People v. Morrison

874 N.E.2d 896, 375 Ill. App. 3d 545, 314 Ill. Dec. 531, 2007 Ill. App. LEXIS 887
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedAugust 14, 2007
Docket1-04-3545
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 874 N.E.2d 896 (People v. Morrison) 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. Morrison, 874 N.E.2d 896, 375 Ill. App. 3d 545, 314 Ill. Dec. 531, 2007 Ill. App. LEXIS 887 (Ill. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

874 N.E.2d 896 (2007)

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
Phillip MORRISON, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 1-04-3545.

Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, Second Division.

August 14, 2007.

*898 Patrick F. Cassidy, Assistant Appellate Defender, Office of the State Appellate Defender, Chicago, for appellant.

Richard A. Devine, State's Attorney of Cook County, Chicago (James E. Fitzgerald, Kathryn Schierl, Paula Borg, Sean J. O'Callaghan, of counsel), for appellee.

Justice SOUTH delivered the opinion of the court:

This appeal arises from the conviction of defendant, Phillip Morrison, of possession of a controlled substance following a bench trial. Defendant was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay $1,274 in various fees and fines.[1]

The testimony presented at trial was brief. Officer Prieto testified that on the evening of April 12, 2004, he was on routine patrol in a marked police vehicle in the vicinity of 6844 South Ada Street. Around 10:40 p.m., he observed defendant engaged in an argument with another man in the middle of the street. He approached defendant for a field interview and learned his name. Officer Prieto ran a name check from his police car, discovered an outstanding warrant for defendant's arrest on a conditional discharge violation, and placed him under arrest. He performed a custodial search at the scene and *899 recovered a plastic pill bottle containing suspected crack cocaine, which he inventoried. On cross-examination, he denied defendant voluntarily surrendered the bottle.

The parties entered into a stipulation as to the chain of custody of the pill bottle inventoried by Officer Prieto and that it contained less than 0.1 grams of cocaine.

Defendant testified that before his arrest he had been on a Chicago Transit Authority bus where he found a pill capsule bottle. He did not know what was inside the bottle and never opened it. After exiting the bus, he walked about a half a block before being approached by Officer Prieto. At that time, he gave the pill bottle to Officer Prieto.

In rebuttal, the State introduced evidence of defendant's three prior convictions for possession of a controlled substance.

The trial court found defendant guilty of possession of a controlled substance and sentenced him to two years in prison. The trial court entered a separate order "assessing fines, fees, and costs" with the following boxes marked:

"Costs and Fees
Felony Complaint Filed-Clerk—* * * $190
Felony Complaint Conviction—State's Attorney * * * $60
Preliminary Hearing—State's Attorney * * * $20
* * *
State DNA ID System—Felony Offenses Only * * * $200
Violent Crime Victim Assistance * * * $20
* * *
Criminal/Traffic Conviction Surcharge-Additional Penalty * * * $4
Automation—Clerk—* * * $5
Document Storage—Clerk—* * * $5
Court Services—Sheriff—* * * $15 * * *
Controlled Substance/Cannabis/Hypodermic Needles Offenses
* * *
Assessment Controlled Substance * * * $500
* * *
Crime Lab Drug Analysis—State * * * $100
* * *
Trauma Fund * * * $100
Trauma Fund Spinal Cord * * * $5
* * *
Fees
Per Day of Trial—State's Attorney * * * $50
Total $1274"

Defendant has raised the following issues for our review: (1) whether he was denied effective assistance of counsel because his attorney failed to file a motion to quash arrest and suppress evidence; (2) whether he was denied a fair trial because there was no indication in the record that he waived his constitutional right to confrontation before his attorney stipulated to the chain of custody; (3) whether the statute mandating that persons convicted of a drug-related offense be assessed a $5 fee for deposit into the Spinal Cord Injury Paralysis Cure Research Trust Fund violated his substantive due process rights; and (4) whether the trial court failed to award him proper presentence credit for the fines he was ordered to pay, improperly imposed a fine for the Violent Crimes Victims Assistance Fund, and failed to consider his financial status before ordering him to pay.

We first consider defendant's claim that he was denied effective assistance of counsel because his attorney failed to file a motion to quash arrest and suppress evidence. *900 Defendant argues that even if Officer Prieto's observation of the disturbance was enough to constitute the reasonable suspicion required for a brief investigatory stop, there was no basis to prolong the detention by asking him to identify himself and running a name check.

Under the two-part test for judging ineffective assistance of counsel claims, a defendant must show that: (1) counsel's representation fell below an objective standard of reasonableness and the shortcomings of counsel were so severe as to deprive defendant of a fair trial; and (2) there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of the proceedings would have been different. People v. Rodriguez, 312 Ill. App.3d 920, 925, 245 Ill.Dec. 613, 728 N.E.2d 695 (2000), citing Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 694, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 2068, 80 L.Ed.2d 674, 698 (1984). When considering an ineffective assistance claim, a reviewing court must look to counsel's total performance and not focus solely on isolated acts. People v. Williams, 305 Ill.App.3d 517, 529, 238 Ill. Dec. 779, 712 N.E.2d 883 (1999).

The decision whether to bring a motion to quash arrest or to suppress evidence is considered to be a matter of trial strategy, and defense counsel enjoys the strong presumption that the failure to challenge the validity of the defendant's arrest or to move to suppress evidence was proper. Rodriguez, 312 Ill.App.3d at 925, 245 Ill.Dec. 613, 728 N.E.2d 695. "`Only the most egregious of tactical or strategic blunders may provide a basis for a violation of a defendant's right to effective assistance of counsel.'" People v. Penrod, 316 Ill.App.3d 713, 724, 249 Ill.Dec. 951, 737 N.E.2d 341 (2000), quoting People v. Davis, 228 Ill.App.3d 123, 127, 170 Ill.Dec. 28, 592 N.E.2d 464 (1992). In order to prevail on a claim that defense counsel was ineffective for failing to file a motion to suppress the evidence, defendant bears the burden of showing that there was a reasonable probability that the motion would have been granted and, with respect to the suppression of evidence, that the outcome of the trial would have been different had the evidence been suppressed. People v. Kelley, 304 Ill.App.3d 628, 636, 237 Ill.Dec. 740, 710 N.E.2d 163 (1999). The failure to satisfy either the deficient performance prong or the prejudice prong of Strickland precludes a finding of ineffective assistance of trial counsel. People v. Patterson,

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
874 N.E.2d 896, 375 Ill. App. 3d 545, 314 Ill. Dec. 531, 2007 Ill. App. LEXIS 887, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-morrison-illappct-2007.