People v. Markovich

552 N.E.2d 1232, 195 Ill. App. 3d 999, 142 Ill. Dec. 491, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 434
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMarch 26, 1990
Docket5-88-0386
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 552 N.E.2d 1232 (People v. Markovich) 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. Markovich, 552 N.E.2d 1232, 195 Ill. App. 3d 999, 142 Ill. Dec. 491, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 434 (Ill. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

JUSTICE CHAPMAN

delivered the opinion of the court:

The defendant, Mark Markovich, was found guilty of violation of bail bond (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 38, par. 32—10) in a bench trial. He was sentenced to one year of conditional discharge, a fine of $500 plus costs, and restitution in the amount of $658.75. Defendant appeals his conviction, alleging that the sentencing provision under the violation of bail bond statute is unconstitutional, and that the trial court abused its discretion in imposing a $500 fine, or in the alternative, that defendant is entitled to a $100 credit toward his fine because he spent 20 days in jail prior to his release on bond.

The record shows that defendant was charged with two counts of criminal sexual assault (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 38, par. 12—13), and two counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 38, par. 12—14), which are Class 1 and Class X felonies, respectively. Defendant was admitted to bail on the charges on October 3, 1986, for appearance in circuit court on January 5, 1987. Defendant failed to surrender himself within 30 days following his appearance date, forfeited his bail and was thereafter arrested and charged with violation of bail bond. It is defendant’s conviction on the charge of violation of bail bond which is the subject of this appeal.

The State contends at the outset that defendant lacks standing to raise this issue since defendant received only a one-year term of conditional discharge and is, therefore, unaffected by the alleged unconstitutional provision. A party has standing to challenge the constitutionality of a statutory provision if he is directly affected as one “within the class aggrieved by the alleged unconstitutionality.” (People v. Mayberry (1976), 63 Ill. 2d 1, 6, 345 N.E.2d 97, 100, cert. denied (1976), 429 U.S. 828, 50 L. Ed. 2d 92, 97 S. Ct. 87; People v. Wagner (1982), 89 Ill. 2d 308, 311, 433 N.E.2d 267, 269.) Although defendant received a term of conditional discharge, he was subject to the sentencing scheme of section 32 — 10 and was convicted of a Class 1 felony. He clearly has standing to challenge the validity of the statute.

Defendant contests the constitutionality of the sentencing provision of the violation of bail bond statute, which reads:

“Violation of bail bond. Whoever, having been admitted to bail for appearance before any court of this State, incurs a forfeiture of the bail and willfully fails to surrender himself within 30 days following the date of such forfeiture, commits, if the bail was given in connection with a charge of felony or pending appeal or certiorari after conviction of any offense, a felony of the next lower Class or a Class A misdemeanor if the underlying offense was a Class 4 felony; or, if the bail was given in connection with a charge of committing a misdemeanor, or for appearance as a witness, commits a misdemeanor of the next lower Class, but not less than a Class C misdemeanor.” (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 38, par. 32—10.)

Defendant argues that the sentencing scheme of section 32 — 10 punishes the failure of a defendant to appear in court more severely than it does much more serious crimes. Defendant refers, for example, to the crime of escape from a penal institution by a person convicted of a felony (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 38, par. 31—6(a)), which is a Class 2 felony. Defendant contends that a person convicted of a violation of section 31 — 6(a) can never be charged with more than a Class 2 felony, while a person convicted of violation of bail bond can be found guilty of a Class X felony, depending on what the underlying offense is. This, defendant argues, is disproportionate sentencing and an unconstitutional violation of due process.

Defendant cites People v. Bradley (1980), 79 Ill. 2d 410, 403 N.E.2d 1029, in support of his contention that the alleged sentencing disparity of section 32 — 10 results in a denial of due process. In Bradley the Illinois Supreme Court reversed the conviction of several defendants for possession of a schedule IV controlled substance because that offense (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1977, ch. 56½, par. 1402(b)) was classified as a Class 3 felony, whereas delivery of -the same schedule controlled substance was only a Class 4 felony. The supreme court reasoned that the greater sentence for possession constituted a denial of due process. The court premised its reasoning on the legislature’s intent as expressed in the Illinois Controlled Substances Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1977, ch. 56½, par. 1100) not to treat the unlawful user with the same severity as the traffickers of controlled substances.

Unlike the sentencing scheme in Bradley, the sentencing provision at issue does not violate any express legislative purpose. On the contrary, the legislative history of section 32 — 10 illustrates that the purpose behind the act is to “increase the penalties because the penalties *** should be more severe for bond jumping of more severe penalties.” (82d Ill. Gen. Assem., House Proceedings, March 18, 1981, at 9 (statements of Representative Cullerton on third reading of House Bill 149).) The Constitution does not require things which are different in fact or opinion to be treated in law as though they were the same. (Tigner v. State of Texas (1940), 310 U.S. 141, 147, 84 L. Ed. 1124, 1128, 60 S. Ct. 879, 882.) The legislature apparently did not regard the threat which escapees pose to be the same as the threat posed by persons who violate bail. Because it is easier for a person on bail to forfeit bail and refuse to appear than a person who is incarcerated to escape, the legislature may have reasonably determined that deterrence of the former crime calls for a greater penalty.

In view of the foregoing we cannot say that the legislature did not act rationally when it imposed the sentencing scheme under section 32 — 10, and we hold that the sentencing scheme of section 32 — 10 does not violate the due process guarantees of the United States and Illinois Constitutions.

Defendant was initially admitted to bail on charges of Class 1 and Class X felonies. At the sentencing hearing the court considered defendant’s violation of section 32 — 10 a Class 1 felony. It is urged by defendant that his conviction should be reduced to a Class 2 felony. Defendant insists that section 32 — 10 is capable of two constructions since, as in the instant case where defendant was charged with two crimes, it is unclear under the violation of bail statute which underlying offense determines the classification of the bail violation crime. Defendant argues that since a criminal statute should be strictly construed in favor of the accused (People ex rel. Gibson v. Cannon (1976), 65 Ill. 2d 366, 370, 357 N.E.2d 1180, 1182), that construction which finds defendant guilty of a Class 2 felony should be adopted.

“The cardinal rule of all statutory construction, to which other rules are subordinate, is that the true intent and meaning of the legislature must be ascertained and given effect.

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Bluebook (online)
552 N.E.2d 1232, 195 Ill. App. 3d 999, 142 Ill. Dec. 491, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 434, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-markovich-illappct-1990.