Justia Illinois Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

In 2005 Fields pleaded guilty to aggravated criminal sexual abuse and kidnaping. Shortly before he was to begin mandatory supervised release, the state petitioned for his involuntary commitment under the Sexually Violent Persons (SVP) Commitment Act, 725 ILCS 207/1. The circuit court found probable cause. At trial, the state presented the testimony of two psychologists that Fields suffers from pedophilia and antisocial personality disorder and is dangerous because it is probable that he will commit acts of sexual violence in the future. In addition to the 2005 incident, the experts considered an offense involving another nine-year-old boy, when Fields was 15 years old. They also referred to several incidents while Fields was in custody and his failure to participate in sex offender treatment. A jury found Fields to be a SVP. After the circuit court entered judgment, Fields requested a date for a dispositional hearing and a pre-hearing evaluation. In denying those requests, the court determined it already had sufficient information to make its dispositional ruling, and ordered him committed to a secure treatment and detention facility. The appellate court affirmed the SVP finding, but vacated the commitment order and remanded for a dispositional hearing. The Illinois Supreme Court affirmed. The state proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Fields was an SVP as defined by the Act, which requires a dispositional hearing.View "In re Commitment of Fields" on Justia Law

The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, 750 ILCS 5/607(e), prohibits a non-custodial parent who has been convicted of a sexual offense perpetrated on a victim less than 18 years of age from obtaining court-ordered visitation with his children while serving his sentence and until successfully completing “a treatment program approved by the court.” A child abuse report was made to a hot line, alleging that Donald had sexually abused an unrelated minor. Donald pled guilty and was sentenced to two years’ probation. Donald was required to register as a sex offender, to provide a DNA sample, and to be tested for sexually transmitted diseases, but not required to obtain sex offender treatment. A court subsequently granted Donald’s ex-wife sole custody of their children suspended Donald’s visitation pursuant to section 607(e) Donald argued that a parent’s right to visitation with his child is a fundamental right, which the state may not abridge unless there is a compelling state interest and a finding that denying visitation is in the child’s best interest. The court agreed and found the law unconstitutional. The Illinois Supreme Court vacated, finding the matter moot. Donald successfully completed his probation. His cooperative participation in the sex offender evaluation, plus the evaluator’s assessment and recommendation that no further treatment was necessary, were sufficient to show compliance with section 607(e)’s requirement that he “successfully complete a treatment program approved by the court.” The court declined to apply the “public interest" exception.View "In re Marriage of Donald B." on Justia Law

A psychiatrist at Chicago-Read Mental Health Center sought a court order authorizing involuntary treatment of Rita. Stating that Rita met the criteria for a diagnosis of “schizophrenia paranoid type,” the doctor requested authorization to administer specific medications, including Risperidone, for up to 90 days. At a hearing, there was testimony about Rita’s behavior before her hospitalization, about police response to a call about Rita’s behavior, and about Rita’s own descriptions of her delusions and trying to choke herself to kill the people inside her. Rita had not threatened anyone at Chicago-Read, and no cause existed to place her in restraints or administer emergency medication. Although generally cooperative, Rita refused to attend group therapy, and would not take medication. The circuit court authorized involuntary treatment. The appellate court reversed, finding that the trial court failed to comply with the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code, 405 ILCS 5/3-816(a), requirement that final orders “shall be accompanied by a statement on the record of the court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law.” The Illinois Supreme Court reinstated the trial court order, reasoning that reading the code as “directory,” so that noncompliance can be excused, does not impair the safeguards the law is intended to protect.View "In re Rita P." on Justia Law

Nelson, on behalf of media companies, submitted a request to Kendall County under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 ILCS 140/1, to copy all emails sent and received by two assistant states’ attorneys in January 2010, via county email. The county advised him to submit his request to the state’s attorney’s office. Nelson demanded that the county comply within 5 days of the original request. The county asserted a need for consultation that precluded meeting the deadline. Nelson requested review by the Public Access Counselor, Office of the Attorney General, under 5 ILCS 140/9.5. That office declined to act because the state’s attorney’s office had responded; although some information was denied as exempt, the state’s attorney had received approval for that decision and Nelson had not asked for review. Nelson filed suit and filed another FOIA request, excluding emails that were limited to discussions: with law enforcement personnel concerning pending cases; with defense counsel in pending cases; or with county board members or elected county officials. The circuit court dismissed, holding that the judicial branch is beyond the reach of the FOIA. The appellate court affirmed. The Illinois Supreme Court reversed. Case law consistently recognizes that the state’s attorney’s office is part of the executive branch, which is subject to FOIA. View "Nelson v. County of Kendall" on Justia Law

Bingham, then in her late teens, committed aggressive acts toward adults and children, including grabbing and kissing. She was declared a sexually dangerous person under the Sexually Dangerous Persons Act, 725 ILCS 205/1.01. The Director of the Illinois Department of Corrections was appointed as her guardian. She was to remain committed “until or unless [she] is recovered and released.” The appellate court reversed. The Illinois Supreme Court affirmed. The limited evidence was insufficient to establish that it was substantially probable that Bingham would commit future sex offenses. A single incident, in which she attempted to grab a woman’s breast area through her shirt, was insufficient to establish that substantial probability. Another incident, involving Bingham touching the buttocks of 17-year-old Katie C, was not clearly intentional; Katie C. acknowledged that Bingham only touched her one time and stopped as soon as Katie C. asked her to do so. There was no evidence that the incident was done as a result of “arousal or gratification of sexual needs or desires.” Without evidence of either an act of sexual assault or acts of child molestation, the state failed to prove propensities toward acts of sexual assault or sexual molestation of children.View "People v. Bingham" on Justia Law

Due to brain damage from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, defendant cannot remember the events leading to home invasion (720 ILCS 5/12-11(a)(4)) and aggravated unlawful restraint (720 ILCS 5/10-3.1(a)) charges against him. Defendant had entered the home of his former wife and child, despite an order of protection, and threatened the occupants with a gun before shooting himself.The trial court found defendant unfit to stand trial. Later, after a discharge hearing, he was found “not not guilty.” The court remanded him to the Department of Human Services (DHS) for extended terms of treatment of 24 months for home invasion and 15 months for unlawful restraint. After DHS determined that defendant had been restored to fitness, the trial court held a hearing and found that defendant remained unfit to stand trial and that it was not reasonably probable that he would be fit within one year. The appellate court and Illinois Supreme Court affirmed. All three psychiatric experts concluded that defendant had no recollection of the events leading to the charges against him, or of what occurred up to 48 hours prior to those events. Two of the psychiatrists concluded that defendant’s short-term memory was substantially impaired and would affect his ability to assist in his own defense. The third acknowledged that defendant ranked in the lowest one percentile with regard to short-term memory retention after 20 to 30 minutes. View "People v. Stahl" on Justia Law

In 1996, 15-year-old Humble left a Peoria children’s home and accepted a ride from a man who drove her to a remote area, sexually assaulted her, cut her throat, and left her in a field. At the hospital, Humble described her assailant as a white, stocky man, 20 to 30 years old, with blond hair, driving a red car. Humble died one month later. Defendant had previously lived near the crime scene. On the evening of the attack, defendant attended a class for domestic abusers and was seen wearing a knife in his belt and leaving in a red car. The next day, defendant left the country. Wiretap recordings of conversations with his family indicated that defendant was hiding from authorities. A police officer observed defendant’s brothers burning the interior of a red car. Defendant was extradited 18 months later and charged with first degree murder and aggravated criminal sexual assault. One expert testified that the DNA profile identified in the male fraction of a stain on Humble’s clothing and in defendant’s blood would be expected to occur in approximately 1 in 1.1 trillion Caucasians. The appellate court affirmed his conviction and life sentence. In 2008 the appellate court affirmed dismissal of defendant’s fifth post-conviction petition. In 2009, defendant requested that the stain evidence be subjected to testing allegedly unavailable at the time of his trial: mitochondrial (mtDNA) testing, and Y-chromosome (Y-STR) testing. He alleged that mixed samples of male and female DNA, like in his case, “can lead to misidentification,” and that Y-STR testing “allows resolution of a mixed sample,” but did not claim that the requested testing provided a reasonable likelihood of more probative results. The circuit court denied the motion. The appellate court reversed. The supreme court reinstated the denial, noting that defendant never raised these claims and offered no alternative DNA evidence or expert opinion at trial; he never challenged admission of the DNA test results as inaccurate or improperly performed. The court noted the strength of the matches between the stain and defendant’s DNA profile, plus the compelling circumstantial evidence of his guilt.View "People v. Stoecker" on Justia Law

Sheridan Liquors operated with a City of Peoria liquor license. Adnan owned the store; his brothers, Mike and Jalal managed the business, which included a check-cashing service. Mike and Jalal were indicted under the Money Laundering Control Act, 31 U.S.C. 5324(a)(3). To support the check-cashing operation, they withdrew large amounts of cash from Sheridan Liquors’ bank account and, knowing of federal reporting requirements, structured the withdrawal of more than $4 million to evade the requirements. Mike was convicted. Jalal fled the country. The city charged violation of a code section that prohibits any liquor licensee or its agent from engaging in activity in or about the licensed premises that is prohibited by federal law, claiming that the brothers conspired to unlawfully structure financial transactions. Sheridan Liquors maintained that Mike’s federal conviction should not have preclusive effect against it because Adnan was never permitted to present a defense in the federal proceeding. Sheridan argued that its insurance coverage had limits of $10,000 for cash on the premises and that structuring the transactions below $10,000 was not done to evade reporting requirements. The city presented testimony regarding loitering, litter, and potential drug use around the store. The Illinois Liquor Control Commission and the trial, appellate, and supreme courts affirmed revocation of the license, finding that Adnan’s due process rights were not violated. The court noted the 148-page transcript of the two-and-one-half-hour local hearing and that Sheridan had an opportunity to present evidence and defenses. Procedural due process does not guarantee an outcome, but only a meaningful opportunity to be heard. View "WISAM 1, Inc. v. IL Liquor Control Comm'n" on Justia Law

Plaintiffs sued Dr. Murphy and his employer, ECHO, alleging that Murphy was negligent in treating Anderson, who suffered a severe and permanent brain injury following emergency room treatment. ECHO billed Anderson for services physicians provided him during a previous emergency room visit, but did not bill for Murphy’s services during the Code Blue that resulted in his injury. The hospital billed Anderson for supplies used during the Code Blue. The circuit court concluded that Murphy was immune from liability under the Good Samaritan Act, 745 ILCS 49/25. The appellate court reversed, holding that the Act was meant to apply to volunteers, not to those who treat patients within the scope of their employment and are compensated for doing so. The Illinois Supreme Court affirmed. The Act provides “Any person licensed under the Medical Practice Act of 1987 or any person licensed to practice the treatment of human ailments in any other state or territory of the United States who, in good faith, provides emergency care without fee to a person, shall not, as a result of his or her acts or omissions, except willful or wanton misconduct on the part of the person, in providing the care, be liable for civil damages.” Murphy was fully compensated for his time that day. He responded to the emergency not because he was volunteering to help but because it was his job to do so. The agreement that ECHO had with the hospital and the agreement that ECHO had with Murphy require that ECHO physicians to comply with hospital policies, and the hospital’s written policy was that emergency room physicians were to respond to Code Blues. The legislature never intended that Good Samaritan immunity would be available in this situation.View "Home Star Bank & Fin. Servs. v. Emergency Care & Health Org., Ltd." on Justia Law

Mitchell executed a promissory note, secured by a mortgage on her Chicago home. Four years later, the lender filed a complaint to foreclose the mortgage. The special process server’s affidavit described substituted service: process was left at Mitchell’s residence with her daughter, Foreman, who lived at the residence. Mitchell did not answer. The lender mailed notice of intent to move for judgment of foreclosure and sale on June 9, 2010. On June 3, the lender moved for an order of default. On June 9, the court granted the motions. A notice of sale was mailed to Mitchell’s address and a judicial sale was held on September 13. On August 2, 2011, the lender sought an order of confirmation. Notice of the motion was mailed to Mitchell. The circuit court confirmed the sale on September 14. On October 12, Mitchell filed an appearance and a motion to vacate the order, asserting that “to the best of her knowledge” she was never served, had not received notice of the motion for default judgment, had been informed that a loan modification was approved, and did not receive notice of the September 14 order. She later withdrew her motion and moved to quash the order or, in the alternative, for relief from judgment under the Code of Civil Procedure, 735 ILCS 5/2-1401, and the Illinois Mortgage Foreclosure Law, 735 ILCS 5/15-15083. Mitchell asserted her only child is a son and she does not know anyone named Foreman. The circuit court denied the motion. The lender subsequently argued that Mitchell waived objections to jurisdiction by filing a post-judgment motion to vacate. The appellate court noted that failure to comply with statutory requirements results in waiver of “all objections to the court’s jurisdiction over the party’s person” and that Mitchell’s waiver “worked prospectively and retroactively.” The Illinois Supreme Court reversed, holding that waiver of personal jurisdiction is prospective only and does not serve to validate retroactively orders entered without personal jurisdiction. View "BAC Home Loans Servicing, LP v. Mitchell" on Justia Law