People v. Beyah, No. 49058

• Court: Illinois Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: THOMAS J. MORAN
• Citation: 67 Ill.2d 423,367 N.E.2d 1334,10 Ill.Dec. 568
• Parties: , 10 Ill.Dec. 568 The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellee, v. Norman BEYAH, Appellant.
• Decision Date: 20 September 1977
• Docket Number: No. 49058

Page 1334

367 N.E.2d 1334 67 Ill.2d 423, 10 Ill.Dec. 568 The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellee,
v.
Norman BEYAH, Appellant. No. 49058. Supreme Court of Illinois. Sept. 20, 1977.

[67 Ill.2d 425]

Page 1335

[10 Ill.Dec. 569] James Geis, Deputy State Appellate Defender, Richard Steck, and Steven L. Clark, Asst. State Appellate Defenders, Chicago, for appellant.

William J. Scott, Atty. Gen., Springfield, and Bernard Carey, State's Atty., Chicago (James B. Zagel and Jayne A. Carr, Asst. Attys. Gen., and Laurence J. Bolon, Linda Ann Miller, and Gary W. Adair, Asst. State's Attys., of counsel), for the People.

THOMAS J. MORAN, Justice:

After a jury verdict which found him guilty of burglary, defendant, Norman Beyah, was sentenced to a term of 4 to 12 years. Prior to trial, defendant had moved for discharge for not having been brought to trial within 120 days of his arrest and commitment on the charge (Ill.Rev.Stat.1971, ch. 38, par. 103-5). The motion was denied, the appellate court affirmed the judgment of denial (42 Ill.App.3d 962, 1 Ill.Dec. 678, 356 N.E.2d 960), and this court granted leave to appeal.

Defendant was arrested on July 25, 1972, and later indicted. On September 26, 1972, the defendant was arraigned before the acting presiding justice of the criminal court of Cook County. There a public defender was appointed to represent him. Upon a plea of not guilty, the case was assigned to a trial judge. Neither the report of proceedings nor the common law record reveals a trial date having been set. On the same day, defendant appeared before the trial judge and the court continued the case until the next day. On September 27 (the 64th day of commitment), defendant moved for a reduction in the amount of bail bond previously set. Upon conclusion of his testimony in support of the motion, the State began to introduce evidence of defendant's prior criminal record. [67 Ill.2d 426] The judge interrupted, and the following colloquy occurred.

"THE COURT: I will give you an early date.

MR. GOLDBERG (Assistant State's Attorney): served time in the House of Correction

THE COURT: Motion for bond reduction denied. Go ahead pick a date.

MR. GOLDBERG: I have got others.

THE COURT: I haven't got time. Pick a date. We'll give him a trial. I can't talk about bond. If you're innocent, you walk out. If you're guilty, you go to jail.

MR. WALTERS (Public Defender): Set it down for three weeks from today.

THE COURT: How about October 18?

THE DEFENDANT: Can I get one earlier than that?

THE COURT: I can't give you one earlier than that. Motion Defendant, with subpoenas, October 18."

For various other reasons, none attributable to the defendant, the case was delayed, and on December 14, 1972, the defendant appeared before another judge and moved for a discharge on grounds earlier stated. Defense counsel argued that although the record indicated the setting of a trial date had been on motion of defendant the date set and any resulting delay had actually been on the court's initiative because defense counsel was ordered to "pick a date." The State argued that defense counsel's response "set it down for three weeks from today (i. e., October 18)," and the

Page 1336

[10 Ill.Dec. 570] defendant's own request for an earlier trial date, constituted either a request for or an acquiescence in the delay of trial. The trial court denied the...