72 N.E.2d 813 | Ill. | 1947
By two separate indictments returned in the circuit court of La Salle county on June 17, 1938, the defendant, Roy Bute, fifty-seven years of age, was charged with the crime of taking indecent liberties with a child. In the first indictment the child was an eight-year-old girl; in the second an eleven-year-old girl. On June 20, 1938, the defendant was duly arraigned and entered a plea of guilty to both indictments. Defendant was thereupon sentenced to imprisonment in the penitentiary for a term of from one to twenty years on each indictment, the sentences to run consecutively and not concurrently. Appearing pro se, Bute prosecutes this writ of error. No bill of exceptions has been filed.
Defendant first contends that he was denied representation by counsel. The common-law record discloses neither an attempt to appear and defend by counsel nor a request that the court assign counsel to conduct the defense. There is no showing that defendant was denied representation by counsel of his own choosing and, in the absence of a request, there was no duty upon the court to appoint counsel for him. People v. Russell,
Defendant next complains that the trial court did not advise him of his right to have the assistance of counsel and asserts that an affirmative waiver of the right to counsel must appear upon the face of the record. The right *590
to be heard by counsel is guaranteed by section 9 of article II of our constitution. The right to have counsel appointed by the court is granted by statute. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1945, chap. 38, par. 730.) Defendant's argument relates solely to the right to have the assistance of counsel appointed by the court. There is no mandatory constitutional requirement that counsel be assigned to an accused. Indeed, due process under the fourteenth amendment to the Federal constitution does not require that counsel be assigned to accused, even where requested. (Betts v. Brady,
The third error assigned as ground for reversal is that the statute relating to the appointment of counsel in criminal cases violates both the State and Federal constitutions because it places on a defendant the duty to know of his right to counsel and discriminates against those who do *591
not know the law in favor of those who are conversant with the statute. This question was not raised in the trial court and it cannot be raised for the first time in a court of review.People v. Berglin,
Defendant next asserts that he was rushed to trial with such expedition as to deprive him of a fair trial. The indictments were presented on June 17, 1938, and on the third day thereafter defendant was arraigned, pleaded guilty and sentenced. This cause being here on the common-law record, the extent of our inquiry is circumscribed by what that record contains. (People v. Burnett,
Defendant further contends that the sentence of imprisonment is illegal because it was imposed without the trial court making a finding of guilt. It will be observed that defendant entered a plea of guilty. Under such circumstances, it follows, as a legal inference, that the court finds the defendant guilty and it is not necessary for the court to enter such finding.People v. Werner,
Lastly, defendant urges reversal on the ground that he was sentenced for the offense of taking indecent liberties with children, an offense not charged in the indictments. In the first count of each indictment defendant is charged with taking indecent liberties with a child — not with children. Defendant's objection is hypercritical. Moreover, the judgment orders, so far as pertinent, read: "Thereupon the said defendant enters his plea of guilty of the crime of taking indecent liberties with children in manner and form as charged in the first count of the indictment *592
herein." The law does not require specific repetition and it is sufficient that the judgment order recites a plea of guilty in manner and form as charged in a particular count of the indictment. People v. Wooten,
The judgments of the circuit court of La Salle county are affirmed.
Judgments affirmed.