People v. Spurbeck

335 N.E.2d 68, 32 Ill. App. 3d 67, 1975 Ill. App. LEXIS 2868
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedSeptember 19, 1975
DocketNo. 74-182
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 335 N.E.2d 68 (People v. Spurbeck) 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. Spurbeck, 335 N.E.2d 68, 32 Ill. App. 3d 67, 1975 Ill. App. LEXIS 2868 (Ill. Ct. App. 1975).

Opinion

Mr. JUSTICE BARRY

delivered the opinion of the court:

' Defendant, Daniel Spurbeck, was sentenced to an indeterminate term of not less than 1 nor more than 6 years in the State penitentiary following his conviction on a plea of guilty entered February 13, 1974, to an information charging him with unlawful possession of less tiran 200 grams of a substance containing a controlled drug, a derivative of barbituric acid, in violation of section- 402(b) of the Illinois Controlled Substances Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. ch. 56V2, § 1402(b)). He appeals here, claiming that the circuit court erred in accepting his waiver of indictment without complying with requirements of Supreme Court Rule 401(b)(3) (Ill. Rev. Stat., ch. 110A, § 401(b)(3)); that it erred in accepting his guilty plea without complying substantially with the requirements of Supreme Court Rule 402 (Ill. Rev. Stat., ch. 110A, § 402); that it erred in failing to advise him that the sentence imposed included a mandatory parole term under provisions of the Unified Code of Corrections (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1973, ch. 38, § 1001 — 1—1 et seq.); and finally, that the statute defining the crime of which.he was convicted (i.e., Ill. Rev. Stat., ch. 5672, § 1402(b)) is unconstitutional because it provides that the weight of the substance containing the controlled drug, rather than the weight of the drug itself, is determinative of the penalties.

Defendant was arrested on January 22, 1974, and appeared before the' court, pro se, on January 31, 1974. He was 22 years of age at the time and disclosed to the court that he had a net worth of about $3000 and was not indigent. In spite of repeated efforts by the court to persuade him to seek assistance of counsel and of the importance of counsel, and despite admissions by defendant that his parents had also advised him to do so, and notwithstanding continuances ordered by the court to give him opportunity to change his mind, defendant persisted that he did not want to sell any of his property and that he wished to proceed pro se.It is not contended that his waiver of counsel was involuntary, and it is apparent from the record, that before permitting him to do so, the circuit court substantially complied in a manner applicable at the time with all the requirements of Supreme Court Rule 401(a) (Ill. Rev. Stat., ch. 110A, § 401(a)).

Defendant’s argument that the circuit court, in accepting his waiver of indictment, failed to comply substantially with the requirements of Supreme Court Rule 401(b)(3) is addressed specifically to the issue of whether the court’s failure to explain “that the grand jury arrives at its determination through a finding of probable cause” made such explanation of rights as was given, so meaningless as to deprive defendant of the right to make an intelligent evaluation and choice. We find no merit in this argument. Defendant was informed by the court of the nature of the charge. In the manner applicable at the time, he was admonished as to the minimum and maximum penalties prescribed by law if he should be found guilty; he was told that unless he should waive the requirement, he had a right under rale 401(b)(3) to require that the State’s attorney present his evidence to a grand jury for it to decide whether defendant “should be brought into court.” The court also told defendant that a grand jury is composed of 23 persons selected from laymen in the county and that it takes 16 to make a quorum, and repeatedly recommended to defendant that he retain counsel before deciding whether to forego this right. Defendant indicated that he did not wish to retain counsel; that he knew the charges made against him and correctly repeated them to the court; and that he wished to “waive” grand jury proceedings. When the court' questioned him as to what he meant by indicating a desire to “waive” such right, defendant accurately responded that “to waive” the right, meant “to give it up.” Upon further assurances to the court that no promises or threats had been made to him for such waiver, and that his decision was voluntary, the waiver was accepted. Where as here, the “impaired” understanding which is said to taint the waiver of indictment is alleged to derive solely from the court’s failure to comply subr stantially with the admonition requirements of Supreme Court Rule 401 (b)(3), and the record demonstrates a full and literal compliance with such rule, it must be held that the waiver was executed with sufficient understanding within the meaning of the law. The facts in People v. Schyska, 14 Ill.App.3d 557, 302 N.E.2d 666 (3d Dist. 1973), and in People v. Casley, 20 Ill.App.3d 1001, 313 N.E.2d 477 ( 3d Dist. 1974), and in People v. Culbert, 69 Ill.App.2d 162, 215 N.E.2d 470 ( 2d Dist. 1966), upon which defendant relies, vary considerably from those demonstrated by the record here. In Schyslm, defendant complained that the court, prior to accepting his waiver of indictment, had failed to inform him as to the maximum and minimum sentences as required by Rule 401(b)(2); in Casley, defendant had not been informed also of the nature of the charge; in Culbert, defendant was not informed of the crime with which he was charged until after the waiver of indictment was taken, and although he was entitled to court appointed counsel, none was appointed until after the purported waiver was taken. In the case at bar, the admonition by the court complied fully with Rule 401(b)(3). People v. Winder, 7 Ill.App.3d 571, 288 N.E.2d 67 (4th Dist. 1972).

Defendant claims that the circuit court failed to comply substantially with the requirements of Supreme Court Rule 402(a) before accepting his plea of guilty. That rule requires admonition by the court to the defendant before acceptance of a guilty plea as to (1) the nature of the charge; (2) the minimum and maximum sentence imposed by law; (3) that he has the right to plead not guilty or to plead guilty, and (4) if he pleads guilty, there will not be a trial of any kind, no jury, and that he will thereby waive the right to confront witnesses.

As indicated previously, there were numerous discussions between defendant and the court, prior to acceptance of the negotiated plea, in which the court fully described the charge, and in which defendant himself also correctly described his understanding of it to the court. Moreover, before accepting the plea, and in inquiring as to its voluntariness and the factual background the State’s attorney described what the State’s evidence would be and defendant supplemented this explanation with some variation by representing to the court that on the day in question he had in his personal possession in Knox County some barbituric acid or a substance that had barbituric acid in it, without a prescription and without any business having it, knowing at the time that it was unlawful for him to have it.

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People v. Fox
345 N.E.2d 139 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1975)

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Bluebook (online)
335 N.E.2d 68, 32 Ill. App. 3d 67, 1975 Ill. App. LEXIS 2868, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-spurbeck-illappct-1975.