People v. Smith
89 N.E.3d 960
Ill. App. Ct.2017Background
- On Oct. 25, 2013 police found Zachary Smith holding a gun in an apartment; he was charged with armed habitual criminal (AHC) and multiple counts of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon (UUWF).
- State relied on two prior convictions as predicates for AHC: a 2009 aggravated unlawful use of a weapon (AUUW) conviction and a 2007 UUWF conviction; certified copies of those convictions were admitted at bench trial.
- Trial court found police testimony credible, convicted Smith of AHC and UUWF, sentenced him to six years for AHC (concurrent two years for UUWF), and denied post-trial relief.
- On appeal Smith argued the AHC conviction must be vacated because one predicate (the AUUW conviction) rested on a statutory provision later held facially unconstitutional in People v. Aguilar.
- Smith alternatively argued the UUWF conviction must be vacated under the one-act, one-crime rule because both convictions arose from possession of a single firearm.
- The appellate court affirmed the AHC conviction (applying McFadden and Custis), vacated the UUWF conviction under one-act, one-crime, and corrected the mittimus to reflect only the AHC conviction.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether a prior conviction under a statute later held facially unconstitutional (Aguilar AUUW) may serve as a predicate for an AHC conviction | State: McFadden controls; a facially invalid prior conviction remains effective as predicate unless vacated | Smith: Aguilar (and Siebold/Montgomery) mean such prior convictions are void ab initio and cannot be used as predicates for subsequent crimes; AHC differs from UUWF | Court: Followed McFadden and Custis; invalid AUUW may serve as a predicate for AHC absent a vacation of the prior conviction by the defendant |
| Whether both AHC and UUWF convictions based on possession of the same firearm violate one-act, one-crime rule | State: agreed UUWF should be vacated if duplicative | Smith: convictions are for same physical act so lesser should be vacated | Court: Vacated UUWF conviction and corrected mittimus; retained AHC sentence as the more serious offense |
Key Cases Cited
- People v. McFadden, 2016 IL 117424 (Illinois Supreme Court) (held facially invalid prior conviction may be used as predicate for UUWF absent vacatur)
- Lewis v. United States, 445 U.S. 55 (1980) (prior conviction may establish felon status for federal firearms disability even if defendant challenges prior conviction collateral to present prosecution)
- Custis v. United States, 511 U.S. 485 (1994) (limits collateral-attack rights on prior convictions used for sentence enhancement to Gideon-type counsel-deprivation grounds)
- People v. Aguilar, 2013 IL 112116 (Illinois Supreme Court) (struck portion of AUUW statute as facially unconstitutional)
- Burgett v. Texas, 389 U.S. 109 (1967) (rule that unconstitutional prior convictions generally may not be used to support guilt or enhance punishment)