People v. Torres

• Decision Date: 17 April 2008
• Docket Number: No. 104308.,104308.
• Citation: 228 Ill.2d 382,888 N.E.2d 91
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellant, v. Vicente TORRES, Appellee.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

888 N.E.2d 91

228 Ill.2d 382

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellant, v. Vicente TORRES, Appellee.

No. 104308.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

April 17, 2008.

Lisa Madigan, Attorney General, Springfield, James W. Glasgow, State's Attorney, Joliet (Michael A. Scodro, Solicitor General, Michael M. Glick, Eldad Z. Malamuth, Assistant Attorneys General, Chicago, Norbert J. Goetten, Lawrence M. Bauer, Richard T. Leonard, Office of the State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor, Ottawa, of counsel), for the People.

Robert Agostinelli, Deputy Defender, Santiago A. Durango, Assistant Defender, Office of the State Appellate Defender, Ottawa, for appellee.

OPINION

Chief Justice THOMAS delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion:

Defendant, Vicente Torres, entered a blind plea of guilty to two counts of first degree murder. The circuit court of Will County sentenced him to 45 years' imprisonment. Four months after his sentence was imposed, defendant filed a pro se petition under the Post-Conviction Hearing Act (the Act) (725 ILCS 5/122-1 et seq. (West 2004)), contending that his trial attorney was ineffective for failing to consult with him about the possibility of filing an appeal. The trial court denied the petition, ruling that it was frivolous and patently without merit. The appellate court reversed and remanded the cause for further proceedings, holding that defendant stated the gist of a constitutional claim for ineffective assistance of counsel. No. 3-05-0402 (unpublished order under Supreme Court Rule 23). We granted the State's petition for leave to appeal (210 Ill.2d R. 315), and we now reverse the appellate court.

BACKGROUND

On August 9, 2003, police officers responded to a report of a shooting at 350 Hanover Drive in Bolingbrook, Illinois. At the scene, the officers found a woman later identified as Maria Rivera lying on the floor in a pool of blood. She had been shot in the head and was pronounced dead. The wound was caused by a bullet fired from a nine-millimeter handgun.

Two witnesses told police that a man fled the scene by car immediately after the shooting. The witnesses followed the suspect and were able to provide police with his current location. Police gave chase for several miles and finally stopped the suspect's vehicle, apprehending the only person in the vehicle—defendant. The officers' search of the car revealed a nine-millimeter handgun stowed on the floorboard. The weapon was in the "discharge slide back position with a magazine engaged." The two witnesses identified defendant as the person they followed from the scene of the murder.

Defendant was arrested, and an officer fluent in Spanish read defendant his Miranda rights and interviewed him in that language. Defendant told police that the victim was his longtime girlfriend. Eight days before the murder, she told him that she was dating somebody else and would not be reuniting with him. Defendant purchased the gun recovered from his vehicle one day before the murder. The next day, he traveled to the victim's residence, hiding the gun in a pair of pants, with the intent of killing the victim. When he arrived and entered the victim's room, she told him to quiet down because she was sleeping, whereupon he replied, "Fine, you can go to sleep forever." Defendant had difficulty pulling the slide of the gun back, allowing the victim to briefly run up some stairs, but as she reached the top of the stairs, defendant fired the gun at her.

An autopsy revealed that the bullet struck the victim in her left temple and exited through her right eye. The forensic testing showed that the gun recovered by police when they apprehended defendant matched the spent cartridge recovered from the scene of the murder.

Defendant was charged with two counts of first degree murder (720 ILCS 5/9-1(a)(1), (a)(2) (West 2002)). At a plea hearing on April 30, 2004, defendant's public defenders informed the trial court that defendant wanted to enter a blind plea of guilty to both charges. Counsel told the court that they had explained the concept of a blind plea to defendant on multiple occasions. In response to the court's questioning, defendant answered that he was pleading guilty to both counts, that he understood the nature of the charges, and that he understood he had a right to plead not guilty. The State provided a factual basis for the plea, which defendant agreed to, followed by a lengthy inquiry by the trial court to ensure that defendant understood the nature of the proceedings.

The trial court then explained to defendant that the charge carried "a mandatory minimum prison sentence * * * of 20 years, and that can go as high as 60 years." "So the range is," the trial court began to repeat, at which point defendant interrupted by stating, "they've already told me that." The trial court then told defendant that it wanted "to make sure that [he] understood all that though." The trial court continued, "so it's a minimum of 20 years in prison and a maximum of 60 years in prison." The trial court then explained that the defendant would have to serve 100% of the sentence. The trial court also explained the difference between a bench trial and a jury trial, and defendant indicated that he understood that he was waiving his right to either kind of trial. In response to further questions from the trial court, defendant agreed that he had fully discussed his decision to plead guilty with his attorneys and that they had explained the consequences of a plea of guilty. He also acknowledged that he was satisfied with the service his attorneys had rendered and that an interpreter had always been present when he spoke with them.

Defendant told the court that he was pleading guilty because his attorneys had told him that he had no defense. One of defendant's attorneys then explained that he and his colleagues had had numerous conversations with defendant, going over the evidence and giving their opinions as to what the ultimate result in the case would be if there was a trial. Defendant again interjected that his attorneys had told him that they "shouldn't fight this because there is no defense for what [he had] done" and he "wanted a trial but his attorneys said no." Defense counsel responded by telling the court that if defendant wanted a trial, he was willing to try the case. The trial court then instructed defendant on the difference between the public defender's informing a defendant of the strength of his case and telling him how to plead. The court stressed to defendant that nobody could make him plead guilty and that the decision on how to plead was his alone. The court told defendant that if he wanted a trial, he would set the case for a trial.

The trial judge also drew from his former experience as a defense attorney and told defendant the following:

"When I had your attorney's job of defending people, including in murder cases, I always discussed the evidence with my clients. Most of them wanted opinions on how good I thought their case was, and if I thought it was a good case, I told them so. And if I thought their case was garbage, I told them that, too. There is nothing wrong with your attorneys giving their opinion of the evidence that's against you and the evidence that's in your favor, but the ultimate decision on whether you plead guilty or go to trial is still yours. You decide, not anybody else. You decide."

Following this colloquy, defendant stated three times that he wanted to plead guilty, but the trial court insisted on postponing the plea hearing so defendant could further consider his options and consult with his attorneys.

The trial court conducted a second plea hearing 11 days later, on May 11, 2004. Defense counsel informed the court that defendant was prepared to enter a blind guilty plea. One of defendant's attorneys told the court that he was fluent in Spanish and had spoken to defendant about the plea. In response to questions from the trial court, defendant indicated that he understood the nature of the charges and that he had a right to plead not guilty. The State recited a factual basis for the charges: officers found the victim dead from a gunshot wound to her head; witnesses had followed defendant fleeing the scene in a car and provided details regarding his whereabouts; officers stopped the vehicle, apprehended defendant, and recovered a nine-millimeter handgun from the floorboard; and defendant stated to police that he had purchased the murder weapon, driven to the scene, had difficulty pulling back the slide, and shot the victim in the head as she reached the top of the stairs. Following this recitation, defendant stated that he had nothing to add and that if the case went to trial, the evidence would support the State's summary.

The trial court then asked a series of questions designed to ensure that defendant understood the nature of the proceedings and his actions. The court then turned to the sentencing range, explaining that if it accepted the plea of guilty, the range of the sentence that could be imposed was from a minimum of 20 years in prison up to and including 60 years in prison. Defendant stated that he understood. The trial court repeated that the full sentence would be mandatorily served, and that there would be no probation or the possibility of good-time credit. The court asked defendant if he had any questions "about the minimum and maximum sentences prescribed by law for this offense." Defendant said that he did not have any questions.

The trial court next explained how jury trials and bench trials work. Defendant stated that he understood, had no questions, and comprehended that he would have neither kind of trial if he pled guilty. Defendant also indicated that he had discussed his guilty plea with his attorneys, including its consequences, that an interpreter was always present, and that he was satisfied with the performance of his attorneys. The court then asked defendant if "anybody promised ...