People v. Craig

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People v. Craig

State: Illinois

Court: 5th District Appellate

Docket No: 5-08-0360 Rel

Case Date: 08/20/2010

Preview:NO. 5-08-0360
N O TIC E D ecision filed 08/20/10. T he text of this decision m ay b e changed or corrected prior to the filing of a P e titio n fo r R ehearin g or th e

IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS

FIFTH DISTRICT ________________________________________________________________________ THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) Appeal from the ) Circuit Court of Petitioner-Appellee, ) Wayne County. ) v. ) No. 98-CF-135 ) CHRISTOPHER L. CRAIG, ) Honorable ) Barry L. Vaughan, Respondent-Appellant. ) Judge, presiding. ________________________________________________________________________ JUSTICE DONOVAN delivered the opinion of the court: Respondent, Christopher L. Craig, confessed the petition to declare respondent a sexually dangerous person filed by petitioner, the People of the State of Illinois (State), in the circuit court of Wayne County pursuant to the Sexually Dangerous Persons Act (Act) (725 ILCS 205/0.01 et seq. (West 2006)), and he was committed to the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections (Department). Subsequently, respondent filed an application showing his recovery and sought a discharge or alternatively a conditional release. Following an evidentiary hearing, the jury found that respondent continued to be sexually dangerous. Respondent was remanded to the custody of the Department. On appeal, respondent contends that he was deprived of his constitutional right to due process when the circuit court denied his motion for an independent psychiatric evaluation at the State's expense and instructed the jury on a burden of proof that was less than beyond a reasonable doubt. On August 7, 1998, the State filed an information in the circuit court of Wayne County charging respondent with one count of sexual assault and two counts of predatory

disposition of the sam e.

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criminal sexual assault of a child. On October 19, 1998, the State filed a petition to declare respondent a sexually dangerous person pursuant to the Act (725 ILCS 205/3 (West 1998)). On October 28, 1998, the circuit court appointed two qualified psychiatrists and directed each, independently, to evaluate respondent for purposes of determining whether he was a sexually dangerous person pursuant to section 4 of the Act (725 ILCS 205/4 (West 1998)). On January 25, 1999, respondent confessed the State's petition and the allegations contained therein, waived his right to a jury trial, and consented to a court-ordered commitment to the custody of the Department under the guardianship of the Director of Corrections (Director). On January 25, 1999, the circuit court entered an order finding that respondent was a sexually dangerous person, appointing the Director as respondent's guardian, and committing respondent to the custody of the Director. In April 2002, respondent filed a pro se "Application Showing Recovery" pursuant to section 9 of the Act (725 ILCS 205/9 (West 2002)) in the circuit court of Wayne County. Respondent requested that the court grant a discharge from commitment or alternatively a conditional release from commitment. The circuit court appointed an attorney to represent respondent. Respondent's attorney filed an amended application and a motion for the appointment of an independent expert at the State's expense to examine respondent for the purpose of determining whether he remained a sexually dangerous person. The court denied respondent's motion for the appointment of an independent expert. The court ordered the Director to cause to be prepared and to be filed a sociopsychiatric report pursuant to section 9 of the Act. An evidentiary hearing was held on May 7, 2003. At the conclusion of the trial, the court determined that respondent continued to suffer from a mental disorder and that respondent had a problem controlling his behavior. The court denied respondent's amended application showing a recovery. On appeal, a panel of this court determined that respondent

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was not entitled to an independent expert and that the State had presented overwhelming evidence to show that respondent continued to be a sexually dangerous person; the judgment was affirmed. People v. Craig , 351 Ill. App. 3d 1191, 876 N.E.2d 331 (2004) (unpublished order under Supreme Court Rule 23 (166 Ill. 2d R. 23)). On May 9, 2005, respondent filed a pro se application for a discharge or a conditional release and a motion for the appointment of counsel in the circuit court of Wayne County. The circuit court granted respondent's motion for the appointment of counsel. The court ordered the Director to have a sociopsychiatric report prepared and submitted. On April 10, 2006, respondent filed an amended application. Respondent also filed a motion seeking a Frye hearing (Frye v. United States , 293 F. 1013 (D.C. Cir. 1923)) and the appointment of an independent psychiatric expert at the State's expense. The court denied respondent's requests for a Frye hearing and the appointment of an independent psychiatric expert. An evidentiary hearing before a jury was held from December 17, 2007, through December 18, 2007. The jury found that respondent continued to be a sexually dangerous person. The court entered a judgment on the verdict and remanded respondent to the custody of the Director. The court denied respondent's posttrial motion seeking a judgment notwithstanding the verdict or alternatively a new trial. On appeal, respondent argues that he was deprived of constitutional safeguards when the circuit court refused to appoint an independent expert at the State's expense and when the court instructed the jury on a burden of proof that was less than beyond a reasonable doubt. Respondent contends that the circuit court's decision to instruct the jury on a burden of proof that was less than beyond a reasonable doubt in conjunction with its decision to deny his motion for a psychiatric expert resulted in a deprivation of his constitutional right to due process in the recovery proceeding because he was required to proceed to a trial without the ability to offer any evidence to counter the Department's experts while the State was faced

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with a lesser burden of proof. The standard of review for determining whether an individual's constitutional rights have been violated is de novo . Patel v. Illinois State Medical Society , 298 Ill. App. 3d 356, 370, 698 N.E.2d 588, 597 (1998). Matters of statutory construction and statutory

interpretation are also reviewed de novo . In re Detention of Kish , 395 Ill. App. 3d 546, 554, 916 N.E.2d 595, 601 (2009). The Sexually Dangerous Persons Act provides for the involuntary civil commitment of respondents declared sexually dangerous persons, as an alternative to criminal prosecutions. 725 ILCS 205/2, 3 (West 2006). The Act serves both the individuals and society, in that it offers to provide treatment for sexually dangerous persons with the goals of rehabilitation and recovery and it protects the public by sequestering sexually dangerous persons until they have recovered. People v. Trainor, 196 Ill. 2d 318, 323-24, 752 N.E.2d 1055, 1058-59 (2001); see generally People v. Allen , 107 Ill. 2d 91, 100-02, 481 N.E.2d 690, 694-95 (1985), aff'd , 478 U.S. 364, 373, 92 L. Ed. 2d 296, 307, 106 S. Ct. 2988, 2994 (1986). Proceedings under the Act are characterized as civil in nature, and the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/1-101 et seq. (West 2006)) and Illinois Supreme Court rules apply to all proceedings under the Act, except where otherwise provided in the Act. 725 ILCS 205/3.01 (West 2006). Though civil in nature, the Act provides to respondents certain due process protections afforded to criminal defendants, because an involuntary commitment entails a loss of liberty. Allen , 107 Ill. 2d at 100-02, 481 N.E.2d at 694-95. In any proceeding under the Act, a respondent has the right to demand a trial by jury and to be represented by counsel. 725 ILCS 205/5 (West 2006). A respondent also has the right to a speedy trial and a right to challenge the State's evidence and to confront and cross-examine the witnesses testifying against him. People v. Lawton , 212 Ill. 2d 285, 295, 818 N.E.2d 326, 332 (2004).

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The Act is composed of two separate but interrelated proceedings: an initial commitment proceeding (725 ILCS 205/3 (West 2006)) and a recovery proceeding (725 ILCS 205/9 (West 2006)). Trainor , 196 Ill. 2d at 326, 752 N.E.2d at 1060. The proceedings under the Act are civil in nature, but "the burden of proof required to commit a defendant to confinement as a sexually dangerous person shall be the standard of proof required in a criminal proceedings [ sic ] of proof beyond a reasonable doubt." 725 ILCS 205/3.01 (West 2006). If the State meets its burden, the respondent is committed to the custody of the Director for an indeterminate period until he has recovered and is released. 725 ILCS 205/8 (West 2006). Section 9 of the Act governs the recovery proceeding. 725 ILCS 205/9(a) (West 2006). Under section 9(a), a respondent who has been adjudicated sexually dangerous may file a written application that contains facts to show he has recovered and that requests a discharge or a conditional release. 725 ILCS 205/9(a) (West 2006). The application is filed in the circuit court in which the respondent was committed. 725 ILCS 205/9(a) (West 2006). Once the application is filed, the circuit clerk is required to forward a copy of the application to the Director, and the Director is required to obtain a sociopsychiatric report concerning the applicant. 725 ILCS 205/9(a) (West 2006). The circuit court then sets a hearing date. 725 ILCS 205/9(a) (West 2006). The applicant or the State may elect to have a hearing before a jury, and the State has the burden of proving by clear-and-convincing evidence that the applicant is still a sexually dangerous person. 725 ILCS 205/9(b) (West 2006). Prior to January 1, 2006, the Act did not have a provision identifying the burden of proof and the bearer of that burden during the recovery proceeding. In August 2005, the Illinois General Assembly passed a bill (94th Ill. Gen. Assem., House Bill 245, 2005 Sess.) that amended certain provisions in section 9 of the Act, and the amended version of section 9 became effective January 1, 2006 (Pub. Act 94-0404,

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