People v. Clark

• Decision Date: 23 November 1955
• Docket Number: No. 33598,33598
• Citation: 7 Ill.2d 163,130 N.E.2d 195
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Defendant in Error, v. June CLARK, Plaintiff in Error.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

Page 195

130 N.E.2d 195

7 Ill.2d 163

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Defendant in Error, v. June CLARK, Plaintiff in Error.

No. 33598.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

Nov. 23, 1955.

Louis A. Rosenthal, Chicago, for plaintiff in error.

Latham Castle, Atty. Gen., and John Gutknecht, State's Atty., Chicago (Irwin D. Bloch, John T. Gallagher, Rudolph L. Janeag, Edward Egan, and Robert J. Smith, Chicago, of counsel), for the People.

DAILY, Justice.

On a trial before the criminal court of Cook County without a jury, defendant, June Clark, was found guilty of the crime of selling narcotic drugs and was sentenced to the Illinois State Reformatory for Women for a term of two to five years. A writ of error has been sued out of this court and the cause is here for review.

Prior to her trial, defendant filed a motion to suppress evidence allegedly obtained by unreasonable search and seizure without right of search warrant. At the preliminary hearing upon such motion defendant called as her first witness, Eugene Cassidy, one of the police officers who arrested her. Cassidy testified that early in the evening of April 14, 1954, he took one Albert Baker into custody for investigation, that Baker admitted he was a narcotics addict and, when asked, expressed willingness to bring his suppliers into custody. From Cassidy's further testimony and from that of Baker, who was called as a witness by the People, is appears that the latter telephoned the apartment occupied by defendant and asked for William Rogers, whom he believed to be the defendant's husband. Rogers was not present, but when Baker told defendant he had some topcoats for which he wanted to get some 'stuff,' she told him to come over. The police then made a complete search of Baker's clothing and person and ascertained that he had no narcotics in his possession. Thereafter, Baker was given officer Cassidy's topcoat and $10 in marked bills, (a five-dollar bill and five single-dollar bills,) and was driven to the apartment building where defendant resided.

Baker entered the apartment building accompanied by police officer Griffin and, while the latter waited in the hall, Baker went into room 315. There, by his version, he found defendant alone and purchased from her two sealed packets of powder for which he paid her $10. He testified that she refunded him one of the dollar bills at his request and that when he 'told her about the topcoats' she said he would have to wait until Rogers came. Baker then departed leaving Cassidy's topcoat in the room. The packets purchased from defendant were turned over to Cassidy, who had remained in front of the building in a police car, and were found to contain a white powder which, when field tested on the spot, proved to be a derivative of opium.

Officers Cassidy, Griffin and Poole, all of whom where dressed in civilian clothes, immediately returned to room 315 where defendant responded to their knock by opening the door the length of a chain lock by which it was secured. Through the opening Cassidy could see his topcoat on a chair. According to Cassidy, he and his partners identified themselves as police, exhibiting their stars as they did so, and directed defendant to open the door. When she refused, the officers forced their way into the room. Upon being questioned defendant denied that she had sold narcotics to Baker, or to any other person, or that she had received any money from him. A subsequent search of the apartment did not reveal any narcotics but when defendant was searched by a police matron, who was called to the apartment for the purpose, nine dollars of the marked bills given Baker were found in the pocket of her housecoat. This money, together with Cassidy's topcoat, was confiscated by the police.

Testifying in her own behalf, defendant stated that the police officers broke into her room without identifying themselves, that they had questioned her and searched the apartment for almost 15 minutes before they did so, and that they broke the chain lock before she had an opportunity to admit them. She related that they did not ask her about money or narcotics but kept referring to 'stuff' in such a manner that she did not know what they were talking about. Defendant admitted having the nine dollars in marked bills on her person but explained her possession as follows: Baker, whom she knew and who frequently visited other people in the apartment building, telephoned her early on the night in question and asked for William Rogers, a friend of defendant. When Baker learned that Rogers was expected he asked if he could come to defendant's apartment to wait, saying he had something for Rogers. Baker came to the apartment carrying a topcoat and, after waiting a short time, asked defendant if he could leave the coat and if she would take nine dollars he owed to Rogers. Accordingly, defendant permitted Baker to leave the coat and accepted from him a five-dollar bill and four one-dollar bills for Rogers. She denied that she had sold or exchanged anything with Baker for the money and topcoat. At the conclusion of her testimony defendant stated that Baker had come to her apartment the morning of the same day and borrowed money from her friend.

After hearing the foregoing testimony, the court denied defendant's motion to suppress property taken from the apartment as evidence, and the cause immediately proceeded to trial when defendant's counsel stipulated that the testimony heard on the motion would be the same as would be presented by the People on its case in chief. Thereafter, each side produced one more witness. For the People, a chemist testified that the powder in two packets delivered to him on April 15, 1954, by one of the officers participating in defendant's arrest, was heroin. For the defense, William Rogers testified that he was a friend of defendant and a frequent visitor at her apartment; that he knew Baker and was aware of the latter's narcotic addiction; that Baker, on April 14, 1954, owed him nine dollars, and that defendant had told him the day following her arrest that the purpose of Baker's visit had been to leave with her the nine dollars he owed to the witness. Also admitted into evidence against defendant were the packets of powder referred to and the marked money found in her possession.

As ground for reversal in this court defendant first contends that she was denied due process of law when the court permitted her counsel, who was either inexperienced or incompetent, to stipulate away her basic right to a fair trial. In argument under this point defendant says that it is 'incredible' that her counsel would have called a People's witness (Cassidy) to testify in support of the motion to suppress and that counsel's error in so doing was compounded when he stipulated that Cassidy's testimony would be the same at the trial of the cause. We have held that poor representation by an attorney of defendant's own choosing is of no legal moment, People v. Ventura, 415 Ill. 587, 114 N.E.2d 710, and that a judgment of conviction will not be reversed merely because such counsel failed to exercise the greatest of skill or for the reason that it might appear, in looking back over the trial, that he had made some tactical blunder. Putnam v. People, 408 Ill. 582, 97 N.E.2d 841; People v. Ney, 349 Ill. 172, 181 N.E. 595. Insofar as due process of law is concerned, this court has quoted with approval the holding in United States ex rel. Feeley v. Ragen, 7 Cir., 166 F.2d 976, that mistakes of counsel, although indicative of lack of skill or even of incompetency, is not such a violation of due process of law as will vitiate the trial...