People v. Rhoades

681 N.E.2d 1084, 289 Ill. App. 3d 292, 224 Ill. Dec. 463, 1997 Ill. App. LEXIS 434
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedJune 23, 1997
Docket3-96-0493, 0494 cons.
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 681 N.E.2d 1084 (People v. Rhoades) 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. Rhoades, 681 N.E.2d 1084, 289 Ill. App. 3d 292, 224 Ill. Dec. 463, 1997 Ill. App. LEXIS 434 (Ill. Ct. App. 1997).

Opinion

JUSTICE HOMER

delivered the opinion of the court:

The defendant entered guilty pleas to two counts of burglary and one count of theft. 720 ILCS 5/19—1, 16—1 (West 1994). The trial court sentenced the defendant to concurrent prison terms of eight and nine years on the burglary counts and to a consecutive seven-year term for theft.

On appeal, the defendant contends that this court should vacate his sentence and allow him to withdraw his guilty pleas due to the trial judge’s failure to properly admonish him of the potential penalties for his offenses. We affirm.

FACTS

Initially, the defendant was charged with residential burglary and burglary in two separate Tazewell County incidents and with felony theft in Peoria County. The Peoria case was transferred to Tazewell County for disposition.

On November 22, 1993, the parties presented a partially negotiated plea to the court with respect to all three cases. The State agreed to reduce the residential burglary charge to simple burglary in exchange for the defendant’s agreement to enter open pleas to all three charges.

The trial judge admonished the defendant that he faced a Class 2 sentence of three to seven years for each burglary count, with the possibility of an extended term of 7 to 14 years for each. The court also informed the defendant that he faced a consecutive sentence of two to five years, with the possibility of an extended term of 5 to 10 years for the Class 3 theft charge. A consecutive sentence was required because the defendant was on pretrial release on the felony theft charge at the time he committed the burglaries. 730 ILCS 5/5—8—4(h) (West 1994). Finally, the trial judge advised the defendant that he was eligible for probation on all three charges.

While there was no agreement as to sentence, it appears that the prosecutor and defense attorney mistakenly believed that the amendment of the residential burglary charge made the defendant eligible for probation through the program commonly known as TASC (Treatment Alternatives for Special Clients). 20 ILCS 301/40—5, 40—10 (West 1994) (formerly 20 ILCS 305/10—101, 10—102 (West 1992)). In actuality, the defendant was ineligible for TASC probation due to a prior residential burglary conviction. Further, due to his criminal history, 1 the defendant was also ineligible for standard probation since the trial court had to impose Class X sentences for the burglary convictions.

At the sentencing hearing, the defendant testified that he was an alcoholic and asked to be sentenced to TASC probation. The prosecutor pointed out that the defendant had to be sentenced as a Class X offender for the burglaries. Additionally, he asked for a consecutive extended-term sentence for the defendant’s theft conviction. The prosecutor agreed that the defendant was eligible for TASC probation, but argued that the court should reject that alternative due to a lack of evidence that the defendant’s crimes were alcohol related and because of the defendant’s extensive criminal history.

Defense counsel concurred with the prosecutor’s statements relative to the sentencing alternatives available to the court, but asked the court to sentence the defendant to TASC probation. He pointed out that the State had allowed the defendant to remain eligible for TASC by reducing his residential burglary offense to simple burglary.

Without specific reference to the defendant’s request for TASC probation, the trial judge determined that a sentence of probation would have deprecated the seriousness of the defendant’s conduct and that imprisonment was necessary for the protection of the public. The court imposed concurrent prison terms of eight and nine years on the two burglaries, to run consecutively with an extended-term sentence of seven years on the Class 3 theft conviction, the equivalent of a 16-year sentence.

Thereafter, the defendant filed a motion to set aside his plea of guilty, alleging that the sentence was excessive and that the trial court had erred in refusing to sentence him to TASC probation. At the hearing on this motion, defense counsel noted that the purpose of the defendant’s guilty plea was to give him an opportunity to receive TASC probation.

The trial court denied the motion, and the defendant appealed to this court. In an order dated July 5, 1995, this court remanded the cause for new post-plea proceedings because defendant’s trial counsel had failed to file a proper Rule 604(d) (134 Ill. 2d R. 604(d)) certificate. On remand, defense counsel filed a new post-plea motion entitled "Supplemental Motion to Reduce Sentence” in which he argued that: (a) the sentence was excessive; (b) the trial court failed to properly admonish the defendant at the time of his plea of the "possibility” of a Class X sentence; and (c) the trial court erred in refusing to grant the defendant’s request for TASC probation.

On May 29, 1996, the trial judge conducted a rehearing on the defendant’s original motion to set aside his plea and considered the supplemental motion to reduce sentence. The trial judge denied both motions, stating that he had not imposed Class X sentences but rather Class 2 extended-term sentences on the burglaries and a Class 3 extended-term sentence on the theft. On appeal, the defendant argues that he should have been allowed to withdraw his guilty pleas because the trial court did not properly admonish him of the potential penalties for his offenses.

ANALYSIS

It is well settled that a defendant has no absolute right to withdraw his guilty plea. People v. Thurmond, 262 Ill. App. 3d 200, 203, 634 N.E.2d 1180, 1182 (1994). Whether to grant a defendant leave to withdraw a guilty plea is a matter within the sound discretion of the trial judge. His decision will not be disturbed on appeal unless there has been an abuse of that discretion. People v. Dubuisson, 136 Ill. App. 3d 305, 307, 483 N.E.2d 659, 661 (1985).

The United States Supreme Court, in Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 23 L. Ed. 2d 274, 89 S. Ct. 1709 (1969), addressed the issue of a defendant’s need to understand the consequences of his entering a guilty plea. In that case, it was held that it is a violation of due process for the court to accept a guilty plea in state criminal proceedings without an affirmative showing, placed on the record, that the defendant voluntarily and understandingly entered his plea of guilty.

Illinois Supreme Court Rule 402(a)(2), enacted in response to Boykin, states:

"The court shall not accept a plea of guilty without first, by addressing the defendant personally in open court, informing him of and determining that he understands the following:

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795 N.E.2d 316 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2003)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
681 N.E.2d 1084, 289 Ill. App. 3d 292, 224 Ill. Dec. 463, 1997 Ill. App. LEXIS 434, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-rhoades-illappct-1997.