People v. Kleba

442 N.E.2d 605, 110 Ill. App. 3d 345, 66 Ill. Dec. 179, 1982 Ill. App. LEXIS 2452
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedNovember 12, 1982
Docket81-0375
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 442 N.E.2d 605 (People v. Kleba) 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. Kleba, 442 N.E.2d 605, 110 Ill. App. 3d 345, 66 Ill. Dec. 179, 1982 Ill. App. LEXIS 2452 (Ill. Ct. App. 1982).

Opinion

JUSTICE WILSON

delivered the opinion of the court:

Following a bench trial, defendant was convicted of attempted deviate sexual assault, attempted rape, aggravated kidnaping and robbery (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 38, pars. 8 — 4, 10 — 2 and 18 — 1), for which the trial court sentenced defendant to concurrent extended terms of 15 years, 14 years, 20 years and 14 years, respectively. On appeal, defendant contends that: (1) the evidence is insufficient on all charges to sustain a finding of guilty; (2) the trial court erred when it denied a motion for new trial founded upon a new witness; (3) defendant was denied his sixth amendment right to counsel when forced to proceed with counsel not of his own choosing; (4) defendant was subjected to double jeopardy when, after defendant waived his right to a jury trial, the court sought to impanel a jury; (5) the indictment count for aggravated kidnaping fails to state a cause of action; (6) the extended-term provisions of section 5 — 5—3.2(b)(1) of the Unified Code of Corrections (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 38, par. 1005 — 5—3.2(b)(1)) are unconstitutional; (7) imposition of separate sentences for attempted rape, attempted deviate sexual assault, robbery and aggravated kidnaping is improper; and (8) the court violated Illinois statutory law when, over defendant’s objection, it ordered the refund of defendant’s bail deposit to his attorney of record. For the reasons that follow we affirm in part and reverse in part.

The pertinent facts disclose that in August 1979, defendant was indicted for attempted rape, attempted deviate sexual assault, unlawful restraint, 1 robbery and aggravated kidnaping. (111. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 38, pars. 8 — 4, 8 — 4, 10 — 3, 18 — 1 and 10 — 2, respectively.) Defendant retained Samuel Wexler as his private counsel and, by agreement of the parties, trial was set for December 12, 1979. Between December 12, 1979, and October 27, 1980, trial was continued seven times. The record reveals that six of the seven continuances were at defendant’s request and five of those six were requested because of Wexler’s unavailability due to illness. Because of Wexler’s continued illness, in June 1980 Bernard Brody filed his appearance as co-counsel for defendant.

On October 27, 1980, Brody appeared without Wexler and moved that the trial be continued once again due to Wexler’s illness. Brody further informed the court that a continuance was necessary because defendant insisted that Wexler, not Brody, represent him at trial. The State objected to defendant’s motion, citing the numerous continuances already granted defendant and the resulting inordinate delay. At this point in the proceedings, defendant attempted to formally discharge Brody as his counsel. The court, however, disallowed the discharge and accused defendant of indulging in dilatory tactics. Thereafter, the court ordered commencement of the jury selection, at which time defendant stated that he chose to waive his right to a jury trial. The court recognized defendant’s right to waive trial by jury, but indicated that it would proceed, nonetheless, to impanel a jury for advisory purposes only. The court explained that it would not be required to follow the jury's verdict, rather, it would merely consider the jury’s verdict in making the final determination. Upon defendant’s vehement objection to use of the jury in an advisory capacity, the court recessed the proceeding to review relevant case law. Subsequently, citing the complexity of the advisory jury question, the court granted defendant’s prior motion for a continuance and set the trial date for December 3, 1980. In setting the new date, the court advised defendant that if he was not satisfied with his present counsel, he should retain substitute counsel and be prepared to commence with the trial on the next date.

On December 3, Brody appeared on defendant’s behalf and the trial commenced. The first witness to testify was Dr. Christopher Rose, who resided in a second-floor apartment at the corner of Wellington and Seminary in Chicago. Dr. Rose stated that on August 3, 1979, approximately 12:45 a.m., he heard what appeared to be a muffled female scream coming from below his open window which faced Seminary. He immediately looked out and saw a human form lying face down between two parked cars and a bicycle lying nearby. Upon running outside, he saw that a male was actually lying on top of another person. At that time he could not distinguish the sex of the person on the bottom and he could not see the face of the person on top.

Dr. Rose then testified that while he was upstairs calling the police, he watched the man get up and lead the other person, who he could then discern to be a female, south on Seminary and then west down the alley between Oakdale and Wellington. The man had his right arm around the woman and was carrying what appeared to be a metal object in his left hand, held near the base of the woman’s throat. When the police arrived, Dr. Rose directed them toward the alley.

Complainant was next to testify and stated that on August 3, 1979, approximately 12:45 a.m., she arrived home from work and was standing in front of her apartment building in the 2900 block of Seminary looking for her keys when she was suddenly punched on the side of the face and knocked face down on the ground between two parked cars. Her assailant then jumped on top of her and threatened to kill her if she moved or screamed. After several minutes, the assailant put one arm around complainant’s neck and the other arm around her back, yanked her to her feet, and forced her toward the alley which was a couple of feet away. Complainant then stated that while they were walking down Seminary toward the alley, she saw a woman with two dogs, but was unable to scream for help because of the armlock the assailant had around her throat. When they entered the alley, the assailant forced her toward a dimly lit gangway, then through a gate leading into a dark yard area where the assailant held her against the side of a garage, ordered her to pull down her jeans and underwear, bend over and clasp her ankles. While she was in that position, he began fondling her vagina with one hand while he kept the other hand pressed down on her neck. Complainant further testified that she heard the assailant start to pull down a zipper and she also heard “something rustle like, material like or something.” Complainant also stated that at one point assailant momentarily stopped fondling her and moved his hand down her left arm to loosen her watch. When the watch fell to the ground, he picked it up and put it into his pocket. The assailant then yanked her head up and started pushing her toward a gate between two gangways that led to Oakdale, ordering her to jump over the gate or he would kill her. When a spotlight from a car going west on Oakdale flashed down the gangway, assailant pushed complainant to the ground and fled north toward Wellington. At no time did complainant see her assailant’s face. She did, however, see the back of his hand, and, thus, could positively identify her assailant as a male Caucasian. In addition, complainant testified that her attacker had liquor on his breath and appeared to be a couple of inches taller than she.

Next, Investigator Clarence Oleskiewicz of the Chicago police department testified as to the following. On the morning of August 3, 1979, Oleskiewicz, a plainclothes policeman, was on duty with his partner, Investigator Poli. About 1 a.m.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

People v. Perkins
945 N.E.2d 1228 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2011)
People v. Hawkins v. IC
Appellate Court of Illinois, 2000
People v. Hawkins
723 N.E.2d 1222 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2000)
People v. Montefolka
678 N.E.2d 1049 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1997)
People v. Balaj
638 N.E.2d 377 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1994)
People v. Cox
557 N.E.2d 288 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1990)
People v. Enoch
522 N.E.2d 1124 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1988)
People v. Jackson
522 N.E.2d 577 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1987)
Metromedia, Inc. v. Kramer
504 N.E.2d 884 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1987)
People v. Roundtree
482 N.E.2d 693 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1985)
People v. Rogers
482 N.E.2d 639 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1985)
People v. Dale
481 N.E.2d 821 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1985)
People v. Hepler
477 N.E.2d 768 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1985)
People v. Ziehm
458 N.E.2d 588 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1983)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
442 N.E.2d 605, 110 Ill. App. 3d 345, 66 Ill. Dec. 179, 1982 Ill. App. LEXIS 2452, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-kleba-illappct-1982.