People v. Smith

• Decision Date: 30 January 2018
• Docket Number: No. 1–15–1402,1–15–1402
• Citation: 97 N.E.3d 117,2018 IL App (1st) 151402
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff–Appellee, v. Sammy SMITH, Defendant–Appellant.
• Court: United States Appellate Court of Illinois

2018 IL App (1st) 151402

97 N.E.3d 117

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff–Appellee,

v.Sammy SMITH, Defendant–Appellant.

No. 1–15–1402

Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, Second Division.

January 30, 2018

Michael J. Pelletier, Patricia Mysza, and Christopher L. Gehrke, of State Appellate Defender’s Office, of Chicago, for appellant.

Kimberly M. Foxx, State’s Attorney, of Chicago (Alan J. Spellberg, Brian K. Hodes, and Sheilah O’Grady-Krajniak, Assistant State’s Attorneys, of counsel), for the People.

OPINION

JUSTICE MASON delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.

¶ 1 Following a bench trial, defendant Sammy Smith was convicted of one count of burglary ( 720 ILCS 5/19–1(a) (West 2014) ) and sentenced as a Class X offender to eight years in prison. On appeal, Smith raises no claims of error regarding his trial or sentence but challenges only certain assessed fines and fees. We order modification of the fines, fees, and costs order.

¶ 2 At the time the court sentenced Smith, it also assessed fines, fees, and costs of $749. The court also awarded Smith $80 in presentence custody credit, which reduced his total fines and fees to $669.

¶ 3 On appeal, Smith contends that the assessed fines, fees, and costs should be reduced from $669 to $100. He argues that (1) the electronic citation ($5) and DNA identification system ($250) fees should be vacated because they were improperly imposed and, (2) pursuant to section 110–14 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 ( 725 ILCS 5/110–14(a) (West 2014) ), he is entitled to presentence custody credit against assorted other assessments that are labeled "fees" but are actually "fines."

¶ 4 Smith concedes he did not raise any issue regarding the propriety of the fines and fees assessed in the trial court. These issues are, therefore, forfeited. People v. Hillier , 237 Ill. 2d 539, 544, 342 Ill.Dec. 1, 931 N.E.2d 1184 (2010). He requests that we review his claims under the plain error doctrine, citing People v. Vara , 2016 IL App (2d) 140848, ¶ 7, 412 Ill.Dec. 570, 76 N.E.3d 10. He also asserts that this issue may be raised for the first time on appeal, citing People v. Woodard , 175 Ill. 2d 435, 457–58, 222 Ill.Dec. 401, 677 N.E.2d 935 (1997), and that we have the authority to modify the fines and fees order without remand pursuant to Illinois Supreme Court Rule 615(b). The State agrees with Smith that, even though he forfeited his claims by failing to raise them in the trial court, we may review them on all three bases.

¶ 5 We disagree with the parties that Smith's challenge is reviewable under plain error or that we may review these unpreserved errors under Rule 615(b). Smith does not claim that the trial court failed to provide a fair process for determining his fines and fees. Therefore, his complained-of errors do not affect substantial rights and are not reviewable under the plain error doctrine. People v. Grigorov , 2017 IL App (1st) 143274, ¶¶ 13–14, 418 Ill.Dec. 689, 91 N.E.3d 390. Rule 615(b) likewise provides no stand-alone basis for modification of the fines and fees order, as it must be read in conjunction with subsection (a)'s mandate that errors not affecting substantial rights "shall be disregarded." Ill. S.Ct. R. 615(a) ; Grigorov , 2017 IL App (1st) 143274, ¶¶ 13–15, 418 Ill.Dec. 689, 91 N.E.3d 390; People v. Griffin , 2017 IL App (1st) 143800, ¶ 9, 415 Ill.Dec. 241, 82 N.E.3d 186.

¶ 6 We also consider whether we may review Smith's challenges in the context of his request for presentence credit and conclude we cannot. A defendant who is incarcerated on a bailable offense, who does not supply bail and against whom a fine is levied, is allowed a credit of $5 for each day spent in presentence custody. 725 ILCS 5/110–14(a) (West 2014). This statute applies only to "fines" that were imposed after a conviction and does not apply to any other costs or "fees." People v. Tolliver , 363 Ill. App. 3d 94, 96, 299 Ill.Dec. 821, 842 N.E.2d 1173 (2006). Pursuant to People v. Caballero , 228 Ill. 2d 79, 88, 319 Ill.Dec. 364, 885 N.E.2d 1044 (2008), claims for presentence custody credit pursuant to section 110–14 may be raised "at any time and at any stage of court proceedings, even on appeal in a postconviction proceeding." See Griffin , 2017 IL App (1st) 143800, ¶ 25, 415 Ill.Dec. 241, 82 N.E.3d 186 (" Caballero , in essence, stands for the proposition that a defendant may ‘piggyback’ a section 110–14 claim onto any properly filed appeal, even if the claim is unrelated to the grounds for that appeal."). However, "[g]ranting credit is a simple ministerial act that promotes judicial economy by ending any further proceedings over the matter." People v. Brown , 2017 IL App (1st) 150203, ¶ 36, 418 Ill.Dec. 31, 89 N.E.3d 865 (citing Woodard , 175 Ill. 2d at 456–57, 222 Ill.Dec. 401, 677 N.E.2d 935 ). Smith here raises substantive issues pertaining to whether particular charges apply to his case or whether they are properly categorized as fines or fees. He does not seek the ministerial correction of a mathematical calculation envisioned under section 110–14. Accordingly, Caballero and section 110–14 do not save his substantive arguments from forfeiture.

¶ 7 Nevertheless, because the State does not argue that Smith has forfeited review of his challenge to the assessed fines and fees, it has waived any forfeiture argument. See People v. Williams , 193 Ill. 2d 306, 347–48, 250 Ill.Dec. 692, 739 N.E.2d 455 (2000) (rules of waiver and forfeiture apply to the State). We will therefore review Smith's claims. The propriety of court-ordered fines and fees is reviewed de novo . People v. Bowen , 2015 IL App (1st) 132046, ¶ 60, 395 Ill.Dec. 221, 38 N.E.3d 98.

¶ 8 Before we turn to the particular assessments challenged by Smith, we take this opportunity to encourage state's attorneys, public defenders, private counsel, and trial courts alike to take the minimal time necessary to examine fines and fees assessed against defendants in criminal cases to determine that they are correct and to make the mathematical calculation of the presentence custody credit to which the defendant is entitled as called for in the fines and fees order. (Unlike many appeals we consider, the trial court here did calculate the presentence credit to which Smith was entitled.) Given that the parties have 30 days to return to the trial court to make corrections, this court should not be the court of first resort for these issues. Additionally, in countless appeals, including this one, the State not only takes the position that a defendant's forfeiture of claimed errors in fines and fees may be overlooked but also concedes that, in fact, certain assessments were improperly imposed. We encourage this practice and further note that nothing prevents the parties from accomplishing the same result in the trial court by seeking an agreed remand for the purpose of correcting the fines and fees order. The delay and expense involved in briefing these issues in this court is perhaps the least efficient means of resolving them.

¶ 9 We realize that at a sentencing hearing during which a defendant is sentenced to a (perhaps lengthy) period of incarceration, the last thing that the parties likely focus on is the applicable fines and fees. That said, unpaid fines and, to a lesser extent, fees have (at least theoretically) lasting repercussions for criminal defendants. Unpaid fines (not including fees) in criminal cases may be subject to an order of withholding ( 730 ILCS 5/5–9–4 (West 2016) ), which renders a defendant's wages subject to garnishment under section 12–803 of the Code of Civil Procedure ( 735 ILCS 5/12–803 (West 2016) ). There is a split of authority in Illinois as to whether wages earned by a defendant while incarcerated are likewise subject to withholding. See People v. Watson , 318 Ill. App. 3d 140, 142, 252 Ill.Dec. 573, 743 N.E.2d 147 (2000) (finding that trial court lacked authority to order Department of Corrections wages withheld). Contra People v. Mancilla , 331 Ill. App. 3d 35, 37–38, 264 Ill.Dec. 566, 770 N.E.2d 1262 (2002) (disagreeing with Watson and finding Department of Corrections wages may be withheld to satisfy unpaid fines). Further, a criminal conviction results in a lien on the defendant's real and personal property. 725 ILCS 5/124A–10 (West 2016). Thirty days after judgment, a defendant's property may be seized or sold to satisfy any unpaid fines and costs of prosecution. "Unless a court ordered payment schedule is implemented, the clerk of the court may add to any judgment a delinquency amount equal to 5% of the unpaid fines, costs, fees, and penalties that remain unpaid after 30 days." Id. Unpaid fines and fees may also be the subject of collection actions initiated by the State's Attorney, which entail a 30% surcharge plus 9% interest on the unpaid amount ( 730 ILCS 5/5–9–3(e) (West 2016) ), and unpaid fines carry with them the threat of imprisonment for an intentional refusal to pay (id. § 5–9–3(b) (up to six months for nonpayment of a felony fine and a maximum of 30 days for nonpayment of a misdemeanor fine) ).

¶ 10 This court has previously noted Illinois's labyrinthine system of criminal fines and fees. See Grigorov , 2017 IL App (1st) 143274, ¶ 19, 418 Ill.Dec. 689, 91 N.E.3d 390; People v. Johnson , 2015 IL App (3d) 140364, ¶ 11, 399 Ill.Dec. 618, 46 N.E.3d 937 (calculation of fines and fees "has become a very complex process"); People v. Williams , 2013 IL App (4th) 120313, ¶ 25, 372 Ill.Dec. 424, 991 N.E.2d 914 ; People v. Folks , 406 Ill. App. 3d 300, 308, 348 Ill.Dec. 218, 943 N.E.2d 1128 (2010) (referring to "morass of fines, fees, and costs created by the legislature"); see also Statutory Court Fee Task Force, Illinois Court Assessments: Findings and Recommenda tions for Addressing Barriers to Access to Justice and Additional Issues Associated With Fees and Other Court Costs in Civil, Criminal, and Traffic Proceedings 7 (June 1, 2016),...