The PEOPLE v. Moore

265 N.E.2d 870, 47 Ill. 2d 60, 1970 Ill. LEXIS 356
CourtIllinois Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 18, 1970
Docket42944
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 265 N.E.2d 870 (The PEOPLE v. Moore) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Illinois Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
The PEOPLE v. Moore, 265 N.E.2d 870, 47 Ill. 2d 60, 1970 Ill. LEXIS 356 (Ill. 1970).

Opinion

Mr. Justice Burt

delivered the opinion of the court:

The defendant, Eddie Moore, was indicted in the circuit court of Cook County on September 24, 1965, for the offenses of unlawful possession and unlawful sale of heroin, a narcotic drug. On December 8, 1965, he was brought before the circuit court, accompanied by a court-appointed public defender, John J. McDonnell, who informed the court that the defendant desired to plead guilty to the charges against him. A stipulation of facts was filed, which disclosed that on September 16, 1965, a special employee of the Chicago Police Department bought .05 grams of heroin from defendant, using $15 in prerecorded funds.

The proceedings were short and are set forth verbatim as follows:

“Mr. McDonnell : Judge, this is the defendant, Edward Moore, he is here in Indictment No. 65-2585 and 86, and on both indictments at this time, Your Honor— on Indictment No. 65-2586 Eddie is now withdrawing his plea of not guilty heretofore entered and entering a plea of guilty to possession of narcotics. Is that correct ?
Defendant Moore : Yes.
Mr. McDonnell : You are doing this freely and voluntarily ?
Defendant Moore: Yes, sir.
Mr. McDonnell : And at this time he would like to state for the record he is completely satisfied with the representation he has received. Is that correct ?
Defendant Moore: Yes.
Mr. McDonnell: Also, Judge, in 65-2585, the charge of unlawful sale of narcotics, at this time he wishes to withdraw the plea of not guilty heretofore entered and enter a plea of guilty, generally, to the charge and all lesser counts therein. Is that correct ?
Defendant Moore: Yes, sir.'
Mr. McDonnell : And are you completely satisfied with your representation at this time ?
Defendant Moore: Yes.
The Court: Mr. Moore, your counsel advises me you wish to change your plea of not guilty in indictment No. 65-2582 [sic], which charges you with the possession of narcotic drugs. Is that correct?
Defendant Moore: Yes, sir.
Q. And when you plead guilty you automatically waive your right to a jury trial, you understand that?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Before accepting your plea of guilty it is my duty to advise you on your plea of guilty to this indictment which charges you with possession of narcotic drugs, the Court may sentence you for a term of years not less than two nor more than 10 in the Illinois State Penitentiary. Knowing that do you still persist in your plea of guilty ?
A. Yes, sir.
The Court : Let the record show that the defendant has been advised of the consequences of his plea of guilty to this indictment and after being so advised persists in his plea, the plea therefore will be accepted and there will be a finding of guilty of possession, unlawful possession of narcotic drugs in manner and form as charged in this indictment and judgment on the finding.
Now, as to indictment No. 65-2585 which charges you with the unlawful sale of narcotic drugs, Mr. Moore, your counsel advises me you wish to change your plea of not guilty to a plea of guilty, generally, to the indictment. Is that correct?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. When you plead guilty, again I state to you, that you waive your right to a jury trial.
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Now, before accepting your plea of guilty to this indictment which charges you with unlawful sale of narcotic drugs the Court may sentence you to the Illinois State Penitentiary for a term of not less than 10 years nor more than life. Knowing that do you still persist in your plea of guilty?
A. Yes, sir.
The Court : Let the record show the defendant has been advised of the consequences of his plea of guilty to this indictment and after being so advised persists in his plea, the plea therefore will be accepted and we will reserve the finding until we have a hearing of the facts in the case so we may make a determination what the finding will be.
The Court : The Court will make a finding in connection with 65-2585, and on these facts will make a finding of guilty of possession of narcotics, the lesser included offense.”

Defendant filed a pro se post-conviction petition, and his court-appointed attorney filed a supplemental petition and brief for post-conviction relief, alleging as constitutional issues that “the court had a duty to make a factual inquiry on the record as to whether the defendant entered his guilty plea voluntarily and with an understanding of both the nature of the charges and the consequences of the plea.” He also asked “whether the court had a duty to inquire on the record as to the factual basis for the defendant’s plea of guilty.”

The State filed a motion to dismiss and, after hearing on the motion, both the original and supplemental petitions were dismissed.

The basis for the defendant’s position is that the record does not sufficiently disclose that he knowingly and voluntarily entered his guilty pleas. He contends that “unless it appears in the record that the Court itself, or through the prosecutor, has made a rather detailed factual inquiry into the voluntariness of a defendant’s plea, such voluntariness cannot be constitutionally presumed.”

Defendant relies principally upon cases which have developed in the United States Supreme Court since these pleas of guilty were accepted in 1965.

In the case of Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 23 L. Ed. 2d 274, 89 S. Ct. 1709, decided June 2, 1969, it was held that the court should require a showing on the record that such Federal constitutional rights as the right to trial by jury, the right to confront one’s accusers, and the right against compulsory self-incrimination are waived knowingly. The Boykin case followed closely after McCarthy v. United States, 394 U.S. 459, 22 L. Ed. 2d 418, 89 S. Ct. 1166. In that case the court did not reach constitutional issues but based its decision upon an analysis of Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure which deals with a Federal judge’s duty when accepting a plea of guilty.

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Related

People v. Myers
287 N.E.2d 672 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1972)
People of State of Illinois v. Palmer
274 N.E.2d 910 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1971)
People v. Wooley
273 N.E.2d 718 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1971)
People v. Isabell
272 N.E.2d 729 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1971)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
265 N.E.2d 870, 47 Ill. 2d 60, 1970 Ill. LEXIS 356, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/the-people-v-moore-ill-1970.