People v. Kline

307 N.E.2d 398, 16 Ill. App. 3d 1017, 1974 Ill. App. LEXIS 3192
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedFebruary 8, 1974
Docket72-209
StatusPublished
Cited by27 cases

This text of 307 N.E.2d 398 (People v. Kline) 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. Kline, 307 N.E.2d 398, 16 Ill. App. 3d 1017, 1974 Ill. App. LEXIS 3192 (Ill. Ct. App. 1974).

Opinion

Mr. JUSTICE ALLOY

delivered the opinion of the court:

Bruce L. Kline appeals from a judgment of the Circuit Court of Knox County entered on June 5, 1972, which found Kline guilty of possession of more than ten grams of cannabis in violation of section 4(c) of the Cannabis Control Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1971, ch. 56½, § 704(c)). Kline was sentenced to serve sixty (60) days in the Knox County Jail. The judgment of guilty was entered upon a plea of guilty by defendant Kline to the offense charged. Prior to the plea of guilty by defendant Kline, he had moved to dismiss or quash the complaint against him on the ground that the Cannabis Control Act was unconstitutional. The trial court denied that motion. Defendant then waived prosecution by indictment and consented to a proceeding by information to which he pleaded guilty.

On appeal in this court, defendant asserts three general grounds for reversal of his conviction: (1) that defendant’s conviction should be reversed because no transcript exists with respect to the hearing on his plea of guilty; (2) that the tender and acceptance of the plea of guilty to comply with the requirements of Illinois Supreme Court Rule 402 (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1971, ch. 110A, § 402); and (3) that the statute under which defendant was convicted violates the United States and Illinois constitutions for the reason that (a) it provides penalties according to the weight of the substance containing the cannabis and (b) the penalties are prescribed by arbitrary classifications.

The charge to which defendant tendered his guilty plea was, as concerns us in consideration of the case before us, punishable by imprisonment other than in the penitentiary for not more than one (1) year (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1971, ch. 56½, § 704(c)). That offense now is defined as a Class A misdemeanor punishable by any term of imprisonment for less than one year (Ill. Rev. Stat., 1973 Supp., ch. 56½, § 704(c), and ch. 38, § 1005 — 8—3). The same offense was classified at the time of Kline's conviction as a misdemeanor. Ill. Rev. Stat., 1972 Supp., ch. 38, §§ 2 — 7, 2 — 11.

The courts of this State have had occasion in many cases to consider Illinois Supreme Court Rule 402 referred to which requires “substantial compliance” with the provisions therein set forth with1 respect to the tender and acceptance of pleas of guilty. We have noted in the past that such Rule 402 was at least partially the result of Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 23 L.Ed.2d 274, 89 S.Ct. 1709 (1969). The Supreme Court in the Boykin case enunciated the minimal requisites governing acceptability of guilty pleas in State proceedings. It was basically held that defendant must have entered such plea both voluntarily and understandingly. The Illinois Rule 402 gave “visibility" to any agreement upon which a plea of guilty was based (See Ill. Rev. Stat., ch. 110A, § 402 Committee Comments).

Subsection (e) of Rule 402 is addressed to the issue raised by the defendant’s contention as to the absence of a transcript in the following language:

“(e) Transcript Required.
In cases in which the defendant is charged with a crime punishable by imprisonment in the penitentiary, die proceedings required by this rule to be in open court shall be taken verbatim, transcribed, filed, and made a part of the common-law record.”

Since, by its terms, tire offense of which Kline was convicted, was not punishable by penitentiary imprisonment, we must look elsewhere than to Rule 402(e) for a requirement, if any, that a transcript must have been prepared.

Defendant Kline argues, on the authority of Mayer v. Chicago, 404 U.S. 189, 30 L.Ed.2d 372, 92 S.Ct. 410 (1971), that Rule 402(e) creates an irrational distinction between penitentiary and non-penitentiary imprisonment. The court in Mayer found that Illinois Supreme Court Rule 607(b) (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1971, ch. 110A, § 607(b)) violated the fourteenth amendment of the United States Constitution because it required that a free transcript be given indigents only in felony and not in nonfelony cases.. Kline argues, further, that even if a verbatim transcript were not required, the People must afford indigents a “record of sufficient completeness” to permit proper consideration of their claims. Draper v. Washington, 372 U.S. 487, 499, 9 L.Ed.2d 899, 83 S.Ct. 774 (1963), quoting Coppedge v. United States, 369 U.S. 438, 446, 8 L.Ed.2d 21, 28, 82 S.Ct. 917, 921 (1962).

The appellant misplaces his reliance on the foregoing authority. That authority prescribes what materials a State must provide to an indigent. The issue at bar, on the other hand, concerns not whether Kline had a right to receive certain materials because he was indigent, but, rather, whether, regardless of indigency, a verbatim transcript of proceedings at which a plea of guilty is tendered and accepted must have been prepared in the type of proceeding now on appeal. Mayer was based upon the Supreme Courts finding that the size of the defendant’s pocketbook bore no more relationship to his guilt in felony than in nonfelony cases, and that, therefore, the classification of the offense was an untenable basis upon which to deny a free transcript to an indigent. The issue confronting us, on the other hand, does not involve any distinction based on ability to pay.but only a distinction based on a particular type of proceeding, regardless of ability to pay. Rule 402(e) requires a verbatim transcript in a certain type of proceeding for all defendants and (again for all defendants) does not require such transcript for a certain other type of proceeding. It is notable that facilities or personnel for preparation of a transcript of record, in minor criminal matters, are simply not available in most courts in this State. We do not read Mayer, or its progeny, including Draper, supra, and Coppedge, supra, as requiring a verbatim transcript in particular types of cases, but merely as requiring that “Destitute defendants must be afforded as adequate appellate review as defendants who have money enough to buy transcripts,” Mayer v. Chicago, 404 U.S. 189, 193, 30 L.Ed.2d 372, 378, 92 S.Ct. 410, 414 (1971), quoting Griffin v. Illinois, 351 U.S. 12, 100 L.Ed. 891, 76 S.Ct. 585, 591 (1956).

We are not, however, by the foregoing analysis, making an absolute determination that verbatim transcripts need be prepared in conformity with Rule 402(e) only in the proceedings for which such transcripts therein are prescribed, and that no record for appellate review of guilty pleas need be made in all other proceedings. Rather, we note that Illinois Supreme Court Rule 323(c) and (d) does allow alternate means for the preparation of a record with respect to review of such pleas, or other procedure where no verbatim transcript is available. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1971, ch. 110A, § 323(c) and (d)).

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

Related

People v. Evans
2020 IL App (3d) 180186-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2020)
People v. Spooner-Tye
812 N.E.2d 783 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2004)
People v. Kaeding
518 N.E.2d 1058 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1988)
People v. Castro
503 N.E.2d 376 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1987)
State v. Ziemba
346 N.W.2d 208 (Nebraska Supreme Court, 1984)
People v. Malley
431 N.E.2d 708 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1982)
People v. Roman
424 N.E.2d 794 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1981)
People v. Rhoades
392 N.E.2d 923 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1979)
People v. Cangelosi
386 N.E.2d 295 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1979)
People v. Lee
350 N.E.2d 580 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1976)
People v. Mayberry
345 N.E.2d 97 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1976)
People v. Wilson
335 N.E.2d 499 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1975)
People v. Losacano
329 N.E.2d 835 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1975)
People v. Lowe
330 N.E.2d 590 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1975)
People v. Long
326 N.E.2d 204 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1975)
People v. Benton
325 N.E.2d 380 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1975)
People v. Hopping
326 N.E.2d 395 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1975)
People v. Robinson
322 N.E.2d 505 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1975)
People v. Marquis
321 N.E.2d 480 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1974)
People v. Carpentier
314 N.E.2d 647 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1974)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
307 N.E.2d 398, 16 Ill. App. 3d 1017, 1974 Ill. App. LEXIS 3192, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-kline-illappct-1974.