2024 IL App (2d) 230462-U
Ill. App. Ct.2024Background
- Mcred Valderama was indicted on several sexual offenses involving a minor family member.
- He was arrested on August 27, 2022, and bond was set at 10% of $10 million; he did not post bond and remained detained.
- On September 7, 2023, over a year after his arrest, the State filed a petition to detain him pretrial under the Pretrial Fairness Act.
- Valderama moved to strike the State’s petition as untimely since he had not been released nor requested a rehearing.
- The trial court denied Valderama’s motion and granted the State’s petition after a hearing, ordering continued pretrial detention.
- On appeal, Valderama challenged whether the State’s detention petition was timely and authorized under the statute.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff’s Argument | Defendant’s Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the State’s pretrial detention petition was timely under the Act | The State may seek pretrial detention via petition, regardless of timing, given seriousness of charges | The law only allows such a petition at defendant’s first appearance or after release within 21 days; the State missed those windows | The State’s petition was untimely; court lacked authority to grant it |
Key Cases Cited
- People v. Shelton, 2018 IL App (2d) 160303 (standard of review for statutory interpretation)
- Ryan v. Board of Trustees of the General Assembly Retirement System, 236 Ill. 2d 315 (principles of statutory interpretation)
- People v. Perry, 224 Ill. 2d 312 (ascertaining legislative intent)
- Benzakry v. Patel, 2017 IL App (3d) 160162 (plain language rule in statutory interpretation)
(Remnants such as Rios, Vingara, and Davidson are not included as they do not have official Bluebook reporter citations.)