People v. Plascencia
2025 IL App (1st) 221715-U
| Ill. App. Ct. | 2025Background
- Defendant Cindy Plascencia was convicted of misdemeanor battery after a bench trial for pushing and striking Gracia Pantoja during a custody handoff at Plascencia’s home on July 5, 2020.
- The altercation arose during a dispute over custody and a church event involving the daughter, A.L.; each party blamed the other for instigating the physical contact.
- A video recording from a doorbell camera was admitted at trial, but did not capture the entire exchange; the credibility of the parties' testimony was critical to the court’s decision.
- Plascencia moved for a directed verdict and later for a post-trial acquittal, arguing evidentiary errors, speedy trial violations, and inconsistency between the verdict and the video evidence.
- The trial was conducted partly via Zoom due to COVID-19 protocols and was scheduled within the 160-day statutory limit under Illinois’s speedy trial statute for defendants on bond.
Issues
| Issue | Plascencia's Argument | State's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sufficiency of Evidence | Evidence, especially video, does not support guilt beyond reasonable doubt | The trial court’s findings were adequate; self-defense not established | Affirmed conviction; credibility decision was for the trial judge |
| Speedy Trial | The trial court violated speedy trial rights; COVID order did not apply here | Trial occurred within 160 days; delays are not chargeable under order | No speedy trial violation; trial held within statutory period |
| Evidentiary Rulings | Trial court abused discretion by sustaining the State's objections | Objections were properly sustained; ample latitude was given | No abuse of discretion; evidentiary rulings affirmed |
Key Cases Cited
- People v. McLaurin, 2020 IL 124563 (standard for sufficiency of evidence on appeal)
- People v. Gray, 2017 IL 120958 (elements of self-defense in Illinois)
- People v. Givens, 237 Ill. 2d 311 (reasonable inferences favor prosecution; witness credibility)
- People v. Nere, 2018 IL 122566 (role of appellate court in reviewing credibility)
- People v. Williams, 193 Ill. 2d 306 (province of trial court to weigh testimony)