People v. Robinson

2024 IL App (5th) 231099, 231 N.E.3d 171
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided February 5, 2024·No. 5-23-1099·Published·Cited by 6 cases

Opinion

NOTICE 2024 IL App (5th) 231099 Decision filed 02/05/24. The text of this decision may be NO. 5-23-1099 changed or corrected prior to the filing of a Petition for Rehearing or the disposition of IN THE the same. APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS

FIFTH DISTRICT ______________________________________________________________________________

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) Appeal from the ) Circuit Court of Plaintiff-Appellee, ) Washington County. ) v. ) No. 23-CF-86 ) MILTON E. ROBINSON, ) Honorable ) Daniel J. Emge, Defendant-Appellant. ) Judge, presiding. ______________________________________________________________________________

JUSTICE BOIE delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. Justice Moore concurred in the judgment and opinion. Presiding Justice Vaughan dissented, with opinion.

OPINION

¶1 The defendant, Milton E. Robinson, appeals the November 1, 2023, order of the circuit

court of Washington County, granting the State’s petition to deny pretrial release and ordering him

detained. The defendant was arrested and detained prior to the effective date of Public Act 101-

652 (eff. Jan. 1, 2023), commonly known as the Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today

(SAFE-T) Act (Act). 1 Because the defendant was arrested and detained prior to the date the Act

went into effect, that portion of our decision regarding the timeliness of the State’s petition to

detain is relevant to only those defendants who were arrested and detained prior to the effective

1 “The Act has also sometimes been referred to in the press as the Pretrial Fairness Act. Neither name is official, as neither appears in the Illinois Compiled Statutes or public act.” Rowe v. Raoul, 2023 IL 129248, ¶ 4 n.1. 1 date of the Act. For the following reasons, we affirm the circuit court’s detention order of

November 1, 2023. 2

¶2 I. BACKGROUND

¶3 On July 25, 2023, the defendant was charged by information with three counts of

committing the offense of first degree murder in violation of sections 9-1(a)(1) and 9-1(a)(2) of

the Criminal Code of 2012 (720 ILCS 5/9-1(a)(1), (2) (West 2022)), 3 in Washington County. On

the same day, the circuit court conducted a first appearance hearing, appointed counsel to represent

the defendant, and set a bond hearing for July 27, 2023. Also, on July 25, 2023, a pretrial

investigation report regarding the defendant was filed for the circuit court’s consideration. On July

27, 2023, the circuit court conducted a bond hearing and set bond in the amount of $1 million,

requiring a deposit of 10%. The circuit court also imposed additional conditions of release,

including that the defendant (1) refrain from illicit drugs and alcohol use, be subject to random

testing, and be required to report to pretrial services, (2) complete substance abuse and mental

health evaluations, (3) follow any and all recommendations from those evaluations, and (4) have

no contact with three named individuals. The defendant did not post monetary bail and remained

in pretrial detention.

¶4 The Act became effective on September 18, 2023. See Pub. Acts 101-652, § 10-255, 102-

1104, § 70 (eff. Jan. 1, 2023); Rowe v. Raoul, 2023 IL 129248, ¶ 52 (lifting stay and setting

2 Pursuant to Illinois Supreme Court Rule 604(h)(5) (eff. Dec. 7, 2023), our decision in this case was due on or before January 12, 2024, absent a finding of good cause for extending the deadline. Based on the high volume of appeals under the Act currently under the court’s consideration, as well as the complexity of issues and the lack of precedential authority, we find there to be good cause for extending the deadline. 3 On August 7, 2023, the State filed a bill of indictment alleging the same three counts and adding two more counts of first degree murder in violation of section 9-1(a)(3) of the Criminal Code of 2012 (720 ILCS 5/9-1(a)(3) (West 2022)). 2 effective date as September 18, 2023). Pretrial release is governed by the Act as codified in article

110 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 (Code) (725 ILCS 5/art. 110 (West 2022)).

¶5 Following discovery and several court appearances, the circuit court entered a written order

on October 10, 2023, granting the State seven days to file a petition for pretrial detention. The

circuit court also entered a docket entry on October 10, 2023, stating that the “Defendant requests

the Court to reconsider his conditions of release.” On October 11, 2023, the State filed a verified

petition to deny pretrial release pursuant to section 110-6.1 of the Code (725 ILCS 5/110-6.1 (West

2022)). The State’s petition alleged that the proof was evident and the presumption great that the

defendant had committed a qualifying offense listed in section 110-6.1(a) of the Code (id. § 110-

6.1(a)) and that the defendant was charged with an offense under section 110-6.1(a)(1), (1.5) or

(3) through (7) of the Code (id. § 110-6.1(a)(1), (1.5), (3)-(7)). The State’s petition further alleged

that the defendant posed a real and present threat to the safety of any person or persons or the

community. Accordingly, the State requested that the circuit court deny the defendant’s pretrial

release.

¶6 The circuit court conducted a hearing on the State’s petition on November 1, 2023, 4 and

issued an order of detention the same day. The circuit court’s detention order stated that the circuit

court had already found that probable cause existed pursuant to a hearing under section 109-3 of

the Code (id. § 109-3) or a grand jury had returned a true bill of indictment against the defendant.

The circuit court further found, by clear and convincing evidence, that the defendant met the

dangerousness standard, that the defendant posed a real and present threat to the safety of any

person or persons or the community, and that no condition or combination of conditions could

The circuit court’s detention order incorrectly states that the circuit court conducted the hearing 4

on the State’s petition to detain on October 11, 2023, which is the date that the State’s petition was filed; however, the report of proceedings demonstrates that the detention hearing was conducted on November 1, 2023. 3 mitigate the real and present threat to the safety of any person or person or the community.

Accordingly, the circuit court granted the State’s petition and ordered the defendant committed to

the custody of the county jail.

¶7 On November 7, 2023, the defendant filed a timely notice of appeal utilizing the Notice of

Pretrial Fairness Act Appeal 604(h) (Defendant as Appellant) standardized form provided by the

Illinois Supreme Court. Ill. S. Ct. R. 604(h) (eff. Oct. 19, 2023). The Office of the State Appellate

Defender (OSAD) was appointed to represent the defendant in this appeal. Rule 604(h)(2) provides

that an appellant may file, but is not required to file, a memorandum within 21 days of the filing

of the Rule 328 supporting record. As such, the defendant’s memorandum was due on or before

December 8, 2023. The defendant failed to file a memorandum prior to December 8, 2023;

however, on December 14, 2023, the defendant’s counsel filed a motion to file a Rule 604(h)

memorandum, instanter, stating that the failure to file the memorandum was due to an

administrative error.

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People v. Robinson, 2024 IL App (5th) 231099, 231 N.E.3d 171 (Ill. Ct. App. 2024).

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