People v. McCarty

427 N.E.2d 1382, 101 Ill. App. 3d 355, 56 Ill. Dec. 836, 1981 Ill. App. LEXIS 3515
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided November 5, 1981·No. 81-110·Published·Cited by 16 cases

Opinions

Mr. JUSTICE ALLOY

delivered the opinion of the court:

The defendant appeals from the order of the Circuit Court of Kankakee County, revoking his probation. The defendant had been convicted of armed robbery in 1970. In 1978, he pleaded guilty to a charge of felony theft. The information charged the defendant with having knowingly obtained unauthorized control over a car battery valued at less than $150, in violation of section 16 — 1(a) of the Criminal Code of 1961 (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1977, ch. 38, par. 16 — 1(a)). The information also charged that the defendant had been previously convicted of armed robbery and, therefore, that the defendant committed the crime of felony theft since he had a prior “type of theft” conviction. Ill. Rev. Stat. 1977, ch. 38, par. 16-1 (e).

The trial court sentenced the defendant to 14 days in jail (credit given for time already spent in custody), a $300 fine, and 30 months probation. While on probation, the defendant committed the offense of attempted retail theft. He had placed a carton of cigarettes under his shirt and attempted to leave the premises of a store. At his trial for attempted retail theft, the defendant, without assistance of counsel, pleaded guilty to the charge. The court sentenced him to three days in jail (credit given for time served in custody) and fined him $50. Four days later, on October 20, 1980, the State filed a petition to revoke the defendant’s probation. At the revocation hearing, the State proved the record of defendant’s conviction for attempted retail theft. At a sentencing hearing on February 26, 1981, the court sentenced defendant to imprisonment for two years (no credit for time served on probation).

The first issue on appeal is whether the defendant was properly convicted of felony theft. The defendant contends that his 1970 conviction for armed robbery is not a conviction for a theft under section 16 — 1(e) of the Criminal Code of 1961 (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1977, ch. 38, par. 16 — 1(e)). He argues that any “type of theft” — as used in that paragraph — must be defined exclusively in terms of sections 16 — 1,16—2 or 16 — 3. He relies on legislative committee language which states that, aside from sections concerning theft of lost property or theft of services, “[a]ll other forms of theft are included in section 16 — 1.” (Ill. Ann. Stat., ch. 38, art. 16, Committee Comments, at 18 (Smith-Hurd 1977).) Armed robbery, as the defendant points out, is codified in section 18 — 2 of the Criminal Code of 1961 (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1977, ch. 38, par. 18 — 2). Therefore, concludes the defendant,, armed robbery cannot be used to enhance the penalty for his conviction of theft of an item valued less than $150.

The inquiry into whether armed robbery is a type of theft, however, does not end with an examination of the statute itself. The essential elements of robbery are the deprivation of a person’s property, in his presence, through force or intimidation. (People v. Banks (1979), 75 Ill. 2d 383, 389, 388 N.E.2d 1244, 1247.) The supreme court stated “[t]he essential difference between robbery and theft is the absence of use of force or intimidation in the latter.” People v. Patton (1978), 60 Ill. App. 3d 456, 457, aff'd (1979), 76 Ill. 2d 45, 389 N.E.2d 1174.

Robbery, therefore, is considered an aggravated form of theft. (People v. Ferrara (1969), 111 Ill. App. 2d 472, 479, 250 N.E.2d 530, cert. denied (1970), 398 U.S. 927, 26 L. Ed. 2d 89, 90 S. Ct. 1815.) Banks does not refute this proposition. That case held no more than that robbery is a general intent crime. Under the language of section 16 — 1, theft is also a general intent crime (excluding the crime of receiving stolen property). Moreover, even if theft was a specific intent crime, this court and the supreme court have focused on the elements of force or threats of force as the essential distinction from ordinary theft, not the element of intent to permanently deprive the owner of property. Therefore, the defendant was properly convicted of felony theft under section 16 — 1(e) of the Criminal Code of 1961 (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1977, ch. 38, par. 16 — 1(e)).

Even if the defendant was correct on the merits of this issue, he has waived his right to appeal it before this court. He was convicted of theft under the enhancement-of-sentence provisions of the theft statute. The trial court imposed a sentence of 14 days in prison and 30 months probation. Imposition of probation following conviction of a criminal offense is a final order and appealable. (People v. Nordstrom (1967), 37 Ill. 2d 270, 226 N.E.2d 19; People v. Lambert (1974), 23 Ill. App. 3d 615, 618, 320 N.E.2d 395.) An irregularity in the original trial or in the form of conviction must be directly appealed when sentence is imposed, unless the issues are appropriate for a post-conviction proceeding. Raising such irregularities in an appeal from a probation revocation involves a collateral attack on the conviction and the probation sentence. 23 Ill. App. 3d 615, 618.

The defendant’s argument that the court below had no jurisdiction, and, therefore, the issue is not waived, is similarly without merit. Jurisdiction over a criminal prosecution exists where a court has subject-matter jurisdiction and personal jurisdiction. (People v. Farley (1951), 408 Ill. 194, 195, 96 N.E.2d 452.) Here the defendant was before the court, a criminal offense was charged against him, and venue was properly laid. A mistake of criminal law, even if it existed, does not deprive the court of its jurisdiction over the prosecution.

A second and more important issue is whether the State may revoke probation on the basis of a subsequent uncounseled misdemeanor conviction. The defendant contends that the State may not use an uncounseled misdemeanor conviction as the basis for revocation of probation, and, also, even if such conviction can be used, the State must first show a waiver of the right to counsel. The State answers that the defendant waived his right to counsel, and that even if no waiver took place, the defendant was nevertheless convicted of a crime, in violation of probation rules. Furthermore, the State contends that such a conviction is a sufficient indication of violation of probation, regardless of presence of counsel.

In Scott v. Illinois (1979), 440 U.S. 367, 59 L. Ed. 2d 383, 99 S. Ct. 1158, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the sixth and fourteenth amendments to the Constitution “require * “ * that no indigent criminal defendant be sentenced to a term of imprisonment unless the State has afforded him the right to assistance of appointed counsel in his defense.” (440 U.S. 367, 373-74, 59 L. Ed. 2d 383, 389, 99 S. Ct. 1158, 1162.) The Supreme Court later extended that rule in Baldasar v. Illinois (1980), 446 U.S. 222, 64 L. Ed. 2d 169, 100 S. Ct. 1585.

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People v. McCarty, 427 N.E.2d 1382, 101 Ill. App. 3d 355, 56 Ill. Dec. 836, 1981 Ill. App. LEXIS 3515 (Ill. Ct. App. 1981).

427 N.E.2d 1382 (People v. McCarty) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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