People v. Robinson

432 N.E.2d 1195, 104 Ill. App. 3d 544, 60 Ill. Dec. 296, 1982 Ill. App. LEXIS 1530
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided February 23, 1982·No. No. 79-2487·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

JUSTICE HARTMAN

delivered the opinion of the court:

At the commencement of defendant’s trial for armed robbery and murder, for which offenses he was convicted, prospective jurors were questioned with regard to their views on capital punishment. Sixteen of such jurors were excused for cause because of their opposition to the death sentence. When the State elected not to seek the death penalty, defendant was sentenced to 60 years in the penitentiary for armed robbery and life imprisonment for murder. He appeals.

The issues presented by the appeal include whether: the death qualification of a jury is permissible at the guilt stage under the Illinois death penalty statute (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1977, ch. 38, par. 9 — 1); defendant was properly charged with armed robbery by information, whereas he had been charged only with murder in the preliminary complaint filed; and the trial court properly refused to instruct the jury concerning the testimony of a narcotics addict. For the reasons which follow, we affirm.

The preliminary complaint charged defendant with the murder of Kadir Hosein (“victim”). The State produced one witness at the preliminary hearing, Fulton Nelson, who, on April 21, 1978, at about 9:30 p.m., saw a Checker cab parked in front of his house at 2844 W. Walnut Street, in Chicago. He was on his way to buy some beer. A woman, Renee Record, was standing outside the cab. After walking 50 feet, Nelson heard a shot and turned in the direction of the cab. Thereafter, he heard a second shot and saw defendant leave the cab. Record and defendant ran past him toward Lake Street, and he thereafter continued on his errand. The court found probable cause with respect to the murder charge.

The State subsequently filed a four-count information containing two counts of murder, a third count of murder based upon the felony murder doctrine and a fourth count of armed robbery. Defendant moved to dismiss the armed robbery charge because there had been no probable cause finding thereon nor any evidence relating to that charge presented at the preliminary hearing. The motion was denied.

During argument preliminary to trial, the State advised the court that it would seek the death penalty unless something happened during the trial which would change that intent. The defense moved to prohibit prospective jurors from being interrogated on their views of the death penalty at the guilt phase of the trial and sought to require a bifurcated hearing, provided for by statute (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1977, ch. 38, par. 9 — 1(d)), so as to avoid “Witherspooning” the jury. That defense motion was denied.

The only witnesses to testify at trial were produced by the State. Their testimony included police descriptions of their investigations upon responding to the call of a man shot in a taxi at 2844 W. Walnut Street, Chicago, at 9:40 p.m. on April 21, 1978. The victim was found slumped over in the front seat of the cab, bleeding profusely from the forehead. The cab was partially on the curb with its engine running and the driver’s window shattered. Two .45-caliber casings were recovered from the street nearby, and a spent bullet was recovered from the floor of the driver’s compartment of the cab. About two weeks later, a .45-caliber automatic was recovered from a person who loaned defendant’s brother $60 and took the gun as collateral. The spent bullet and two casings were found to have been fired from the recovered automatic.

State witnesses as to the occurrence described the events involved in the shooting. The thrust of their testimony was that defendant and Renee Record were seen getting out of the cab at the time in question. Defendant was seen snatching something from the victim who was heard to say “I ain’t got no more money.” The victim returned to the cab, put it in gear and was then shot by defendant. The cab rolled across the street over the curb and into a tree. Defendant and Record fled.

Mary Record, Renee’s mother, testified that Renee had been a heroin addict for two years and on the night of the shooting had left her house at about 9 p.m. She next spoke to her daughter on April 30, 1978. She arranged a meeting with Renee and defendant at 87th Street and the Dan Ryan Expressway, where arrests were effected.

Renee Record testified that when arrested she was currently charged with two armed robberies in which she admitted participation. She was testifying for the prosecution in order to lessen her sentence. She had known and lived with defendant for three years and, in April 1978, had been addicted to heroin for the previous three years. After leaving her mother’s house on April 21 she and defendant were dropped off downtown and thereafter caught a Checker cab. They directed the driver to Walnut and Mozart Streets where Renee’s grandmother lived. There, Renee got out of the cab and heard a shot from inside the vehicle. She saw defendant and the driver fighting, reentered the cab and grabbed the driver around the waist. The latter stopped fighting and they all emerged from the cab. Defendant asked if she “got the money,” to which she responded “no” and defendant said “damn.” The victim then told defendant that the latter had all the money he had. Defendant told the victim to get back into the cab and told Renee to go on ahead. Renee heard the cab door slam and then heard a shot, turned around and saw defendant with a gun in his hand and the cab rolling slowly. The second day after the shooting she saw defendant give his gun to his brother, Terry. He told Terry to sell the gun for him. Later that day his brother gave defendant some money.

Another witness testified that on April 24, 1978, defendant’s brother came to his office with a .45-caliber automatic. He gave the brother $60 and the gun was taken as collateral. The police subsequently came and took the gun from him.

Defendant’s motion for a directed verdict at the close of the State’s case was denied. No evidence was offered by the defense, aside from a stipulation. The jury found defendant guilty of armed robbery and murder, and he was sentenced as first noted in the opinion.

I

The defense maintains that “death qualification” of potential jurors at the guilt stage of trial is impermissible in Illinois under the Illinois death penalty statute and the sixth amendment to the United States Constitution. Defendant acknowledges that the prosecution is entitled to exclude such jurors as are opposed to capital punishment in all cases and those whose views on capital punishment would impair their impartiality in deciding guilt or innocence, from a jury considering a case in which a death sentence may be sought, citing Witherspoon v. Illinois (1968), 391 U.S. 510, 20 L. Ed. 2d 776, 88 S. Ct. 1770. Nevertheless, because the death penalty statute provides for a bifurcation of trial and sentencing, and authorizes selection of a new jury at the sentencing stage for “good cause shown” (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1979, ch. 38, par. 9 — 1(d)(2)(C)), the defense maintains that the State’s rights may be protected and a biased jury avoided if the jury is qualified as to this issue after, instead of before, conviction.

The supreme court of Illinois has recently twice considered the bifurcated trial procedure suggested by defendant, in People v. Lewis (1981), 88 Ill.

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People v. Robinson, 432 N.E.2d 1195, 104 Ill. App. 3d 544, 60 Ill. Dec. 296, 1982 Ill. App. LEXIS 1530 (Ill. Ct. App. 1982).

432 N.E.2d 1195 (People v. Robinson) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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