People v. Terry

769 N.E.2d 559, 329 Ill. App. 3d 1104, 264 Ill. Dec. 57
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided May 13, 2002·No. 4-00-0435·Published·Cited by 5 cases

Opinion

769 N.E.2d 559 (2002)
329 Ill. App.3d 1104
264 Ill.Dec. 57

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
Aaron L. TERRY, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 4-00-0435.

Appellate Court of Illinois, Fourth District.

May 13, 2002.

*560 Daniel D. Yuhas, Deputy Defender (Court-appointed), Gary R. Peterson, Assistant Defender, Office of State Appellate Defender, Springfield, for Aaron L. Terry.

John C. Piland, Champaign County State's Attorney, Urbana, Norbert J. Goetten, Director, Robert J. Biderman, Deputy Director, James C. Majors, Staff Attorney, State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor, Springfield, for the People.

Justice TURNER delivered the opinion of the court:

In December 1999, the State charged defendant, Aaron L. Terry, with the offense of unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle, a Class 2 felony, in violation of section 4-103(a)(1) of the Illinois Vehicle Code (Code) (625 ILCS 5/4-103(a)(1), (b) (West 1998)). Defense counsel indicated defendant would rely on the affirmative defense of insanity. 720 ILCS 5/6-2 (West 1998). In March 2000, following a stipulated bench trial, defendant was; found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and was sentenced to 24 months' probation.

On appeal, defendant's only contention is that Public Act 90-593 (Pub. Act 90-593, eff. June 19, 1998 (1998 Ill. Laws 1307)) violates the single subject clause of the Illinois Constitution (Ill. Const.1970, art. IV, § 8(d)). We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

In December 1999, the State charged defendant with the offense of unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle, a Class 2 felony, in violation of section 4-103(a)(1) of the Code. 625 ILCS 5/4-103(a)(1) (West 1998). The State alleged defendant, not entitled to possession of the vehicle, possessed a 1998 silver Chevy Cavalier knowing it was stolen. In February 2000, defense counsel filed a motion for a fitness evaluation and to explore the issue of insanity as a defense. Thereafter, the trial court entered an agreed order for a fitness evaluation to determine whether defendant was fit to stand trial (725 ILCS 5/104-16 (West 1998)) and to determine if insanity was a defense.

In March 2000, the trial court, taking into consideration defendant's fitness evaluation by Dr. Lawrence Jeckel, a psychiatrist, found defendant fit to stand trial. Defendant waived his right to a jury trial and agreed to a stipulated bench trial. The evidence established defendant was found in possession of the silver Chevy Cavalier owned by Rent-a-Wreck. Defendant took the car without the owner's permission. Dr. Jeckel's report concluded defendant possessed the capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct, but Dr. Jeckel did not believe defendant could conform his conduct to the standards of the law at the time of the alleged crime.

The State argued defendant could not be found not guilty by reason of insanity due to the enactment of Public Act 90-593. Public Act 90-593 reenacted various provisions of Public Act 89-04 (Pub. Act 89-404, eff. August 20, 1995 (1995 Ill. Laws 4306)), one of which deleted language from section 6-2 of the Criminal Code of 1961 (720 ILCS 5/6-2 (West 1998)) that exonerated an accused who lacked substantial capacity to conform his conduct to the requirements of law. Defendant correctly argued that Public Act 89-404 had been found unconstitutional because it violated the single subject clause. Defendant further argued that Public Act 90-593 likewise violated the single subject clause. Hence, defendant asserted he was not *561 guilty by reason of insanity under the language of section 6-2 as it existed before Public Act 89-404 and Public Act 90-593.

The trial court found defendant guilty of the offense of unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle. The court also refused to find Public Act 90-593 unconstitutional. Defendant was sentenced to 24 months' probation and ordered to obtain a mental health evaluation. This appeal followed.

II. ANALYSIS

Defendant argues his conviction must be reversed because Public Act 90-593 violates the single subject clause of the Illinois Constitution. We disagree. Defendant's argument concerning the constitutionality of Public Act 90-593 presents a legal question, and thus, our review is de novo. People v. Jones, 318 Ill.App.3d 1189, 1190, 744 N.E.2d 344, 253 Ill.Dec. 62, 346 (2001).

The single subject clause of article IV, section 8, of the Illinois Constitution provides, in part:

"Bills, except bills for appropriations and for the codification, revision or rearrangement of laws, shall be confined to one subject." Ill. Const. 1970, art. IV, § 8(d).

The Supreme Court of Illinois has applied the single subject clause recently in People v. Malchow, 193 Ill.2d 413, 427, 250 Ill.Dec. 670, 739 N.E.2d 433, 442 (2000), stating:

"In determining whether a legislative enactment was passed in violation of the single subject clause, we construe the term `subject' liberally in favor of the legislature. People v. Reedy, 186 Ill.2d 1, 8-9, [237 Ill.Dec. 74, 708 N.E.2d 1114] (1999). The subject of a bill may be as broad as the legislature chooses, provided that the bill's provisions have a natural and logical connection. Johnson v. Edgar, 176 Ill.2d 499, 515 [224 Ill.Dec. 1, 680 N.E.2d 1372] (1997). The General Assembly violates the single subject rule only when it includes within one act provisions that by no fair interpretation have any natural and logical connection to a single subject. Arangold Corp. v. Zehnder, 187 Ill.2d 341, 354-55 [240 Ill. Dec. 710, 718 N.E.2d 191] (1999)."

Prior to the enactment of Public Act 89-404, section 6-2 of the Criminal Code of 1961 defined the defense of insanity as follows:

"(a) A person is not criminally responsible for conduct if at the time of such conduct, as a result of mental disease or mental defect, he lacks substantial capacity either to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law." (Emphasis added.) 720 ILCS 5/6-2(a) (West 1994).

The General Assembly amended the defense by deleting the emphasized language through the enactment of Public Act 89-404. Pub. Act 89-404, § 15, eff. August 20,1995 (1995 Ill. Laws at 4307) (amending 720 ILCS 5/6-2 (West 1994)). Along with this amendment, Public Act 89-404 also addressed topics under the Counties Code (55 ILCS 5/1-1001 through 7-1001 (West 1996)), the Illinois Municipal Code (65 ILCS 5/1-1-1 through 11-152-4 (West 1996)), the Criminal Code of 1961 (

People v. Terry, 769 N.E.2d 559, 329 Ill. App. 3d 1104, 264 Ill. Dec. 57 (Ill. Ct. App. 2002).

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