People v. M.D.B.

458 N.E.2d 1380, 121 Ill. App. 3d 77, 76 Ill. Dec. 580, 1984 Ill. App. LEXIS 1382
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedJanuary 12, 1984
DocketNo. 83—139
StatusPublished
Cited by26 cases

This text of 458 N.E.2d 1380 (People v. M.D.B.) 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. M.D.B., 458 N.E.2d 1380, 121 Ill. App. 3d 77, 76 Ill. Dec. 580, 1984 Ill. App. LEXIS 1382 (Ill. Ct. App. 1984).

Opinion

JUSTICE UNVERZAGT

delivered the opinion of the court:

Respondent, M.D.B., a minor, appeals from an order committing him to the Department of Corrections. A petition for adjudication of wardship was filed against the minor-respondent, M.D.B., in which it was alleged that the minor was delinquent due to his involvement in four incidents of burglary and theft and one of residential burglary.

The cause proceeded to a hearing at which, after conferring with his appointed counsel, the minor waived his right to a preliminary hearing and admitted to the allegations set forth in the petition. Thereupon the court properly admonished the minor regarding his rights and the sanctions which could be imposed upon him. The State then presented a factual basis for the minor’s admissions, which the minor stated was accurate. Thereafter, the minor was found to be delinquent and made a ward of the court.

A dispositional hearing was had on the instant cause. Prior to the hearing, the court had been furnished with a social investigation report on the minor and a written psychiatric evaluation of him by Dr. Marvin Ziporyn. Neither the State’s Attorney nor counsel for the minor called any witnesses nor offered additional evidence at the hearing. In its argument, the State urged the court to place the minor in the Department of Corrections. The minor’s counsel then made the following remarks on behalf of his client:

“THE COURT: Mr. Rodkey?
MR. RODKEY: Well, your Honor, I really can’t argue too much against that because the minor was having problems getting involved in some pretty heavy matters here, it was criminal conduct, but he also was just not attending school on a regular basis either and so it seems to me that when he gets these authority problems worked out that he just hasn’t been functioning very well, he does need good protection and help and I think that he will get it, we really don’t have any facilities to handle somebody with his problems, so I think that under the circumstances [the Department of Corrections] is probably the best solution.”

The minor was then committed to the Department of Corrections. The court also filed a written “Basis for Commitment of Minor” which concluded as follows:

“Based upon the testimony heard at the Dispositional Hearing and on the contents of the social history and the psychiatric evaluation submitted to the court, the minor needs a structured and rehabilitative setting that can best be supplied by the Department of Corrections. The community resources and facilities are unavailable to this minor. The minor has both a history of delinquency and as such presents a threat to both persons and property. The best interest of the minor and the public requires the minor be committed to the Department of Corrections, Juvenile Division, State of Illinois.”

Two issues are raised in this appeal:

(1) Whether there is a record basis for the court’s finding that the minor’s parents are unable to care for, protect, train and discipline him and that the best interests of the minor and society would not be served by placing him pursuant to section 5 — 7 of the Juvenile Court Act.

(2) Whether the minor received ineffective assistance of counsel at the dispositional hearing and is entitled to a new dispositional hearing with different counsel.

The Juvenile Court Act provides that a minor may be committed to the Department of Corrections only if the court finds that (a) his parents are unfit or unable, for some reason other than financial circumstances alone, to care for, protect, train or discipline the minor or are unwilling to do so, and (b) the best interest of the minor and the public will not be served by placement under section 5 — 7 of the Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 37, par. 705 — 10(1)). The basis of the respondent’s appeal is that the evidence presented at the dispositional hearing did not sustain the court findings mandated by section 5— 10(1) of the Act and that respondent was therefore improperly committed to the Department of Corrections. The evidence at issue consisted of two written reports, namely, the required social investigation report (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 37, par. 705 — 1(1)) and a psychiatric evaluation by Dr. Marvin Ziporyn.

With respect to subsection (b) of section 5 — 10(1) cited above, respondent claims that neither the social investigation report nor the psychiatric evaluation mentioned any placement or program alternatives to the Department of Corrections and because of this deficiency the court could not have given fair consideration to alternative placement dispositions under section 5 — 7 of the Act. The respondent contends that the court’s decision that the minor’s and society’s best interests would not be served by a section 5 — 7 disposition lacked a sufficient basis in fact.

In support of respondent’s argument is the fact that the instant case was the minor’s first appearance in juvenile court and probation or placement had never been tried. Nevertheless, the respondent concedes that very unusual circumstances could have furnished a basis for the court’s findings. It is our conclusion that the record of this case reveals that both unusual circumstances existed and that alternative placements were considered by the court when reaching its decision of commitment to the Department of Corrections.

It is well established that it is the function of the trial court to determine the dispositional order to be entered and the decision will not be disturbed unless there is an abuse of discretion demonstrated. (In re C.O. (1979), 73 Ill. App. 3d 369, 373, citing In re Wilson (1976), 40 Ill. App. 3d 619, 622.) Also, the statute gives the juvenile court wide discretion in determining an appropriate disposition. In re Scott (1978), 62 Ill. App. 3d 367, 370.

At the adjudicatory hearing the court expressly admonished the minor that among the possible alternative dispositions, were the Department of Corrections, probation or supervision. At that time the court also warned that the allegation of residential burglary was an offense for which an adult would receive a mandatory prison term and be denied probation, a fact which the court said would carry much weight in determining a disposition in the present case.

The record of the dispositional hearing indicates that the court was well aware that the instant proceeding was the minor’s first appearance in court and that under those circumstances the Department of Corrections is rarely a first consideration before any other alternative. The court then proceeded to specifically enumerate the factors which weighed heavily against the probation alternative. Among the factors considered by the court were the minor’s expressed negative attitude toward probation, the number and seriousness of the offenses, especially that of residential burglary, the minor’s attitude improvement since his stay at the Department of Corrections, the fact that the minor continued his truancy from school even after his knowledge that the petition had been filed, the absence of any facility other than the Department of Corrections equipped to handle the minor’s specific needs as he perceived them, and the realization that in less than two years the minor would be an adult possibly facing a penitentiary sentence for such offenses.

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

Related

In re Br. M. & Bo. M.
2021 IL 125969 (Illinois Supreme Court, 2021)
In Re WC
657 N.E.2d 908 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1995)
People v. W.C.
657 N.E.2d 908 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1995)
People v. Denise M.
258 Ill. App. 3d 669 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1994)
In Interest of DM
631 N.E.2d 341 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1994)
In Re FN
624 N.E.2d 853 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1993)
People v. F.N.
624 N.E.2d 853 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1993)
People v. C.R.H.
621 N.E.2d 258 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1993)
People v. M.D.
581 N.E.2d 383 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1991)
People v. T.M.
569 N.E.2d 529 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1991)
In Re TM
569 N.E.2d 529 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1991)
People v. B.S.
549 N.E.2d 695 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1989)
In Re BS
549 N.E.2d 695 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1989)
People v. T.L.B.
539 N.E.2d 1340 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1989)
In Re TLB
539 N.E.2d 1340 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1989)
People v. L.W.
525 N.E.2d 560 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1988)
In Re RG
518 N.E.2d 691 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1988)
People v. Daniels
518 N.E.2d 691 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1988)
In Re JC
516 N.E.2d 1326 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1987)
People v. J.C.
516 N.E.2d 1326 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1987)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
458 N.E.2d 1380, 121 Ill. App. 3d 77, 76 Ill. Dec. 580, 1984 Ill. App. LEXIS 1382, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-mdb-illappct-1984.