People v. Robinson, 2017 IL App (1st) 161595

Background

Defendant (Robinson) was convicted at a bench trial of residential burglary and aggravated battery after a 2010 altercation in which the victim, Witherspoon, testified Robinson bit off part of his lower lip. Defendant claimed he was invited into the apartment by a woman he knew as "Wanda."
After conviction and sentencing (30 years for burglary; concurrent 7 years adjusted on appeal to 5 years for battery), defendant filed a pro se posttrial ineffective-assistance (Krankel) motion; the trial court conducted a preliminary Krankel inquiry and denied relief.
This court previously remanded for a new preliminary Krankel hearing because the State’s participation had turned the earlier inquiry adversarial; a different judge held the new inquiry and again denied appointment of new counsel.
On remand the parties also disputed the fines and fees. The appellate court previously corrected the fines/fees total to $365, but on this appeal the parties agreed further corrections were required and the court reduced the total to $285.
At the Krankel remand defendant emphasized two principal complaints: (1) trial counsel failed to locate or investigate "Wanda," a potential exculpatory witness; and (2) counsel failed to interview/arresting officers who might show the victim used Wanda’s name. Trial counsel explained his investigative and strategic choices at the hearing; the court found counsel’s performance reasonable and denied appointment of new counsel.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the trial court should have appointed new counsel after the new preliminary Krankel inquiry	Trial court properly conducted inquiry; defendant’s claims were speculative or strategic and lacked merit	Defendant showed possible neglect and therefore required appointment of new counsel for second-stage Krankel proceedings	Denied. Court held defendant’s allegations did not show possible neglect and appointment was not required.
Whether counsel was ineffective for failing to locate/investigate "Wanda"	Counsel’s decision reasonable given scant identifying information, Wanda fled scene, and investigation likely fruitless	Wanda was a key witness who would have corroborated defendant’s account and counsel failed to pursue available leads	Denied. Court found counsel’s investigation reasonable under the circumstances; no neglect shown.
Whether counsel was ineffective for not interviewing/arresting officers about whether victim identified Wanda	Calling officers would likely be unnecessary, speculative; no affidavit shows officers would help	Police report suggests the victim told officers the name "Wanda," which would impeach victim’s trial testimony that he did not know her	Denied. Court held the report did not reliably show the victim knew Wanda’s name; absent affidavits this was a fishing expedition and not neglect.
Whether fines/fees were properly assessed and offset by presentence credit	State agreed some items were improperly imposed and that further correction was required	Defendant argued additional fines were unauthorized and presentence credit should offset State Police and court systems assessments, reducing total owed to $285	Granted in part. Court vacated two violent-crime victims fines ($20 and $100 as unauthorized), applied presentence credit to the $15 State Police and $50 court systems charges, and corrected total owed to $285.

Key Cases Cited

People v. Krankel, 102 Ill. 2d 181 (trial court must conduct preliminary inquiry into pro se ineffective-assistance claims)
People v. Moore, 207 Ill. 2d 68 (preliminary inquiry standards; appointment required only if claim shows possible neglect)
People v. Chapman, 194 Ill. 2d 186 (Krankel progeny; framework for handling pro se claims)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (constitutional ineffective-assistance two‑prong test)
People v. Albanese, 104 Ill. 2d 504 (adoption of Strickland in Illinois)
People v. Jones, 223 Ill. 2d 569 (distinguishing fines vs. fees for offset/credit purposes)