People v. Strain

• Decision Date: 16 November 2000
• Docket Number: No. 88007.,88007.
• Citation: 252 Ill.Dec. 65,742 N.E.2d 315,194 Ill.2d 467
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellant, v. Terrance STRAIN, Appellee.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

742 N.E.2d 315

194 Ill.2d 467

252 Ill.Dec. 65

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellant, v. Terrance STRAIN, Appellee.

No. 88007.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

November 16, 2000.

Rehearing Denied January 29, 2001.

James E. Ryan, Attorney General, Springfield, and Richard A. Devine, State's Attorney, Chicago (William L. Browers, Assistant Attorney General, Chicago, and Renee Goldfarb, Jean T. McGuire, Kenneth T. McCurry and Alan J, Spellberg, Assistant State's Attorneys, of counsel), for the People.

Michael J. Pelletier, Deputy Defender, and Christopher W. Buckley, Assistant Appellate Defender, Office of the State Appellate Defender, Chicago, for appellee.

Justice FREEMAN delivered the opinion of the court:

A jury convicted defendant, Terrance Strain, of two counts of first degree murder (720 ILCS 5/9-1(a)(1), (a)(2) (West 1992)) in connection with the death of Geary Dow. Subsequently, the trial court sentenced defendant to concurrent prison terms of 45 years for each count of first degree murder. The appellate court reversed defendant's conviction and remanded for a new trial because it found that the trial court committed error in refusing to ask the jury venire two questions submitted by defendant. 306 Ill.App.3d 328, 239 Ill.Dec. 516, 714 N.E.2d 74. We allowed the State's petition for leave to appeal (177 Ill.2d R. 315(a)), and now affirm.

BACKGROUND

On February 12, 1996, Dow was killed as he stood outside a home on the 120th block of Perry Avenue in Chicago. Dow had gone to the home, along with Terry Bosley, to perform some electrical work. He was shot as he and Bosley waited next to a van for the daughter of the homeowner to give them a ride home.

A few days after the shooting, defendant learned that the police wanted to question him about a homicide. On February 20, 1996, police officer Jerry paged defendant. Defendant responded to the page and suggested a meeting at a gas station in Riverdale. Defendant had acted as a confidential informant for Officer Jerry since 1995. When the police car arrived at the gas station, defendant flagged the car down and got in the car. Officer Jerry took defendant to the police station, where he was placed under arrest.

The State claimed that defendant gave an oral statement while under arrest. Defendant denied making any statement. After a hearing on a motion to suppress, the trial court decided to allow the State to introduce the alleged statement into evidence at trial. The statement contained numerous references to gangs.

The State then moved to allow proof of other crimes at trial. In its motion, the State alleged that members of the Gangster Disciples shot defendant in the leg because defendant was a member of the Black Disciples. In retaliation, defendant attempted to shoot Darryl Burnett, a member of the Gangster Disciples, near the intersection of 120th Street and Perry Avenue. The State argued that defendant's action in killing Geary Dow was yet another attempt to retaliate against the Gangster Disciples. The trial court granted the State's motion, ruling that the evidence of other crimes was admissible to show defendant's state of mind, intent and motive, and relevant to identification.

The trial court recognized that evidence of gang affiliation was to play a part in defendant's trial. Prior to the start of voir dire, the trial judge indicated to the attorneys that he would advise prospective members of the jury there would be evidence of gang involvement at trial. The trial judge noted that he would ask the prospective jurors questions relating to:

"The allegation they or any close member of their family or close friend had any involvement with a gang, could be membership, affiliation, could be a victimization and so the parties then would be fully aware of anything like that."

The trial judge also indicated that, pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 431 (177 Ill.2d R. 431), he would allow supplemental questioning of the prospective jurors, upon the court's approval of the questions.

The trial judge conducted voir dire of the first panel of the venire, consisting of 20 prospective jurors. The trial judge asked each prospective juror whether the juror, any member of the juror's family or a close friend of the juror had ever been involved in a gang. The trial judge also asked each prospective juror whether the juror could be fair to both sides. Defense counsel then requested that the trial judge ask each prospective juror whether the juror would find defendant less believable if the juror learned that defendant belonged to a gang. This colloquy followed:

"THE COURT: Whom am I supposed to ask that [to]?

MR. STRALKA: Everybody, I know you mentioned you would ask about gangs but the question is have you had any contact with gangs.

THE COURT: Why wasn't this submitted prior to me doing the jury questioning?

MR. STRALKA: I thought you said when you asked about gangs, you would get into it.

THE COURT: I gave specifically what question I would ask and typically the question I have asked.

MR. STRALKA: This is my request for a supplemental question.

THE COURT: That's not supplemental. This is new, a new, separately new question which would require the Court [to] go back and ask each individual juror a question that could have been submitted previously on that.

MR. STRALKA: If the Court would allow me to ask it, I'll ask it.

THE COURT: It's not supplemental.

MR. STRALKA: It's supplemental to the issue of gangs.

THE COURT: To the issue but not the question. I indicated the question to you previously, and you at that point even though it was tardy and not in writing, I would have allowed you to submit this at this time and I would have asked this in tandem with the question if it was submitted but it's not submitted, it's not supplemental, it's different.

Next is if you learned the defendant is and was a member of a gang would it make it more likely than not that he's guilty of a gang shooting.

You see that's the reason why you can't add these at the 11th hour like this, because obviously—.

MR. STRALKA: I'm asking that either the Court or I be allowed to ask this as a question, follow up question on the issue of gangs.

THE COURT: Nobody has indicated that they have been involved in a gang at all, none has answered that yet. And again this is the kind of question that the State is entitled to respond to and object to and to be heard on and bring authority on and not be ambushed by it at the 11th hour.

MR. STRALKA: The issue here is how does it affect the juror? They could answer to this Court that they have had no knowledge, no contact with gangs as all, but one juror has indicated. But the question would be do you have an opinion of gangs, would that opinion of gangs if you learned the defendant is in a gang would that affect your ability to be fair. That's what these questions go to and probe. A fairness question.

THE COURT: Then why didn't you submit them earlier? Now as a matter of trial strategy you're springing them on the Court and on your adversary.

MR. STRALKA: The rules suggest that supplemental questions be submitted after the Court asks questions.

THE COURT: These are not supplemental, these are brand new questions that the Court is entitled to notice and to make a fair intelligent ruling on as the opposition is entitled to very notice and make a credible and well researched objection on it. This is, both these will not be allowed."

The trial judge recalled the first venire panel and asked one prospective juror supplemental questions regarding the circumstances surrounding the murder of a relative. The trial judge also asked the prospective juror, as well as three other members of the panel, supplemental questions regarding the districts to which their police officer relatives and acquaintances were assigned. The trial judge then continued voir dire with the examination of a second venire panel. As with the members of the first venire panel, the trial court asked each prospective juror whether the venireperson, any member of the venireperson's family or a close friend of the venireperson had ever been involved in a gang. The trial judge also asked each prospective juror whether he or she could be fair to both sides. Although defense counsel renewed his request to have the prospective jurors questioned regarding gang bias, the trial judge refused to do so.

Defendant's trial proceeded with the presentation of the State's opening statement. In its statement, the State explained to the jury that defendant held a grudge against the Gangster Disciples because defendant believed that members of the Gangster Disciples had shot him in the leg on January 29, 1996. The State then recounted defendant's attempts to extract revenge from the Gangster Disciples, culminating in the murder of Dow. The State concluded that Dow was an innocent victim, killed because he "walk[ed] straight into a collision course [with defendant's] wrath. He walked into a bullet fired by [defendant, a] member of the Black Disciple street gang[, at] people who this defendant thought were G.Ds., Gangster Disciples, rival gang members."

At trial, the State introduced defendant's alleged oral statement into evidence, and presented the testimony of several police officers and members of the Gangster Disciples, to support its theory that defendant shot and killed Dow in an attempt, gone awry, to extract revenge from the Gangster Disciples. The opinion of the appellate court contains a thorough exposition of this evidence, including a summary of defendant's alleged oral statement, and his testimony denying that he made the statement. See 306 Ill.App.3d 328, 239 Ill.Dec. 516, 714 N.E.2d 74. We need not repeat the facts here. However, for purposes of this appeal, we note two matters of crucial importance: (1) gang information permeated the testimony of almost every witness at trial; and (2) the outcome of the trial turned upon the credibility of defendant, various police officers, and...