People v. Miles
2017 IL App (1st) 132719
| Ill. App. Ct. | 2017Background
- Jacob Miles was indicted for armed robbery for taking money while "armed with a firearm" (offense dated Aug 16, 2000). He was tried by jury, convicted of armed robbery, and sentenced as a habitual criminal to natural life.
- The armed-robbery statute had been amended effective Jan 1, 2000 to create separate subsections for being armed with a firearm and for being armed with a dangerous weapon other than a firearm; the amendment also added a 15-year firearm sentencing enhancement.
- After indictment but before trial, Illinois Supreme Court in Walden held the 15-year firearm enhancement unconstitutional under the proportionate-penalties clause; defense moved to dismiss claiming the indictment charged under the amended (now-invalid) provision.
- Trial court applied the preamendment statute (treating the law as it read before the unconstitutional amendment), allowed the jury to be instructed on armed robbery while "armed with a dangerous weapon," and overruled defense objections; jury convicted and sentence was imposed and affirmed on direct appeal.
- More than a decade later Miles filed a pro se 735 ILCS 5/2-1401 petition claiming his conviction was void because he was charged with armed robbery with a firearm but convicted of armed robbery with a dangerous weapon (an uncharged, mutually exclusive offense). Trial court dismissed; Miles appealed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument (People) | Defendant's Argument (Miles) | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Miles's conviction is void because he was indicted for armed robbery with a firearm but convicted of armed robbery with a "dangerous weapon" | The preamendment statute applied after Walden, a firearm is a type of dangerous weapon, and the indictment properly charged armed robbery; conviction is not void. | Jury lacked authority to convict of a different, uncharged, mutually exclusive offense (armed robbery with a dangerous weapon), so conviction and sentence are void. | Affirmed dismissal: conviction not void. The preamendment statute governed; a firearm falls within "dangerous weapon" such that the indictment charging a firearm supported a conviction for being armed with a dangerous weapon. |
Key Cases Cited
- People v. Walden, 199 Ill. 2d 392 (Ill. 2002) (held the 15-year firearm sentencing enhancement violates proportionate-penalties clause)
- People v. Gersch, 135 Ill. 2d 384 (Ill. 1990) (an unconstitutional statutory amendment leaves preexisting law in force)
- People v. Davison, 233 Ill. 2d 30 (Ill. 2009) (use of dictionary to ascertain plain and ordinary statutory meaning)
- People v. Davis, 156 Ill. 2d 149 (Ill. 1993) (distinguishing void and voidable judgments; jurisdictional limits on collateral attack)
- People v. Pinkonsly, 207 Ill. 2d 555 (Ill. 2003) (elements required in a section 2-1401 petition)