In re L.F., a Minor (The People of the State of Illinois, Petitioner-Appellee,
v.
L.F., Respondent-Appellant).
Illinois Appellate Court Second District.
*407 *408 Paul E. Gaziano, of Remencius, Liebovich & Gaziano, of Rockford, for appellant.
Daniel D. Doyle, State's Attorney, of Rockford (Phyllis J. Perko and Sally A. Swiss, both of State's Attorneys Appellate Service Commission, of counsel), for the People.
Judgment affirmed.
JUSTICE LINDBERG delivered the opinion of the court:
Respondent-minor L.F. was charged with committing the offense of residential burglary (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 38, par. 19-3) in a delinquency petition. At the adjudicatory hearing, it was established that Eddie Torrance and a friend arrived at Torrance's Rockford home after work on March 11, 1982, to find that the home had been broken into and that money, jewelry, and whiskey were missing. Torrance also found a hammer in the house which was given to the police and introduced into evidence.
Two Rockford policemen testified regarding their interviews with the minor and statements he gave to them. In both statements the minor admitted that he had watched Torrance leave his house to go to work and then broke into the house and took money, a gun, and some liquor. He also stated in both that the homeowner owed him money. In the second statement, he correctly identified Torrance's place of work, reported his use of a hammer to break in and that he left it behind, stated that he also took jewelry, and described the layout of the house. Although both original statements contained references by the minor to being "on a furlough from Joliet," these were excised when the statements were introduced into evidence. The minor's indication *409 in the second statement that he broke into Torrance's home in 1980 was not removed.
An employee of the Department of Corrections and another Rockford policeman testified regarding the minor's May 21, 1982, escape from custody while on the way to be arraigned on the present charge and his capture the next day. The minor's only evidence was the testimony of the Rockford policemen who responded to the Torrance break-in that Torrance at that time reported that nothing was missing.
The jury found the minor to be delinquent. As the State proved to the court two previous adjudications for felony offenses, the trial court sentenced him to confinement until his 21st birthday, pursuant to the Habitual Juvenile Offender Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 37, par. 705-12). He appeals.
ADMISSION OF EVIDENCE OF OTHER CRIMES
1 The minor first contends that prejudicial error occurred when the trial court permitted the admission of evidence of other crimes committed by him. The minor specifically points to testimony regarding the fact that he had escaped from the custody of the Department of Corrections while being returned to Rockford for arraignment on the charge involved in this case (see Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 38, par. 36-1) and to that portion of the minor's statement of March 15, 1982, in which he related that he had broken into the same house on a previous occasion (see Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 38, par. 19-3).
Regarding the testimony of the minor's escape, evidence of escape or attempted escape from custody by an accused is admissible as a fact raising a presumption of guilt of the crime charged, even if the accused is being held on more than one charge. (People v. Yonder (1969),
2 Regarding that portion of the minor's statement indicating a prior break-in, the trial court admitted it because it "not only shows his intent, but impeaches his statement in the earlier statement, his remark in the earlier statement to [Officer] Piccirilli that this was an individual who owed him money." Although it is generally true that evidence of crimes other than the one for which the accused is being tried is not admissible, there are exceptions, including evidence of separate offenses which also tend to prove a fact in issue or which go to show motive, intent, identity, absence of mistake or modus *410 operandi. (People v. McDonald (1975),
The evidence in question is a portion of defendant's March 15, 1982, statement to Officer Hoffman. After describing the manner of the break-in at issue, defendant stated the following:
"As soon as you walk in you turn left and there is a closet. Thats [sic] the first place I went because the last time I broke in there, there was [sic] about $800.00 or $900.00 in there. There was [sic] also two pistols in there at that time. It was 1980 when I broke in that time."
3 These remarks tend to show that defendant's intent upon breaking in was to obtain money and possibly goods, such as the pistols, just as he had been able to do in the past. The intent to commit a felony or theft is a necessary element of the offense of residential burglary. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 38, par. 19-3(a).) Therefore, the remarks were relevant to proof of the charged offense. This is especially true here where the minor, in other parts of his statements, averred that he broke into the victim's home to take money that the victim owed to him. In People v. Henderson (1974),
Defendant cursorily states that "the State ought to have been required to establish the occurrence of the other crime," citing People v. Gugliotta (1980),
In any event, no error was committed. People v. Gugliotta (1980),
4 Even if error were found in the admission of evidence of other crimes, the error would be harmless. Where the evidence of the defendant's guilt is overwhelming, an error in the admission of evidence of other crimes committed by the defendant is harmless. (See People v. Carlson (1982),
CONSTITUTIONALITY OF THE HABITUAL JUVENILE OFFENDER ACT
5 The minor contends that the trial court erred in ruling that the State may impeach him through evidence of prior juvenile adjudications. *412 Although section 5-12 of the Juvenile Court Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 37, par. 705-12), commonly referred to as the Habitual Juvenile Offender Act (hereinafter Act), permits that sort of impeachment under certain conditions, the minor contends that the statute is unconstitutional as a legislative encroachment on a judicial function. He argues that the applicable rule is that established in People v. Montgomery (1971),
The challenged part of the Act is that paragraph of subsection (c) of section 5-12 which reads as follows:
"No prior adjudication shall be alleged in the petition, and no evidence or other disclosure of such adjudication shall be presented to the court or jury during any adjudicatory hearing provided for under this section, unless otherwise permitted by the issues properly raised in such hearing. In the event the minor who is the subject of these proceedings elects to testify on his own behalf, it shall be competent to introduce evidence, for purposes of impeachment, that he has previously been adjudicated a delinquent minor upon facts which, had he been tried as an adult, would have resulted in his conviction of a felony. Introduction of such evidence shall be according to the rules and procedures applicable to the impeachment of an adult defendant by prior conviction." Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 37, par. 705-12(c).
Thus, in proceedings against the minor prosecuted as a habitual juvenile offender, the minor may be impeached by prior juvenile adjudications subject only to the rules of evidence for impeaching an adult criminal defendant by prior convictions.
People v. Montgomery (1971),
The central problem involved in the resolution of this issue is whether the rule of Montgomery is to be applied to juvenile court proceedings. *413 The minor argues that Montgomery is to be applied directly to this type of case, resulting in a bar against the use of his prior adjudications for impeachment. Because the statutory provision would permit a different result in a judicial matter, he contends, it is void as unconstitutional. The State argues, on the other hand, that the courts have never intended to apply Montgomery to juvenile proceedings. The Act legislatively incorporates Montgomery only to the extent that its rule on the use of prior convictions, but not the use of prior juvenile adjudications, in criminal cases is to be applied to the use of prior adjudications in habitual juvenile offender cases.
The Montgomery opinion itself did not limit its rule to criminal cases, stating that "the provisions of this Rule should be followed in future cases." (People v. Montgomery (1971),
6 That evidentiary rules in delinquency cases, subject to constitutional restraints, should be determined by the Juvenile Court Act rather than by general criminal case rules enunciated by the judiciary is in conformity with the logic and purpose of the Juvenile Court Act, which are distinctly different from those of the Criminal Code of 1961. As stated in In re Beasley (1977),
"Section 2-9 of the Juvenile Court Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1975, ch. 37, par. 702-9) clearly indicates that proceedings under the Act are not criminal. Although such a proceeding retains certain adversary characteristics, it is not in the usual sense an adversary proceeding, but it is one to be administered in a spirit of humane concern for and to promote the welfare of the minor as well as to serve the best interests of the community."66 Ill.2d 385 , 389.
In In re Beasley (1977),
In People ex rel. Carey v. Chrastka (1980),
"We acknowledge that the accused's credibility will be damaged if he chooses to testify and the prosecution introduces evidence of the prior adjudications in impeachment, but this is the purpose of impeachment regardless of the context in which it is done and the consequences that result. It is improper prejudice with which we are concerned, and if the Act is correctly applied, this will not result. The Act is carefully drafted to avoid unfair prejudice * * *. By providing these safeguards, the Act actually goes beyond those required by the United States Supreme Court in Spencer [Spencer v. Texas (1967),385 U.S. 554 ,17 L.Ed.2d 606 ,87 S.Ct. 648 ]."83 Ill.2d 67 , 76-77.
7 Since there is no indication that the supreme court intended Montgomery to directly apply to juvenile proceedings, this court will not presume such an intent, especially in light of the presumption of validity of statutes (Gill v. Miller (1982),
Although the minor does not argue the unconstitutionality of the Act except through its alleged nonconformity to Montgomery, an improper legislative encroachment upon a judicial function is possible even in the absence of conflict with case law. With regard to laws governing judicial practice, the General Assembly does not have the power to enact laws which unduly infringe upon the inherent powers *415 of the judiciary or conflict with a rule of the supreme court. (People v. Youngbey (1980),
An alternative argument suggested by the State is that, even if the rule of Montgomery were intended to apply to juvenile proceedings, a literal reading of proposed Rule 609(d) would still allow the impeachment use of the minor's prior adjudications. This is because the rule expresses a categorical bar on such evidence only if the witness is the "accused" in a criminal case. (See Advisory Committee's Note to Subdivisions (d) of Rule 609 in Appendix 6 of Am.Jur.2d, New Topic Service: Federal Rules of Evidence, at 501.) Although Rule 609 as finally adopted by Congress would permit some discretion in admitting prior adjudications for impeaching witnesses other than the accused only in criminal cases (i.e., the categorical bar applies for all witnesses in noncriminal cases) (Fed. R. of Evid. 609(d)), it is the 1971 draft version, proposed by the Supreme Court, which was endorsed by the Illinois Supreme Court in Montgomery and which continues to be the rule in Illinois. (People v. Yost (1980),
The problem with the adoption of this approach is that if the supreme court had intended that proposed Rule 609 apply in delinquency cases notwithstanding contrary statutory provisions, its purpose would most probably be to grant minors prosecuted for delinquency the same protections given to adults "accused" of criminal offenses. Furthermore, while this approach does permit some discretion in the admission of prior adjudications, it does so under a much stricter standard than that used to admit evidence of prior convictions. It is the more liberal standard that is employed by subsection (c) of the statute; the parties have not addressed whether admission *416 of the prior adjudications would have been proper under the stricter standard found in proposed Rule 609(d).
8, 9 The minor also contends that, if the statute does not improperly impinge upon the judicial power, it is unconstitutional under the equal protection clause (U.S. Const., amend. XIV, sec. 1; Ill. Const. 1970, art. 1, sec.2). The basis of this equal protection argument is that the statute would permit the impeachment usage of prior adjudications against a minor prosecuted as a habitual juvenile offender while such usage against a minor prosecuted as an adult is prohibited. Because under certain conditions a minor may be prosecuted as an adult (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 37, par. 702-7), this same argument could just as well be made against any of the various provisions of the Juvenile Court Act which provide for different procedures and dispositions than are possible in criminal prosecutions. However, the fact that a minor may be treated as an adult in some cases and not in others, pursuant to the standards set out in section 2-7 of the Juvenile Court Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 37, par. 702-7), does not deny him equal protection under the law. (People v. Sprinkle (1972),
Finally with regard to the minor's second allegation of error, he does not demonstrate any prejudice resulting from the alleged error. Evidence of the prior adjudication was not introduced because the minor chose not to testify, purportedly for fear of the prejudice resulting from the impeachment. As already noted, evidence of the minor's guilt was overwhelming. The minor did not, either at trial or on appeal, suggest any testimony which he might have given that would have created a reasonable doubt as to his guilt. Where a defendant is improperly impeached on cross-examination through evidence of a prior conviction, reversal is not required unless the error has deprived *417 the defendant of substantial justice or influenced his determination of guilt. (People v. Madison (1974),
DENIAL OF A HEARING ON THE ESCAPE STATEMENT
10 The minor's final contention is that the trial court erred in refusing to hear his motion to suppress a statement that he had made to Officer Mary Denton relating to his escape on May 21, 1982. Although the trial court had originally granted the minor's motion to exclude evidence of the escape, it later reversed its ruling on the State's motion to reconsider. The minor moved to suppress evidence of the statement made to Officer Denton, alleging inter alia that the statement was involuntary. The State indicated that it would not use that statement in its direct case, but reserved the right to use it at a later time. The trial court refused to hear the issue at that time, indicating that it would address it when it had to, but that it would not take the time for a hearing on an issue which might be mooted. The minor then moved in limine to prevent use of the statement for impeachment purposes and the court denied the motion. At the adjudicatory hearing, the minor did not testify, and evidence of the statement made to Officer Denton was never introduced.
The question to be resolved is whether the trial court was obligated to hear the motion prior to trial. The minor argues that such a hearing was necessary so that his constitutional rights would not be violated and so that he might be able to prepare his defense. However, while a defendant has a constitutional right at some stage of the proceedings against him to object to the use of his confession and to have a fair hearing and a reliable determination upon the issue of voluntariness (Jackson v. Denno (1964),
As to the minor's ability to prepare his defense, we can find no basis for requiring the hearing on the impeachment use of his allegedly *418 involuntary statement before he testified. The statute the minor cites, section 114-11 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 38, par. 114-11), prescribes the procedure for a motion to suppress evidence of a confession on the ground that it was not voluntary. Although section 114-11(c) requires the trial court to conduct a hearing if the motion is sufficient, no particular time for the hearing is mandated.
Cases have held that a trial court may properly refrain from making a ruling on the admissibility of a defendant's prior convictions for impeachment purposes until after the defendant has testified, even though the withholding of a ruling makes defense strategy more difficult. (People v. Rose (1979),
In any event, the minor has not shown any prejudice resulting from the trial court's refusal to hear its motion prior to his testifying. As noted in each of the prior two issues, the evidence of the minor's guilt was overwhelming. The challenged statement was not introduced. If the requested hearing had been held before trial, and the statement suppressed, the minor does not suggest what unimpeached testimony he might have provided. Moreover, the introduction of the statement by the minor relating to his escape would have been harmless in that two State's witnesses had already testified about the escape. See People v. Garcia (1981),
*419 The judgment of the circuit court of Winnebago County is affirmed.
Affirmed.
SEIDENFELD, P.J., and UNVERZAGT, J., concur.
