 453 N.E.2d 831, 834 (1983). Because the probation order for defendant’s original conviction is void, the subsequent order revoking his probation and imposing the eight-year sentence is likewise void. See People v. Winston, 316 Ill. App. 3d 618, 620-21, 737 N.E.2d 304, 306 (2000). A void judgment may be challenged at any time, either directly or collaterally. Wade, 116 Ill. 2d at 5, 506 N.E.2d at 955; People v. Tooley, 328 Ill. App. 3d 418, 423, 766 N.E.2d 305, 310 (2002).

Defendant asks this court to vacate both orders and remand this case “for a resumption of plea negotiations or, if necessary, trial.” The State argues that this court should remand solely to resentence defendant on the charge of aggravated possession of a stolen motor vehicle and not for the continuation of plea negotiations. The State cites People v. Simmons, 256 Ill. App. 3d 651, 628 N.E.2d 759 (1993), which we find similar to the case at bar but not controlling. In Simmons, after the defendant was convicted of aggravated discharge of a firearm and unlawful use of a firearm by a felon, the trial court ordered probation despite two prior convictions that rendered him ineligible for probation. Simmons, 256 Ill. App. 3d at 652, 628 N.E.2d at 760. After finding both the underlying probation order and the subsequent order revoking the defendant’s probation to be void, the appellate court remanded the case for resentencing on the defendant’s original convictions. Simmons, 256 Ill. App. 3d at 653, 628 N.E.2d at 761.

However, unlike the defendant in Simmons, defendant in this case was not convicted of the original offense of aggravated possession of a stolen motor vehicle. Instead, defendant pled guilty to that crime upon the representation that he would receive probation. Because defendant was not eligible for probation, defendant and the State now necessarily lack agreement on the plea offer. To return the State and defendant to their positions prior to the trial court’s erroneous imposition of probation, defendant should be allowed to withdraw his guilty plea and face trial, should he so elect. See Wade, 116 Ill. 2d at 4, 506 N.E.2d at 955 (after negotiated plea agreement, probation order held to be void due to defendant’s ineligibility for probation; trial court vacated probation order and allowed defendant to withdraw guilty plea and stand trial).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
788 N.E.2d 152, 338 Ill. App. 3d 213, 272 Ill. Dec. 848, 2003 Ill. App. LEXIS 350, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-johnson-illappct-2003.