People v. Drum
Citation | 252 Ill.Dec. 470,743 N.E.2d 44,194 Ill.2d 485 |
Decision Date | 22 November 2000 |
Docket Number | No. 88503.,88503. |
Parties | The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellant, v. Charles C. DRUM, Appellee. |
Court | Supreme Court of Illinois |
James E. Ryan, Attorney General, Springfield, and C. Steve Ferguson, State's Attorney, Charleston (Joel D. Bertocchi, Solicitor General, William L. Browers and Michael Hoard, Assistant Attorneys General, Chicago, and Norbert J. Goetten, Robert J. Biderman and Thomas R. Dodegge, Office of the State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor, Springfield, of counsel), for the People.
Stephen R. Ryan, Mattoon, for appellee.
Defendant, Charles Drum, was charged with first degree murder (720 ILCS 5/9-1(a) (West 1996)). The circuit court of Coles County denied the State's pretrial motion to admit certain hearsay statements at defendant's trial. See 725 ILCS 5/115-10.2 (West 1998). The State brought an interlocutory appeal to the appellate court pursuant to our Rule 604(a)(1) (145 Ill.2d R. 604(a)(1)). The appellate court dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. 307 Ill.App.3d 743, 240 Ill.Dec. 821, 718 N.E.2d 302. We allowed the State's petition for leave to appeal. 177 Ill.2d R. 315(a). We now reverse and remand for further proceedings.
The State charged defendant; his brother, Thomas Drum; and their friend, Marcus Douglas with the first degree murder of the victim, Shane Ellison. Thomas and Marcus were tried separately. At their trials, Thomas and Marcus each testified in his own defense; each acknowledged that he was involved in the victim's murder; but each characterized his involvement as minimal and defendant's involvement as primary. Marcus testified at Thomas' trial, but Thomas refused to testify at Marcus' trial. Thomas and Marcus were each convicted of first degree murder.
Other than defendant, Thomas and Marcus were the only witnesses to the murder. Thomas and Marcus, respectively, through each of their counsel, indicated that they did not intend to testify at defendant's trial.
In pretrial motions, the State sought to admit the prior testimony of Thomas and Marcus at defendant's trial, pursuant to the statutory residual hearsay exception. 725 ILCS 5/115-10.2 (West 1998). At the close of a hearing, the trial court denied the State's motions.
Pursuant to our Rule 604(a)(1) (145 Ill.2d R. 604(a)(1)), the State brought an interlocutory appeal from the denial of these motions to the appellate court, which held as follows:
307 Ill.App.3d at 745, 240 Ill.Dec. 821, 718 N.E.2d 302.
Concluding that it lacked jurisdiction, the appellate court dismissed this interlocutory appeal. The State appeals to this court.
As in People v. Phipps, 83 Ill.2d 87, 90, 46 Ill.Dec. 164, 413 N.E.2d 1277 (1980): At the outset, we note the following:
"Under the 1970 Illinois Constitution, the final authority to prescribe the scope of interlocutory appeals by the State in a criminal case rests exclusively with this court [citation], and whether a particular order may be appealed depends solely upon our construction of our Rule 604(a)(1)." People v. Young, 82 Ill.2d 234, 239, 45 Ill.Dec. 150, 412 N.E.2d 501 (1980).
The interpretation of a supreme court rule, like a statute, is a question of law that we review de novo. In re Estate of Rennick, 181 Ill.2d 395, 401, 229 Ill.Dec. 939, 692 N.E.2d 1150 (1998)
.
The law is quite settled. Rule 604(a)(1) provides in pertinent part: "In criminal cases the State may appeal only from an order or judgment the substantive effect of which results in * * * suppressing evidence." 145 Ill.2d R. 604(a)(1). In Phipps, 83 Ill.2d at 90-91, 46 Ill.Dec. 164, 413 N.E.2d 1277, this court concluded that the State could bring an interlocutory appeal from a pretrial order, reasoning as follows:
Despite Young and Phipps, defendant relies on People v. Van De Rostyne, 63 Ill.2d 364, 349 N.E.2d 16 (1976), in contending that, under Rule 604(a)(1), the State may not bring an interlocutory appeal from a pretrial order that excludes evidence. Van De Rostyne stressed the distinction between the "exclusion" of evidence and the "suppression" of evidence. That decision stated: "Rule 604 was not intended to give the State the right to an interlocutory appeal from every ruling excluding evidence offered by the prosecution." Van De Rostyne, 63 Ill.2d at 368, 349 N.E.2d 16.
However, this court in Young concluded that Young, 82 Ill.2d at 247, 45 Ill.Dec. 150, 412 N.E.2d 501. The reasoning of Young has overruled Van De Rostyne on this point and allows the State to bring an interlocutory appeal from a pretrial evidentiary ruling that has the substantive effect of suppressing evidence. See, e.g., People v. Keith, 148 Ill.2d 32, 38-39, 169 Ill.Dec. 276, 591 N.E.2d 449 (1992)
; People v. Kite, 97 Ill.App.3d 817, 822-23, 53 Ill.Dec. 140, 423 N.E.2d 524 (1981).
148 Ill.2d at 38-39, 169 Ill.Dec. 276, 591 N.E.2d 449. Scholars have so recognized:
2 R. Ruebner, Illinois Criminal Procedure § 7.13, at 7-36 (2d ed. 1997).
Courts in other jurisdictions are in accord. See, e.g., State v. Griffin, 246 Kan. 320, 321-24, 787 P.2d 701, 703-04 (1990)
(. )
We note that in Young this court cited federal criminal procedure to support its holding. Young, 82 Ill.2d at 248, 45 Ill. Dec. 150, 412 N.E.2d 501. The issue in this case is a nonissue under federal law (18 U.S.C. § 3731 (1994)). The federal government may bring an interlocutory appeal from a pretrial order that has the practical effect of excluding evidence, although not expressly doing so. 9A Federal Procedure Lawyers Edition § 22:1988, at 531 (1993); accord United States v. Brooks, 145 F.3d 446, 454 (1st Cir.1998) (collecting cases) ("pretrial orders that have the practical effect of excluding material evidence at trial are appealable under section 3731, regardless of nomenclature"); see, e.g., United States v. Rodriguez, 975 F.2d 404, 408 (7th Cir.1992)
.
However, the appellate court in this case reached a contrary conclusion. After quoting from Young, the appellate court reasoned as follows:
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