People v. Barber
2021 IL App (1st) 160800-U
| Ill. App. Ct. | 2021Background
- On Aug. 29, 2013, a dispute at a backyard card game between Lamont Larkins and Jason Smith escalated into a physical fight; defendant Timothy Barber (Smith’s father) joined and admitted to slashing Larkins with a box cutter.
- Bystanders testified Larkins was the initial aggressor; several wounds were inflicted—some superficial consistent with a box cutter and one fatal six-inch stab wound that the medical examiner attributed to a longer kitchen-type knife.
- Barber gave a videotaped statement confessing he slashed Larkins because Smith was losing the fight; he threw the knife away afterward.
- At a bench trial Barber and Smith were convicted of second-degree murder (trial court rejected self-defense and forcible-felony justifications); Barber received 27 years’ imprisonment.
- On appeal Barber argued insufficiency of the evidence (including accountability), ineffective assistance for not introducing Lynch evidence, excessive/special-sentencing errors, and errors in fines/credits; the appellate court affirmed the conviction and sentence but remanded under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 472 to permit a motion about fines/fees and presentence-credit issues.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument (People) | Defendant's Argument (Barber) | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sufficiency of evidence / accountability | Evidence supports conviction under accountability/common-design: Barber joined the fight, admitted slashing, and acts in furtherance of the joint design led to the fatal stabbing | State failed to prove Barber caused the fatal wound or that he was accountable for co-defendant’s conduct | Affirmed — evidence sufficient under accountability; a rational trier could find Barber shared the common design and either stabbed or was accountable for the fatal result |
| Self-defense / forcible-felony justification | No credible proof Larkins was capable of inflicting serious bodily harm or committing a forcible felony that justified deadly force | Barber acted to defend Smith and/or to stop a robbery (forcible felony) | Rejected — trial court reasonably found deadly force was not necessary and robbery/forcible-felony justification unsupported |
| Ineffective assistance (failure to introduce Lynch evidence) | Counsel’s choice to withhold certain prior-offense evidence was reasonable strategic litigation; no prejudice | Counsel should have introduced Larkins’s prior convictions (Lynch evidence) to support self-defense | Denied — counsel’s omission was reasonable trial strategy and did not prejudice Barber |
| Sentence validity and fines/credits | Sentence (27 years) within statutory range; court considered aggravation/mitigation; fines/fees errors can be corrected by lower court | 27 years is excessive and disparate; fines/fees should be offset by presentence custody credit | Sentence affirmed (no abuse of discretion); remanded under Ill. S. Ct. Rule 472 for Barber to move in circuit court to correct fines/fees or apply presentence-credit |
Key Cases Cited
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979) (standard for testing sufficiency of the evidence)
- People v. Lynch, 102 Ill.2d 194 (1984) (when self-defense is claimed, victim’s violent character may be admissible to show defendant’s perceptions or to support defendant’s version of events)
- People v. Cooper, 194 Ill.2d 419 (2000) (accountability/common-design liability where defendants act in concert)
- Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) (two-prong ineffective-assistance test: deficient performance and prejudice)
- People v. Saldivar, 113 Ill.2d 256 (1986) (limits on considering victim’s death as aggravating factor; permitted to consider gravity/degree of defendant’s conduct)
- People v. Beals, 162 Ill.2d 497 (1994) (improper sentencing factors require remand only if their weight on the sentence cannot be determined)