People v. Strom

964 N.E.2d 614, 357 Ill. Dec. 935
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedJanuary 5, 2012
Docket3-10-0198
StatusPublished

This text of 964 N.E.2d 614 (People v. Strom) 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. Strom, 964 N.E.2d 614, 357 Ill. Dec. 935 (Ill. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

964 N.E.2d 614 (2012)
357 Ill. Dec. 935

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
Scott W. STROM, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 3-10-0198.

Appellate Court of Illinois, Third District.

January 5, 2012.
Rehearing Denied February 15, 2012.

*615 Andrew J. Boyd (Court-appointed), Office of the State Appellate Defender, Ottawa, for Scott W. Strom.

Terence M. Patton, State's Attorney, Cambridge (Terry A. Mertel, Deputy Director, State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor, Gary F. Gnidovec, State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor, of counsel), for the People.

OPINION

Presiding Justice SCHMIDT delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.

¶ 1 On August 9, 2007, the defendant, Scott W. Strom, pled guilty to one count of criminal sexual assault. 720 ILCS 5/12-13(a)(1) (West 2006). He then filed a postconviction petition which was denied after an evidentiary hearing. On appeal, the defendant argues that his case should be remanded to the trial court with instructions to impose a determinate three-year period of mandatory supervised release (MSR). We reverse and remand.

¶ 2 FACTS

¶ 3 On May 24, 2007, the defendant was charged with two counts of criminal sexual assault, and he subsequently entered into a plea agreement. Pursuant to the plea, the defendant admitted guilt to one count of criminal sexual assault, and the second count was dismissed by the State. The State and the defendant agreed to a four-year term of imprisonment in the Department of Corrections (DOC) followed by two years of MSR. The trial court concurred with the sentence.[1] The defendant was also ordered to pay various court costs and fees, submit a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sample, and register as a sex offender upon his release. He did not immediately move to withdraw his guilty plea, nor did he pursue a direct appeal.

¶ 4 On March 23, 2009, the defendant filed a petition for postconviction relief alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. *616 After an evidentiary hearing, the trial court denied the petition on March 2, 2010. The defendant appealed.

¶ 5 During the pendency of this appeal, the defendant was set to be released on parole and begin his two-year MSR term. However, at some unknown point, the DOC unilaterally increased the defendant's MSR term to three years to life, presumably in order to comply with section 5-8-1(d)(4) of the Unified Code of Corrections (Code) (730 ILCS 5/5-8-1(d)(4) (West 2006)).

¶ 6 ANALYSIS

¶ 7 On appeal, the defendant does not claim that any error occurred during his evidentiary hearing. Instead, he argues that his case must be remanded to the trial court with orders to impose an MSR term of three years. The State argues that we should order the trial court to impose an indeterminate term of three years to life, and thereby allow the DOC to administer the defendant's MSR.

¶ 8 Section 5-8-1(d)(4) of the Code provided:

"Subject to earlier termination under Section 3-3-8, the parole or mandatory supervised release term shall be as follows:
* * *
(4) for defendants who commit the offense of * * * criminal sexual assault * * * on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly, the term of mandatory supervised release shall range from a minimum of 3 years to a maximum of the natural life of the defendant[.]" 730 ILCS 5/5-8-1(d)(4) (West 2006).

¶ 9 Thus, according to the statute, the defendant should have received an MSR term of at least three years. Therefore, because the defendant was only sentenced to MSR for two years, his sentence was not authorized by statute and is therefore void. People v. Arna, 168 Ill.2d 107, 212 Ill.Dec. 963, 658 N.E.2d 445 (1995). Moreover, our supreme court recently decided in People v. White, 2011 IL 109616, 352 Ill.Dec. 159, 953 N.E.2d 398, that when the parties agree to a sentence that is unauthorized by statute, the entire plea agreement is void because the defendant was not properly admonished with regard to the possible penalties he might face. This is true even if the prosecutor, defendant, and judge agree to a lesser sentence than is authorized by law. Id. The defendant acknowledges in his reply brief that White applies to this case.

¶ 10 Because the defendant's sentence and plea agreement are now void, we must consider what remedy is available to the defendant. When the parties enter into an unauthorized agreement, the proper remedy is "either the `promise must be fulfilled' or defendant must be given the opportunity to withdraw his plea." People v. Whitfield, 217 Ill.2d 177, 202, 298 Ill. Dec. 545, 840 N.E.2d 658 (2005) (quoting Santobello v. New York, 404 U.S. 257, 262-63, 92 S.Ct. 495, 30 L.Ed.2d 427 (1971)). In the instant case, the promise cannot be fulfilled because a two-year MSR term is a lesser sentence than is authorized by law. The defendant concedes this fact, but asks us to impose a three-year MSR term because he is entitled to the "`benefit of the bargain'" that he made with the State. Whitfield, 217 Ill.2d at 204, 298 Ill.Dec. 545, 840 N.E.2d 658 (quoting Commonwealth v. Zuber, 466 Pa. 453, 353 A.2d 441, 446 (1976)). However, under White, his entire plea agreement is void, and thus no agreement exists that we have the power to modify. The dissent would allow defendant to pick portions of the void agreement which he would like to enforce.

*617 ¶ 11 Therefore, the only proper remedy is for the case to be remanded, and the defendant be given the opportunity to withdraw his guilty plea and proceed to trial if he chooses to do so. White, 2011 IL 109616, 352 Ill.Dec. 159, 953 N.E.2d 398. Any new plea agreement must include a statutorily authorized sentence.

¶ 12 CONCLUSION

¶ 13 For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the circuit court of Henry County is reversed, and the cause is remanded.

¶ 14 Reversed and remanded.

¶ 15 Justice LYTTON, concurring in part and dissenting in part:

¶ 16 I disagree with the majority's conclusion that defendant's entire plea is void and that the cause must be remanded to the guilty plea stage of the proceedings. On appeal, defendant does not ask that his plea be vacated. His argument is more limited: he argues that the MSR portion of his sentence, as imposed by the DOC, is void because the legislature intended the trial courts to impose MSR terms under section 5-8-1(d) of the Unified Code of Corrections (Code) (730 ILCS 5/5-8-1(d) (West 2006)). The proper analysis of this issue leads to a narrow result.

¶ 17 I

¶ 18 Under the Code, a sentence is defined as the "disposition imposed by the court on a convicted defendant." 730 ILCS 5/5-1-19

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Related

Santobello v. New York
404 U.S. 257 (Supreme Court, 1971)
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People v. Alcozer
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People v. White
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People v. White
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People ex rel. Illinois Department of Corrections v. Hawkins
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Bluebook (online)
964 N.E.2d 614, 357 Ill. Dec. 935, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-strom-illappct-2012.