People v. Scates

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People v. Scates

State: Illinois

Court: 4th District Appellate

Docket No: 4-08-0306 Rel

Case Date: 08/14/2009

Preview:NO. 4-08-0306 IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS FOURTH DISTRICT THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. DARRELL D. SCATES, Defendant-Appellant.

Filed 8/14/09

) Appeal from ) Circuit Court of ) Livingston County ) No. 07CF238 ) ) Honorable ) Harold J. Frobish, ) Judge Presiding. _________________________________________________________________ JUSTICE KNECHT delivered the opinion of the court: In January 2008, a jury convicted defendant, Darrell D. Scates, of three counts of threatening a public official (720 ILCS 5/12-9(a)(1)(i), (a)(2) (West 2006)) having previously been convicted of making a false threat of terrorism (730 ILCS 5/5-82(a)(4) (West 2006)). In April 2008, the trial court sentenced

defendant to 3 concurrent terms of 12 years' imprisonment to be served consecutive to his sentences in Cook County case No. 00CR-0459201, Livingston County case No. 07-CF-66, and Johnson County case No. 04-CF-80. Defendant appeals, arguing (1) the State failed to prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of threatening a public official where the assistant Attorney General alleged as a victim was not a public official as defined by statute, and (2) the trial court erred by failing to conduct an initial inquiry into defendant's pro se claim of ineffective assistance of

counsel.

We affirm as modified and remand with directions.

II. BACKGROUND In October 2007, the State charged defendant by information with three counts of threatening a public official. Count

I alleged defendant threatened then Assistant Attorney General Brittany Hawkins by sending her a letter stating, inter alia, "I will have you killed ASAP." Hawkins, in her capacity as an

assistant Attorney General, had worked on a court of claims matter involving defendant. At the time the letter was written,

defendant was an inmate at the Pontiac Correctional Facility. Counts II and III alleged threats toward Attorney General Lisa Madigan. On January 25, 2008, a jury convicted defendant on all three counts. On January 29, 2008, defendant filed a motion for a new trial, which the trial court denied. On April 15, 2008, defendant filed a pro se motion for a new trial, alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. On April 28, 2008, the trial court sentenced defendant as stated. This appeal followed. II. ANALYSIS On appeal, defendant first argues the State's evidence - 2 -

was insufficient to prove him guilty of count I of the information beyond a reasonable doubt. Specifically, defendant contends

his conviction must be reversed because the assistant Attorney General alleged as a victim is not a "public official" as defined by statute. A. Standard of Review The interpretation of a statute is a question of law, which we review de novo. People v. Lucas, 231 Ill. 2d 169, 174, "It is well settled that the primary

897 N.E.2d 778, 781 (2008).

objective of this court when construing the meaning of a statute is to ascertain and give effect to the intent of the General Assembly." Southern Illinoisan v. Illinois Department of Public The

Health, 218 Ill. 2d 390, 415, 844 N.E.2d 1, 14 (2006).

General Assembly's intent is best gleaned from the statute itself, and where the statutory language is clear and unambiguous, it must be given effect. Orlak v. Loyola University Health

System, 228 Ill. 2d 1, 8, 885 N.E.2d 999, 1004 (2007). B. Public Official Under section 12-9 of the Criminal Code of 1961 (Criminal Code), a person commits the offense of "threatening a public official" when: "(1) that person knowingly and willfully delivers or conveys, directly or indirectly, to a public official by any means a communi- 3 -

cation: (i) containing a threat that would place the public official or a member of his or her immediate family in reasonable apprehension of immediate or future bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement, or restraint; or (ii) containing a threat that would place the public official or a member of his or her immediate family in reasonable apprehension that damage will occur to property in the custody, care, or control of the public official or his or her immediate family; and (2) the threat was conveyed because of the performance or nonperformance of some public duty, because of hostility of the person making the threat toward the status or position of the public official, or because of any other factor related to the official's public existence." 2006). - 4 720 ILCS 5/12-9(a) (West

Subsection b of section 12-9 of the Criminal Code defines a "public official" as follows: "'Public official' means a person who is elected to office in accordance with a statute or who is appointed to an office which is established, and the qualifications and duties of which are prescribed, by statute, to discharge a public duty for the State or any of its political subdivisions ***. 'Public

official' includes a duly appointed assistant State's Attorney." (Emphasis added.) 720

ILCS 5/12-9(b)(1) (West 2006). Defendant contends the threatened assistant Attorney General in this case is not a public official under section 129(b)(1). We disagree. The office of the Attorney General (Attorney General) is established by section 15 of article V of the Illinois Constitution (Ill. Const. 1970, art. V,

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