People v. Sims

880 N.E.2d 1148, 378 Ill. App. 3d 643, 317 Ill. Dec. 156, 2007 Ill. App. LEXIS 1353
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided December 21, 2007·No. 1-06-1011 Rel·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinions

PRESIDING JUSTICE McBRIDE

delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant Maurice Sims appeals from an order of the circuit court of Cook County granting the State’s motion to dismiss his petition for relief pursuant to section 2 — 1401 of the Code of Civil Procedure. 735 ILCS 5/2 — 1401 (West 2004). On appeal, defendant contends that his term of 12 years’ imprisonment for aggravated kidnapping during the commission of an attempted armed robbery is void because the trial court failed to comply with section 5 — 3—1 of the Unified Code of Corrections (Code) (730 ILCS 5/5 — 3—1 (West 2004)).

The record shows that defendant was charged by information with multiple counts of aggravated kidnapping, vehicular invasion, attempted armed robbery, aggravated unlawful restraint, and unlawful use of a weapon. On March 13, 2002, defense counsel requested a conference pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 402 (177 Ill. 2d R. 402). The trial court then explained to defendant that during the conference she would meet with the parties’ attorneys and review defendant’s background as well as the facts of the case. Defendant confirmed that he understood and that he wished to have the conference.

Following the Rule 402 conference, defense counsel informed the court that defendant wished to withdraw his previously entered plea of not guilty to the crime of aggravated kidnapping during the commission of an attempted armed robbery and enter a plea of guilty to that charge. Defense counsel also stated that the parties had agreed that in exchange for a plea of guilty, defendant would be sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment.

Before entering his plea, the trial court advised defendant of the minimum and maximum sentences for each offense charged, and defendant indicated that he was not promised anything in exchange for pleading guilty other than the 12-year prison sentence, of which he would serve 85% with credit for the time already spent in presentence custody. A factual basis for the plea revealed that about 11 a.m. on September 17, 1999, Prahalad and Narhari Thakkar left a bank after having withdrawn money, and defendant, who had been standing next to them inside the bank, left at the same time. Following a brief conversation in the parking lot, all three entered Prahalad and Narhari’s vehicle. Defendant put a gun to Prahalad’s neck and demanded that he start driving and that he give defendant the money he withdrew from the bank. Prahalad gave defendant $596. Defendant then pulled Prahalad’s sleeve, which caused him to strike another car with his vehicle. Defendant exited the car and left the scene, but was arrested several blocks away and subsequently identified by Prahalad and Narhari. The police recovered a handgun from defendant, which Prahalad and Narhari also identified. Defendant later gave a handwritten statement admitting to his involvement in the crime. Several days later, Prahalad discovered that the money he had given defendant had been left inside of his car.

The court then proceeded to sentencing, noting that defendant had waived his right to a presentence investigation report (PSI). At the conclusion of the plea proceeding, the trial court sentenced defendant to the agreed term of 12 years’ imprisonment. The court then admonished defendant of his right to appeal and informed him of the necessity of filing a motion to withdraw his guilty plea before doing so. Defendant did not file a motion to withdraw his guilty plea and vacate the judgment or otherwise attempt to perfect an appeal from it.

On January 12, 2004, defendant filed a pro se petition for relief under the Post-Conviction Hearing Act (Act) (725 ILCS 5/122 — 1 et seq. (West 2004)). In his petition, defendant alleged, among other things, that he was denied due process and effective assistance of counsel when his trial counsel misrepresented the amount of time he would receive in exchange for his guilty plea. At a hearing on the petition, the court appointed counsel for defendant and advanced his petition for second-stage proceedings.

On June 7, 2005, defendant’s appointed counsel asked for a continuance on defendant’s postconviction petition and filed a petition pursuant to section 2 — 1401 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Defendant alleged in his petition that the trial court did not have jurisdiction to sentence him without a prior investigation and report and that his waiver of a PSI was not valid where the court failed to make a specific finding on the record as to his criminal history pursuant to section 5 — 3—1 of the Code. 730 ILCS 5/5 — 3—1 (West 2004). In response to defendant’s arguments, the trial court requested defendant to provide case law in support of his position. The court then found that the cases relied on by defendant did not support his position because the cases did not concern a negotiated plea agreement. At that point, the court requested that defendant file a memorandum in support of his position.

On July 7, 2005, defendant filed such a memorandum in which he argued that the trial court improperly moved sua sponte to dismiss his petition in violation of the express requirement that the opponent move to dismiss or file an answer. See 735 ILCS 5/2 — 1401 (West 2004). Defendant further argued that he set forth a legally sufficient claim for relief under section 5 — 3—1 (730 ILCS 5/5 — 3—1 (West 2004)) in his petition.

On August 24, 2005, the State moved to dismiss defendant’s petition on the grounds that it was barred by the two-year statute of limitations, that it was unsupported by affidavits, and that it failed to raise any meritorious issues. On October 6, 2005, defendant filed a memorandum of law in opposition to the State’s motion to dismiss.

Following a hearing on November 22, 2005, the court found that defendant’s sentence was not void because there was a negotiated plea between the parties and the court imposed the agreed-upon sentence. The court then granted the State’s motion to dismiss defendant’s section 2 — 1401 petition as untimely.

In this appeal from that order, defendant contends that the circuit court erred in dismissing his section 2 — 1401 petition. He maintains that his sentence is void because the trial court accepted his waiver of a PSI without making a specific finding on the record of his criminal history as required by section 5 — 3—1 of the Code. He claims that a sentence which does not conform to a statutory requirement is void and, accordingly, that this court should vacate his sentence and remand his cause for a new sentencing hearing.

The State responds that the trial court’s failure to make a specific finding on the record as to defendant’s criminal history does not render his sentence void but, rather, voidable. The State maintains that because judgment on defendant’s negotiated guilty plea was entered by a court with jurisdiction and defendant failed to allege grounds for excusing the delay in filing his petition, the circuit court properly dismissed his petition as untimely.

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People v. Sims, 880 N.E.2d 1148, 378 Ill. App. 3d 643, 317 Ill. Dec. 156, 2007 Ill. App. LEXIS 1353 (Ill. Ct. App. 2007).

880 N.E.2d 1148 (People v. Sims) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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