People v. Cowart
2017 IL App (1st) 113085
| Ill. App. Ct. | 2017Background
- June 21–22, 2009: A large outdoor party in Chicago devolved into a brawl and a multi‑shooter exchange; victim Lee Floyd was fatally shot.
- Multiple eyewitnesses placed defendant Charles Cowart at the scene, observed he (and many others) had firearms, and some witnesses identified Cowart as firing at fleeing women; forensic evidence showed at least 28 shots from multiple guns but only one gun was recovered and matched some casings.
- Cowart gave a videotaped statement saying others (e.g., “Keevo”) fired and that he did not shoot the victim; he admitted having a gun and later was arrested with a 9mm recovered where he discarded it.
- Jury convicted Cowart of first‑degree murder (accountability theory) and a bench found him guilty of being an armed habitual criminal (AHC); he received concurrent sentences (51 years for murder, 20 for AHC).
- This court originally reversed both convictions; after the Illinois Supreme Court’s decision in People v. McFadden, the case was reconsidered and the appellate court affirmed the AHC conviction, reversed the murder conviction for insufficiency of evidence, and remanded for resentencing on AHC only.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sufficiency of evidence for murder under accountability | State: Cowart was part of a common criminal design with armed group; presence, flight, lineup IDs and recovered gun support accountability | Cowart: Evidence only shows he shot at the fleeing women; shooter who killed Lee was unknown and no proof linked the killer to Cowart’s alleged group or design | Reversed: Evidence insufficient to prove a common criminal design between Cowart and the unknown shooter who killed Lee; accountability not established |
| Validity of using prior AUUW conviction as predicate for AHC after Aguilar/McFadden | State: McFadden allows a prior AUUW conviction that has not been vacated to serve as a predicate because felon status remained in effect | Cowart: AUUW provision invalidated by Aguilar makes the prior conviction void and unusable as an AHC predicate | Affirmed: McFadden controls; an existing prior AUUW conviction not vacated at the time may serve as a predicate for AHC |
| Applicability of federal Supreme Court decisions (e.g., Montgomery, Lewis) to bar predicate use | State: Lewis and McFadden support using an unvacated prior conviction as predicate; Montgomery does not preclude McFadden’s reasoning | Cowart: Montgomery and other precedents prohibit collateral punishment based on a facially unconstitutional conviction | Rejected: Court follows McFadden and related appellate authority; Montgomery does not compel a different result here |
| Sentence enhancement on overturned murder conviction | State: N/A (merits not reached after reversal) | Cowart: 20‑year firearm enhancement challenged | Not reached: Reversal of murder conviction renders enhancement issue moot; remand for resentencing on AHC only |
Key Cases Cited
- People v. McFadden, 2016 IL 117424 (prior AUUW conviction not vacated can serve as predicate for firearm offense)
- People v. Aguilar, 2013 IL 112115 (invalidated certain AUUW statutory provisions)
- Lewis v. United States, 445 U.S. 55 (1979) (a constitutionally infirm prior felony conviction may still be used as predicate unless vacated)
- Montgomery v. Louisiana, 136 S. Ct. 718 (2016) (addressed retroactivity of certain Supreme Court rulings)
- People v. Terry, 99 Ill. 2d 508 (1984) (accountability upheld where defendants shared common criminal design)
- People v. Perez, 189 Ill. 2d 254 (2000) (insufficient evidence of shared criminal purpose for accountability)