People v. Brown
2017 IL App (3d) 150070
| Ill. App. Ct. | 2017Background
- Brown was charged with armed violence (armed with a handgun while possessing cocaine), unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, and possession of less than 15 grams of cocaine.
- Police arrested Brown on an unrelated murder charge; a pat-down search at the station before transport to county jail produced a small baggie of cocaine from his watch pocket; officers also found a handgun on his person at arrest.
- Portions of Brown’s murder-trial testimony admitting gun ownership and drug dealing, and a certified prior felony conviction, were admitted at his bench trial.
- The trial court convicted Brown on all counts, merged the drug-possession count into the others, and sentenced him to consecutive terms: 18 years for armed violence and 8 years for unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon (to be served consecutively).
- On appeal Brown argued the weapon conviction violated the one-act, one-crime rule because both convictions relied on the same physical act of possessing the gun; the State argued the felony-status element preserves the separate weapon conviction.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether convictions for armed violence and unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon violate one-act, one-crime when both rest on the same gun possession | The State: convictions are distinct because one requires drug possession (armed violence) and the other requires felony status (weapon by a felon) | Brown: both convictions are based on the same physical act of possessing the gun and cannot support multiple punishments | Court: vacated the weapon-by-a-felon conviction (lesser/duplicate) because both convictions derive from the single physical act of gun possession; armed violence affirmed |
| Whether appellate court may review the one-act, one-crime error despite no objection at trial | The State did not meaningfully contest plain-error review | Brown contended error requires correction | Court: applied plain-error review and found the one-act, one-crime error warrants vacation of the duplicate conviction because it affects judicial integrity |
Key Cases Cited
- People v. King, 66 Ill. 2d 551 (establishing two-step one-act, one-crime analysis)
- People v. Rodriguez, 169 Ill. 2d 183 (defining what constitutes a single physical act)
- People v. Williams, 302 Ill. App. 3d 975 (holding simultaneous possession of gun and drugs can constitute a single act supporting only one conviction for gun-based offenses)
- People v. White, 311 Ill. App. 3d 374 (contrast decision finding armed violence and weapon-by-felon were based on separate acts; court here rejected that approach)
- People v. Thompson, 238 Ill. 2d 598 (plain-error review framework invoked for unpreserved errors)