People v. Rippatoe, 408 Ill. App. 3d 1061

Darrell Rippatoe was convicted of home invasion and resisting or obstructing a peace officer; sentences run concurrently (6½ years and 364 days).
Posttrial, Rippatoe raised ineffective assistance of counsel claims and sought new counsel; circuit court denied appointment of new counsel without a proper inquiry.
Appellate Court previously remanded to conduct an appropriate factual inquiry per Krankel to determine if new counsel should be appointed to investigate the claims.
During remand proceedings, Rippatoe appeared shackled throughout the posttrial hearing; he testified about a potential witness, Floyd Robinson, and about defense counsel’s handling of other requested questions.
Defense counsel Miller testified about why Robinson was not called; the court considered Miller’s performance and whether Robinson would have changed the outcome; the judge commented on Miller’s prior performance in other cases.
The trial court ultimately held there was no merit to appoint new counsel; on appeal, the shackling issue and the off-record remarks about counsel were raised as errors.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Shackling at posttrial motion hearing	Rippatoe contends shackling during the hearing violated Boose and related due process rights.	State argues no prejudice shown; judge remained impartial.	Shackling was reversible error; remand for a new hearing without shackles absent a manifest need.
Reliance on off-record knowledge of counsel’s performance	Judge erred by relying on private knowledge of Miller’s performance in other matters.	State maintains any error was harmless and did not affect the outcome.	Off-record consideration was error, but harmless in this case; not grounds for full reversal by itself.

People v. Boose, 66 Ill.2d 261 (1977) (shackling should be avoided absent manifest need; Boose factors apply)
People v. Urdiales, 225 Ill.2d 354 (2007) (requires analysis of shackling under Boose; mandates inquiry)
People v. Allen, 222 Ill.2d 340 (2006) (prohibits shackling without manifest need even in posttrial settings)
People v. Krankel, 102 Ill.2d 181 (1984) (requires factual inquiry for pro se posttrial claims of ineffective assistance)
People v. Hillier, 237 Ill.2d 539 (2010) (plain-error doctrine framework for forfeited issues)
People v. Steidl, 177 Ill.2d 239 (1997) (comments based on private knowledge of counsel's performance are reversible error)
People v. Dameron, 196 Ill.2d 156 (2001) (limits on reliance on private judicial knowledge; due process concerns)
People v. Wallenberg, 24 Ill.2d 350 (1962) (early articulation on judicial knowledge and due process constraints)
Deck v. Missouri, 544 U.S. 622 (2005) (physical restraint impacts dignity and fairness of proceedings)