People v. Chellew

Decision Date20 June 1974
Docket NumberNo. 73--81,73--81
Citation20 Ill.App.3d 963,313 N.E.2d 284
PartiesPEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Ronald Dean CHELLEW, Defendant-Appellant.
CourtUnited States Appellate Court of Illinois

John O. Vogel, Glen Ellyn, for defendant-appellant.

John J. Bowman, State's Atty., Malcolm F. Smith, Asst. State's Atty., Wheaton, for plaintiff-appellee.

GUILD, Justice.

The defendant Ronald Dean Chellew was jointly indicted and tried for committing a deviate sexual assault upon a fellow prisoner while the defendant was incarcerated in the Du Page County jail for a prior similar offense allegedly committed against a minor female. In the instant case defendant was tried by a jury and found guilty. This is a post-conviction proceeding relating to the sentence of the defendant.

In the prior case, People v. Chellew (1968), 104 Ill.App.2d 100, 243 N.E.2d 49, the defendant appealed to this court and the conviction was reversed because of the prosecution's comment upon the failure of the defendant to testify. However, in that case we held:

'There is nothing so implausible or inconsistent about any of the evidence that we can say, as a matter of law, that there is a reasonable doubt of the defendant's guilt. The weight of the evidence was for the jury to determine, and our review of the record leads us to the conclusion that the evidence was sufficient to support the verdict.' (104 Ill.App.2d at p. 103, 243 N.E.2d at p. 51).

The matter was remanded to the trial court for a new trial because of prosecution's comment but the matter was never retried.

In the case before us the trial court in the sentencing of the defendant, after the judgment of guilty by the jury, considered the prior conviction and also considered the fact that the defendant was on parole for burglary at the time of the commission of the instant offense.

The sole contention in the post-conviction case before us is that a constitutional issue is raised in that upon sentencing the defendant, the trial court considered a prior conviction which was subsequently reversed by this appellate court. As authority for this contention the defendant has cited United States v. Tucker (1972) 404 U.S. 443, 92 S.Ct. 589, 30 L.Ed.2d 592. Tucker is most similar to the factual situation of the case before us. In Tucker the trial court considered two convictions of the defendant in determining the sentence and it was further ascertained that the defendant was without counsel in those convictions. The Supreme Court held that 'the federal case might have been different if the sentencing judge had known that at least two of the respondent's previous convictions had been unconstitutionally obtained.' The court then remanded the case for reconsideration of the respondent's sentence. We will agree that the consideration by the trial court of a conviction subsequently set aside as indicated above does in fact present a constitutional question. We will further agree that the trial court imposing the instant sentence had knowledge of the prior conviction for a comparable sex act prior to the incarceration of the defendant.

The sentence imposed herein was well within the statutory limitation at the time of the imposition thereof. The term of a sentence does not present a constitutional question...

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14 cases
  • Sanchez v. State, 87-138
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court of Wyoming
    • June 7, 1988
    ...... See People v. Dale, 406 Ill. 238, 92 N.E.2d 761 (1950), overruled on other grounds sub nom. People v. Warr, ...denied 430 U.S. 956, 97 S.Ct. 1603, 51 L.Ed.2d 807 (1976); People v. Chellew, 20 Ill.App.3d 963, 313 N.E.2d 284 (1974); People v. Hoffman, 25 Ill.App.3d 261, 322 N.E.2d 865 ......
  • People v. Wunnenberg, 79-310
    • United States
    • United States Appellate Court of Illinois
    • August 8, 1980
    ...... People v. Chellew (3rd Dist. 1974), 20 Ill.App.3d 963, 313 N.E.2d 284; People v. Marselle (3rd Dist. 1974), 20 Ill.App.3d 1012, 314 N.E.2d 21. The major thrust of the ......
  • Lane v. Williams
    • United States
    • United States Supreme Court
    • March 23, 1982
    ...... Cf. People v. Halterman , 45 Ill.App.3d 605, 608, 4 Ill.Dec. 271, 359 N.E.2d 1223, 1225 (1977). 13 The ... See, e.g., People v. Chellew , 20 Ill.App.3d 963, 313 N.E.2d 284 (1974). Cf. People v. Wunnenberg , 87 Ill.App.3d 32, 34, 42 ......
  • People v. Brownell, 82-155
    • United States
    • United States Appellate Court of Illinois
    • April 11, 1984
    ...relied upon the authority of United States v. Tucker (1972), 404 U.S. 443, 92 S.Ct. 589, 30 L.Ed.2d 592, and People v. Chellew (1974), 20 Ill.App.3d 963, 313 N.E.2d 284. The "real question" in Tucker was whether the sentence imposed would have been different if the sentencing judge had know......
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