People v. Pace
2015 IL App (1st) 110415
Ill. App. Ct.2015Background
- Michael Pace, age 16 at the time, pled guilty (blind plea) to first-degree murder (one victim), a firearm-specific murder count, and two aggravated battery-with-a-firearm counts for a 2007 CTA bus shooting that killed Blair Holt; sentence imposed was consecutive terms totaling 100 years (35 + 25 firearms enhancement + two 20s).
- At plea hearing the court admonished Pace as to statutory ranges for each offense and that the plea was blind; Pace indicated he understood and waived jury trial.
- Mitigation evidence: neuropsychological evaluation (IQ 77, nonverbal learning disorder), youth, difficult upbringing, no prior record; State presented victim impact and eyewitness testimony.
- Sentencing judge made extensive remarks invoking personal experiences, community-level views on gang violence, and commented that Pace declined allocution; judge also questioned defense expert at sentencing.
- Pace moved to vacate plea and to reconsider sentence; postconviction and motion hearings produced conflicting expert testimony about Pace’s capacity to understand oral admonishments; appellate court affirmed plea denial but vacated sentence and remanded for resentencing before a different judge, and corrected mittimus to one murder conviction.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument (People) | Defendant's Argument (Pace) | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Validity of guilty plea under Rule 402 | Admonishments substantially complied; Pace failed to show prejudice from any omission | Plea involuntary: inadequate admonishments (no warning about consecutive sentencing / correct minimums) and low IQ meant he didn’t understand plea | Court: plea denial affirmed — admonishments did not substantially comply re: consecutive sentencing but Pace forfeited/prejudiced requirement not met; blind plea and admonition of max (life) defeated prejudice claim |
| Sentencing judge neutrality and reliance on improper factors | Judge acted within discretion, may question witnesses, considered aggravation/mitigation | Judge abandoned neutral role (cross-examined defense expert), relied on personal beliefs/private investigations, punished silence (allocution refusal), and failed to weigh mitigation | Court: judge’s questioning of experts not disqualifying, but judge relied on improper extra-record evidence and punished Pace for silence; sentence vacated and remanded for resentencing before a different judge |
| Motion-to-withdraw hearing conduct | Court’s questioning of defense expert was permissible to test basis of opinion | Judge biased and improperly impeached expert and overstepped neutral role | Court: no abandonment of neutrality in plea-withdrawal hearing; questioning was relevant and within discretion |
| Constitutional challenges to automatic transfer and firearm enhancement/consecutive statutes | Statutes are constitutional as applied; trial court retained sentencing discretion within statutory bounds | Transfer statute violates due process and juvenile Eighth Amendment protections; firearm enhancement + mandatory consecutive sentencing produce de facto life and violate Miller/Graham/Roper | Court: automatic-transfer challenge rejected (Patterson controlling); firearm enhancement/consecutive sentencing did not violate Eighth Amendment or Illinois proportionate-penalties clause as applied to Pace; minimum 57-year floor deemed not equivalent to mandatory life-without-parole |
Key Cases Cited
- Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238 (U.S. 1969) (guilty plea must be knowing and voluntary)
- Brady v. United States, 397 U.S. 742 (U.S. 1970) (plea decisions are solemn acts not reversible at will)
- Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (U.S. 2005) (capital punishment barred for juveniles; reduced culpability of youth)
- Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S. 48 (U.S. 2010) (life-without-parole for nonhomicide juveniles unconstitutional)
- Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (U.S. 2012) (mandatory life-without-parole for juveniles unconstitutional; courts must consider youth)
- People v. Patterson, 2014 IL 115102 (Ill. 2014) (upholding automatic-transfer provision against due process and Eighth Amendment challenges)
- People v. Kidd, 129 Ill. 2d 432 (Ill. 1989) (Rule 402 admonishment defects and plea withdrawal context)
- People v. Torres, 228 Ill. 2d 382 (Ill. 2008) (Rule 402 admonishments and consistency of sentence with admonition)
- People v. Sharpe, 216 Ill. 2d 481 (Ill. 2005) (upholding firearm-enhancement statute against proportionate-penalties challenge)