People v. Aikens
2016 IL App (1st) 133578
| Ill. App. Ct. | 2016Background
- On Oct. 13, 2012, 17-year-old Jansen Aikens fired multiple shots at an unmarked police car; no officers were injured. A .38 revolver with five spent casings was recovered and Aikens gave a written confession.
- Aikens was convicted after a bench trial of multiple counts of attempted first-degree murder of a peace officer, attempted first-degree murder, aggravated discharge of a firearm, and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon (AUUW).
- At sentencing the trial court noted Aikens’s youth, lack of criminal history, and difficult upbringing but imposed the mandatory minimum: 20 years for attempted murder plus a mandatory 20-year firearm enhancement (total 40 years).
- Aikens appealed, arguing (inter alia) that the pre-2014 Juvenile Court Act exclusive-jurisdiction/automatic-transfer scheme and application of adult mandatory minimums to a juvenile violated the Eighth Amendment, the Illinois proportionate penalties clause, and due process, and that multiple convictions violated one-act, one-crime.
- The appellate court affirmed convictions in part, vacated duplicative counts under one-act, one-crime, but held Aikens’s 40-year sentence (including mandatory firearm enhancement) violated the Illinois proportionate penalties clause as applied and remanded for resentencing without the mandatory enhancement.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Constitutionality of former exclusive-jurisdiction (automatic transfer) provision | State: provision constitutional and binding under Patterson | Aikens: automatic adult prosecution of 17‑year‑olds ignores juvenile differences and violates Eighth Amendment and due process | Court: provision constitutional (followed Patterson); change in law (post-2014) not retroactive |
| Eighth Amendment / proportionate penalties — mandatory adult minimums for juvenile | State: trial court had discretion within statutory range and considered mitigating factors; Miller/Graham/Roper limited to death/LWOP context | Aikens: mandatory minimums and firearm enhancement deny individualized youth-based consideration and are cruel/disproportionate | Court: rejected facial Eighth Amendment challenge; but accepted as-applied proportionate penalties claim — 40-year term shocks evolving standards when applied to this juvenile given facts |
| Application of mandatory firearm enhancement and truth-in-sentencing to juvenile | State: enhancement and truth-in-sentencing statutory and constitutional | Aikens: enhancement makes effective sentence nearly life and is unconstitutional as applied | Court: enhancement unconstitutional as applied here; ordered resentencing without mandatory enhancement (noted new 2016 statute gives sentencing discretion for <18 but is not retroactive) |
| One-act, one-crime multiplicity of convictions | State: (agreed on remand) merger where offenses arose from same act | Aikens: several attempted-murder and AUUW counts duplicate same act | Court: vacated six attempted-murder counts (merged into the two counts alleging personal discharge) and vacated five AUUW counts, leaving one AUUW conviction; directed mittimus correction |
Key Cases Cited
- Patterson v. Illinois, 2014 IL 115102 (Illinois Supreme Court) (upholding Illinois automatic-transfer statute and distinguishing punitive vs. procedural nature of juvenile-court access)
- Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (U.S. 2012) (Eighth Amendment forbids mandatory life without parole for juvenile homicide offenders)
- Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S. 48 (U.S. 2010) (life without parole unconstitutional for juvenile nonhomicide offenders)
- Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (U.S. 2005) (death penalty unconstitutional for offenders under 18)
- People v. Miller (Leon Miller), 202 Ill. 2d 328 (Ill. 2002) (applied proportionate-penalties analysis to juvenile accountability and sentencing)