People v. Williams

• Decision Date: 30 December 1980
• Docket Number: No. 79-2279,79-2279
• Citation: 415 N.E.2d 1192,47 Ill.Dec. 879,92 Ill.App.3d 608
• Parties: , 47 Ill.Dec. 879 PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Gloria WILLIAMS, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: United States Appellate Court of Illinois

Page 1192

415 N.E.2d 1192

92 Ill.App.3d 608, 47 Ill.Dec. 879

PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Gloria WILLIAMS, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 79-2279.

Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, Second Division.

Dec. 30, 1980.

Ralph Ruebner, Deputy State Appellate Defender, and Richard F. Faust, Asst. Appellate Defender, Chicago, for defendant-appellant.

Bernard Carey, State's Atty. of Cook County, Chicago (Marcia B. Orr, Mary Ellen Dienes and Bruce Rose, Asst. State's Attys., Chicago, of counsel), for plaintiff-appellee.

PERLIN, Presiding Justice:

Defendant, Gloria Williams, was charged in an information with two counts of aggravated battery. (Ill.Rev.Stat.1973, ch. 38, par. 12-4.) On October 12, 1976 Judge Richard L. Curry declared defendant unfit to stand trial after an evidentiary hearing. Without any further hearings but after receipt of two psychiatric reports which stated that defendant was now fit to stand trial, Judge Albert Green accepted defendant's plea of guilty on April 11, 1979 to the charge of aggravated battery. Defendant was sentenced to 30 months felony probation conditioned on 52 weekends of periodic imprisonment and continued psychiatric consultation. Defendant's motion to vacate the guilty plea was denied after a hearing on November 29, 1979. From the denial of that motion defendant appeals, presenting the following issues for review: (1) whether, following a judicial determination that defendant was unfit to stand trial, the trial court could properly accept defendant's plea of guilty without a formal restoration hearing (2) whether defendant received effective assistance of counsel; (3) whether the trial court committed reversible error in interrupting defendant's statement in mitigation of her sentence; and (4) whether there was substantial compliance with Supreme Court Rule 604(d). For the reasons hereinafter set forth we reverse the trial court's order denying defendant's motion to vacate her plea of guilty.

The facts relevant to the disposition of this appeal are as follows. On January 19, 1976, defendant, Gloria Williams, was arrested and charged with aggravated battery against Barbara Jean Taylor. The complaint alleged that on December 13, 1975 defendant threw a caustic liquid onto Taylor's face and head. On January 26, 1976 defendant was formally charged in an information with two counts of aggravated battery, one alleging great bodily harm and the other permanent disfigurement. At the arraignment on February 3, 1976 Judge Richard L. Curry appointed the Public Defender's Office to represent defendant who entered a plea of not guilty.

Pursuant to court order, defendant was examined by Dr. Reifman from the Psychiatric Institute on August 26, 1976. In his report to Judge Benefiel filed on September 7, 1976, Dr. Reifman stated that because of her schizophrenia defendant did not understand the nature of the charges against her or the purpose of the proceedings and was unable to cooperate with counsel in her own defense. In Dr. Reifman's opinion defendant was not mentally fit to stand trial and was in need of mental treatment. Following an evidentiary hearing on September 24, 1976, Judge Curry entered an order on October 12, 1976 finding defendant unfit to stand trial. Judge Curry also ordered defendant to be brought before a judge of the Mental Health Division of the court for a hearing pursuant to the Mental Health Code (Ill.Rev.Stat.1975, ch. 91 1/2, par. 1-1, et seq.) to determine whether she was a person in need of mental treatment. Although the record does not indicate whether that hearing was ever held, defendant apparently received outpatient psychiatric treatment at Roseland Mental Health Center and Jackson Park Hospital. On December 3, 1976 Judge Curry ordered another psychiatric examination by Dr. Reifman, which took place on December 27, 1976. Dr. Reifman concluded that defendant was still unfit to stand trial.

On February 23, 1977 Judge Green ordered Dr. Jewett Goldsmith of the Illinois State Psychiatric Institute to examine defendant. Although we have not been apprised of the results of that examination, defendant, on July 17, 1978, was examined for a third time by Dr. Reifman who reported that "This previously adjudicated not mentally fit for trial defendant is now mentally FIT to stand trial. She understands the nature of the charge, the purpose of the proceedings and is able to assist counsel in her own defense. No opinion with respect to sanity." After Dr. Reifman's report was filed on July 20, 1978, defendant moved for further psychiatric examination and Dr. Goldsmith again saw her on November 3, 1978. He diagnosed defendant as a "Chronic Ambulatory Schizophrenic" who did not manifest "any evidence of potential physical harmfulness to herself or others or inability to care for herself by reason of her mental illness." Defendant told Dr. Goldsmith that she believed she was fit to stand trial but preferred to be found unfit because then "her charges would be dropped." In Dr. Goldsmith's opinion defendant was "capable of understanding the nature and purpose of the proceedings against her" and "capable of cooperating with counsel." He concluded that "she is considered fit to stand trial and not in need of mental treatment at this time." This report was submitted to the trial court on November 9, 1978. The court noted Dr. Goldsmith's conclusion that defendant was now fit to stand trial. Defendant's attorney, assistant public defender John Ryan, then informed the court that he had experienced "extreme difficulty in preparing a defense to this case" because he did not yet "know what happened." Because of the length of time the case had been on the call, however, Ryan asked for "an opportunity to sit down with Miss Williams. We will have to set it down for trial." The court stated, "That is the purpose of our hearing today." The case was continued to December 16, 1978.

Defendant appeared for trial on April 11, 1979, at which time she entered a plea of guilty to both counts of aggravated battery. Pursuant to pre-trial conference the court sentenced defendant to 30 months felony probation conditioned on 52 weekends of periodic imprisonment and continued psychiatric consultation at Jackson Park Hospital. Defendant's motion to vacate her plea of guilty was denied after a hearing on November 29, 1979.

On October 12, 1976 Judge Curry signed an order finding defendant unfit to stand trial. This order was based on an evidentiary hearing which was held on September 24, 1976. Defendant's first contention on appeal is that once she had been adjudged unfit to stand trial, it was constitutional error for the trial court thereafter to accept her guilty plea without a subsequent judicial determination that she had become fit to stand trial or be sentenced. We agree. ¹

Section 5-2-2 of the Unified Code of Corrections (Ill.Rev.Stat.1975, ch. 38, par. 1005-2-2) ² provides:

"(a) If the defendant is found unfit to stand trial or be sentenced, the court shall remand the defendant to a hospital, as defined by the Mental Health Code of 1967, ³ and shall order that a hearing be conducted in accordance with the procedures, and within the time periods, specified in such Act. The disposition of defendant pursuant to such hearing, and the admission, detention, care, treatment and discharge of any such defendant found to be in need of mental treatment, shall be determined in accordance with such Act. If the defendant is not ordered hospitalized in such hearing, the Department of Mental Health shall petition the trial court to release the defendant on bail or recognizance, under such conditions as the court finds appropriate, which may include, but need not be limited to requiring the defendant to submit to or to secure treatment for his mental condition.

(b) A defendant hospitalized under this Section shall be returned to the court not more than 90 days after the court's original finding of unfitness, and each 12 months thereafter. At such re-examination the court may proceed, find, and order as in the first instance under paragraph (a) of this Section. If the court finds that defendant continues to be unfit to stand trial or be sentenced but that he no longer requires hospitalization, the defendant shall be released under paragraph (a) of this Section on bail or recognizance. Either the State or the defendant may at any time petition the court for review of the defendant's fitness. (Emphasis added.)

(c) A person found unfit under the provision of this Article who is thereafter sentenced for the offense charged at the time of such finding, shall be credited with time during which he was confined in a public or private hospital after such a finding of unfitness. If a defendant has been confined in a public or private hospital after a finding of unfitness under Section 5-2-6 for a period equal to the maximum sentence of imprisonment that could be imposed under Article 8 for the offense or offenses charged, the court shall order the charge or charges dismissed on motion of the defendant, his guardian, or the Director of the Department of Mental Health.

(d) An order finding the defendant unfit is a final order for purposes of appeal by the State or by the defendant."

Following its adjudication that defendant was unfit to stand trial, the trial court, in conformity with the requirements of Section 5-2-2(a), remanded defendant to the Department of Mental Health for a hearing to determine if she was in need of mental treatment. The record does not indicate whether that hearing was held or if it was, what the results of the hearing were. Nevertheless, defendant apparently was not ordered hospitalized, although she did receive outpatient psychiatric care and remained out on bond. The fact that defendant may not have been hospitalized in a hearing under the Mental Health Code does not, of course, constitute a judicial finding of fitness to stand trial: "The Mental...