People v. Simon

State: Illinois

Court: 1st District Appellate

Docket No: 1-09-1197 Official Reports

Case Date: 05/27/2011

Preview:ILLINOIS OFFICIAL REPORTS
Appellate Court

People v. Simon, 2011 IL App (1st) 091197

Appellate Court Caption

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. DAMON SIMON, Defendant-Appellant.

District & No.

First District, Sixth Division Docket No. 1-09-1197 May 27, 2011 August 25, 2011 August 26, 2011 Defendant's conviction for first degree murder was affirmed, despite his arguments that he acted with actual, though unreasonable, belief in selfdefense that required reduction of the conviction to second degree murder, that the trial court erred in barring evidence supporting his theory of self-defense, that the trial court relied on the erroneous recollection of certain testimony, and that State failed to disclose one witness's felony conviction and allowed the witness to provide perjured testimony concerning his criminal history, since the fact finder could have found that defendant failed to prove he unreasonably believed he was acting in self-defense, the trial court's exclusion of the evidence of the victim's violent acts against defendant was not abuse of discretion, appellate court refused to find the trial court improperly recalled the testimony of one witness, and there was other testimony supporting trial court's decision. Appeal from the Circuit Court of Cook County, No. 06-CR-20692; the Hon. Frank Zelezinski, Judge, presiding.

Filed Rehearing denied Modified opinion filed Held
(Note: This syllabus constitutes no part of the opinion of the court but has been prepared by the Reporter of Decisions for the convenience of the reader.)

Decision Under Review

Judgment Counsel on Appeal

Affirmed. Michael J. Pelletier, Alan D. Goldberg, and John Koltse, all of State Appellate Defender's Office, of Chicago, for appellant. Anita M. Alvarez, State's Attorney, of Chicago (Alan J. Spellberg and Peter D. Fischer, Assistant State's Attorneys, of counsel), for the People.

Panel

JUSTICE R. GORDON delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. Presiding Justice Garcia and Justice McBride concurred in the judgment and opinion.

OPINION

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