People v. Lopez

576 N.E.2d 246, 216 Ill. App. 3d 83, 159 Ill. Dec. 577, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 1064
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedJune 21, 1991
Docket1-89-0549
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 576 N.E.2d 246 (People v. Lopez) 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. Lopez, 576 N.E.2d 246, 216 Ill. App. 3d 83, 159 Ill. Dec. 577, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 1064 (Ill. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinion

JUSTICE McNULTY

delivered the opinion of the court:

On October 27, 1986, Nan Zhou’s apartment at 3415 North Marshfield in Chicago was burglarized. Zhou and his wife had returned home from the bank to find the front door of their apartment open, the dead bolt lying on the floor, and a man running out the back door. Following a police chase, a suspect matching the description given by Zhou was apprehended and later identified as defendant, Anthony Lopez. After a jury trial, Lopez was found guilty of residential burglary, and due to previous felony convictions, sentenced as a Class X offender to a 20-year term of incarceration.

On appeal, defendant first contends that a bona fide doubt existed as to his fitness and that the trial judge erred by not conducting a fitness hearing. The State maintains that this issue is not applicable, as a fitness hearing was not requested at any time before or after trial or at the sentencing hearing. The trial judge only became aware of defendant’s psychological problems when presented with the Treatment Alternatives to Street Crimes (TASC) report at the sentencing hearing. Even though statutory authority provides that a question as to defendant’s fitness may be raised at any time, before, during, or after trial (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 38, par. 104 — 11(a)), defense counsel did not request a fitness hearing after presentation of the TASC report. Nevertheless, because it would be a violation of due process to convict a defendant who was mentally unfit to stand trial (People v. Murphy (1978), 72 Ill. 2d 421, 430, 381 N.E.2d 677; People v. Wilson (1984), 124 Ill. App. 3d 831, 464 N.E.2d 1158), the trial judge has a duty to order a fitness hearing sua sponte once facts are brought to the judge’s attention which raise a bona fide doubt of the accused’s fitness to stand trial or be sentenced. Murphy, 72 Ill. 2d 421, 381 N.E.2d 677.

Illinois courts have found that the applicable test of a defendant’s fitness for trial consists largely of his ability to understand the nature and purpose of the proceedings against him, and to assist in his own defense. (People v. Wilson (1984), 124 Ill. App. 3d 831; People v. Green (1983), 116 Ill. App. 3d 815, 452 N.E.2d 767.) A defendant has been found fit to stand trial even though he had a history of mental illness and suicide attempts, as long as he was able to understand the nature of the proceedings and the charges against him. (People v. Stevens (1989), 188 Ill. App. 3d 865, 544 N.E.2d 1208.) Where, however, a bona fide doubt is raised as to a defendant’s fitness to stand trial, the court must order a hearing held. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 38, par. 104— 11(a).) Whether a bona fide doubt has been raised is a decision resting largely within the discretion of the trial court. (People v. Bivins (1981), 97 Ill. App. 3d 386, 422 N.E.2d 1044.) However, it has been determined that the mere fact that a defendant has suffered some mental disturbance or required psychiatric treatment at some time does not raise a bona fide doubt as to his fitness for trial. Green, 116 Ill. App. 3d 815, 452 N.E.2d 767.

In the case at bar, the presentence investigation indicated that Mr. Lopez stated that he was at Reed Mental Hospital during 1978-79, and that for three months in 1974 he was at Elgin State Hospital because he had attempted to commit suicide. Mr. Lopez had also suffered a drug overdose in 1981. A TASC psychological report indicated that Mr. Lopez had been kept in the residential treatment unit of the jail, and that his emotional and personality functioning were “characterized by anxiety, depression, impulsivity and angry outbursts.” It also noted that Mr. Lopez was basically a “fearful individual who can be irritable and unpredictable in his actions with others, leading to conflict and an inability to function appropriately in interpersonal relations.” The report also mentioned Mr. Lopez’s recent use of psychotropic medication and reported recent suicide ideation.

Defendant maintains that his past stays at mental hospitals, his prior suicide attempt, his taking of psychotropic medication, a recent refusal to take such medication, and the TASC report which recommended that he receive ongoing psychiatric services would lead to the conclusion at the very least that there was a bona fide doubt as to his fitness to be tried and sentenced. This argument misconstrues Illinois law, which as stated above, does not find mental illness and/or suicide attempts to be determinative of a defendant’s fitness to stand trial. Fitness implicates only the accused’s ability to be fit for trial; it does not refer to sanity or competence in other areas. People v. Murphy (1978), 72 Ill. 2d 421, 381 N.E.2d 677.

Hlinois courts have found a bona fide doubt as to a defendant’s fitness under the following circumstance: when a defendant was unavailable at a sentencing hearing because he had eaten metal and glass (People v. Harris (1983), 113 Ill. App. 3d 663, 666, 447 N.E.2d 941, 944); when a defendant repeatedly stated that God was his attorney and the public defender informed the court that he was unable to communicate with the defendant (People v. Thomas (1969), 43 Ill. 2d 328, 330, 253 N.E.2d 431); when a defendant thought that a deputy was trying to kill him and he had to be removed from the court howling (People v. Johnson (1984), 121 Ill. App. 3d 859, 861, 460 N.E.2d 336, 338); when a defendant was taken into custody the same day he was released from the mental hospital after two judicially ordered commitments and given a cursory psychological exam when requested by the State (People v. McLain (1967), 37 Ill. 2d 173, 226 N.E.2d 21); and when a defendant whose fitness and ability to communicate with his counsel depended on medication and such medication was not given prior to the sentencing hearing (People v. Jackson (1978), 57 Ill. App. 3d 809, 814, 373 N.E.2d 583, 587). In all of the above circumstances, the defendants were not only mentally disturbed, but also presented the trial court with evidence that they could not understand the nature of the proceedings against them. In this respect they differ from the case at hand, in which there is no indication that Mr. Lopez, though undeniably mentally disturbed, failed to comprehend the charges against him.

Defendant further urges that the trial court was obligated to hold a fitness hearing pursuant to section 104 — 21(a) of the Illinois Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963, which provides that “[a] defendant who is receiving psychotropic drugs or other medications under medical direction is entitled to a hearing on the issue of his fitness while under medication.” (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 38, par.

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Bluebook (online)
576 N.E.2d 246, 216 Ill. App. 3d 83, 159 Ill. Dec. 577, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 1064, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-lopez-illappct-1991.