328 results for 'court:"Illinois Appellate Court"'.
J. Brennan finds that defendant was properly convicted of second-degree murder in the shooting death of the male driver of a van stopped in the next lane at a red light, but improperly convicted of attempted first-degree murder of the female passenger wounded in the incident. Simply put, the jury’s finding that defendant believed in the need for self-defense is a factual determination that precludes a finding of guilt for attempted first-degree murder. Reversed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: July 26, 2023, Case #: 210423, Categories: Firearms, Murder, Vehicle
J. Schostok affirms the no-jury trial court’s conviction of defendant on three counts of child abduction, arising from his repeated refusals to return his two daughters to their mother in Illinois in violation of a court order requiring him to return them “immediately.” The trial court had "a superior ability to observe the parties' demeanors as they testified" and believed the mother's account of events over the father's account. The evidence will not be reweighed. Affirmed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Schostok, Filed On: July 26, 2023, Case #: 220190, Categories: Evidence, Ineffective Assistance, Child Victims
J. Smith finds that the trial court properly ruled to relocate a separated couple’s minor children from their father’s residence in Cook County, Illinois, to their mother’s residence in Colorado Springs, Colorado. “There is no perfect solution inherent in relocation cases, which are markedly difficult, no matter the outcome. But the court’s decision here was a perfectly reasonable one based on the record.” Affirmed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Smith, Filed On: July 25, 2023, Case #: 221558, Categories: Family Law
J. Mikva finds that Sears' insurance broker cannot be held liable for Sears' alleged breach of contract with a mall in Puerto Rico that was damaged by Hurricane Maria in 2017. The mall claims it was forced to pay $20 million to make repairs, despite its clear right to require Sears' insurance to pay for the repairs. However, there is no evidence the insurance broker was aware of Sears' obligations under the lease agreement or was actively advising Sears during the period in question as to compliance with the terms of the lease. Affirmed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Mikva, Filed On: July 21, 2023, Case #: 221352, Categories: Insurance, Contract
J. Lannerd finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of being an armed habitual criminal. Defendant's requests for jury instructions on self-defense and necessity were properly rejected because there is no evidence in the record to support these defenses. Affirmed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Lannerd, Filed On: July 21, 2023, Case #: 220381, Categories: Firearms
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J. Hutchinson finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of domestic battery for strangulating his girlfriend. The evidence was sufficient for a jury to find that defendant exerted enough pressure on his girlfriend's throat to impede her breathing. Affirmed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Hutchinson, Filed On: July 18, 2023, Case #: 220128, Categories: Domestic Violence
J. Brennan finds that the lower court properly denied the disabled firefighter's application for the payment of his health insurance premiums. The hearing officer did not revisit the pension board's finding that the firefighter suffered a catastrophic injury. Rather, he determined that the injury - slipping on ice - did not arise out of the firefighter's essential duties. Affirmed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Brennan, Filed On: July 14, 2023, Case #: 220365, Categories: Administrative Law, Pensions
J. Jorgensen finds that the lower court improperly found for the tax board in an appeal of a 2018 real estate tax assessment on a property in Highland Park, a Chicago suburb. The property owners' withdrawal of their appeal before the tax board did not foreclose them from pursuing another available appeal option, a filing in the circuit court.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Jorgensen, Filed On: July 14, 2023, Case #: 220242, Categories: Civil Procedure, Tax
[Consolidated.] J. Steigmann finds that the lower court properly instructed the jury on the issue of disfigurement in this medical negligence suit stemming from a woman's seven-year coma and eventual death following gastric bypass surgery. However, the court erred by reducing the estate's judgment because medical expenses that have been written off by health care providers do not qualify for reduction. Reversed in part.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Steigmann, Filed On: July 14, 2023, Case #: 220643, Categories: Jury, Damages, Medical Malpractice
J. Peterson finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of aggravated driving under the influence. His speedy trial rights were not violated by the state's filing of additional felony charges stemming from the same incident a year after the initial indictment. The 160-day speedy trial period is available to defendants released on bail only if they make a demand for a trial, and defendant never made a demand. Affirmed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Peterson, Filed On: July 12, 2023, Case #: 220055, Categories: Dui, Speedy Trial
J. Schostok finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of domestic battery after barring him from introducing evidence of the victim's mental health as it related to her credibility. The court correctly sustained the state's objection to questions about whether the victim's lithium prescription acted as a mood stabilizer, and whether she had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, as those questions do not relate to the victim's ability to perceive reality. Affirmed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Schostok, Filed On: July 7, 2023, Case #: 210110, Categories: Domestic Violence
J. Schostok finds that the lower court properly denied defendant's request to file a successive post-conviction petition challenging his sentence to life without parole for a murder committed at age 18. The legislature later made it illegal to deny any chance of parole to offenders under the age of 22, but the law does not apply retroactively. Affirmed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Schostok, Filed On: July 7, 2023, Case #: 210312, Categories: Habeas, Murder
J. Ellis finds the trial court improperly convicted defendant for aggravated domestic battery for breaking his girlfriend's nose. The court prohibited reference to and excluded video evidence which defendant claimed showed his girlfriend's propensity for violence, resulting in his need to defend himself. The video was excluded because the depicted event occurred after that which is the basis for the charges. The video was improperly excluded because it was illustrative of the girlfriend's propensity to commit violence and may have bolstered defendant's claim that she was the initial aggressor. Reversed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Ellis , Filed On: June 30, 2023, Case #: 1-19-2479, Categories: Evidence, Battery, Domestic Violence
J. Walker finds the circuit court properly granted summary judgment to the UK tailor's shop in this suit brought by the state of Illinois alleging the shop knowingly failed to collect and remit taxes as to special order clothing made in the UK but sold in Illinois. The relator failed to show that the tailor's shop acted with reckless disregard or that it submitted a false record to the state as required to establish a violation under the Illinois False Claims Act. Affirmed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Walker , Filed On: June 30, 2023, Case #: 1-22-0195, Categories: Tax, False Claims
J. Johnson finds the county court properly dismissed the beneficiary's complaint to modify his irrevocable trust. The various proposed modifications, such as deleting provisions for gifts on his death and simply terminating the trust are inconsistent with the trust's material purposes, namely the maximizing of resources to help petitioner become self-sufficient. The modifications are also not consistent with purposes as to the trustee, which center upon the use of assets for trust purposes, including assisting petitioner with limited amounts for various purposes such as business and medical expenses. Affirmed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Johnson , Filed On: June 30, 2023, Case #: 1-22-1120, Categories: Trusts, Wills / Probate, Contract
J. Mikva finds the sentencing court improperly sentenced defendant to 100 years in prison for a murder committed when he was 16 years old. After the United States Supreme Court held that mandatory life sentences without parole for juvenile offenders violate the eighth amendment, the case was remanded, and the same de facto life sentence of 100-years was imposed. The judge was predisposed on remand to impose the same sentence, failing to give fair consideration to youth-based sentencing factors or to the full range of sentences now available under the new sentencing scheme for juveniles. Reversed and remanded with directions.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Mikva , Filed On: June 30, 2023, Case #: 1-22-0035, Categories: Juvenile Law, Murder, Sentencing
J. Johnson finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for murder and multiple counts of attempted murder for firing into a crowd of teenagers he mistook for rival gang members in retaliation for a prior shooting in which he was shot. All evidence and witness testimony support conviction. Though evidence of defendant's gang affiliation was excessive, irrelevant, and prejudicial, reversal is not required as the result would have been the same. Affirmed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Johnson , Filed On: June 30, 2023, Case #: 1-19-1353, Categories: Evidence, Murder, Gangs
J. Lavin finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for aggravated sexual assault and aggravated kidnapping for the oral and vaginal rape of the victim under Chicago's south side train tracks, sentencing him to 24 years in prison. All evidence supports conviction. DNA evidence was properly obtained, and the warrantless arrest on the outside steps of defendant's home was properly made due to probably cause. Affirmed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Lavin , Filed On: June 30, 2023, Case #: 1-22-0520, Categories: Dna, Evidence, Sex Offender
J. Zenoff finds the trial court properly convicted defendant, who is 50 years old, for four counts of sexual assault, having had sexual relationships with his underage martial arts students, sentencing him to 8 years in prison. The jury rationally found defendant held a position of authority in relation to his students and the evidence presented supports conviction. A victim testified that defendant used jiujitsu against her to the point she was unable to fight, and she “just let him do whatever he wanted.” She also said that he made classes harder on her when she did not have sex with him. It was the jury's province to resolve any conflicting evidence. Defendant received a fair trial and the court imposed the minimum sentence. Affirmed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Zenoff , Filed On: June 29, 2023, Case #: 4-22-0947, Categories: Evidence, Sex Offender, Child Victims
J. Hutchinson finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for aggravated battery, resisting a peace officer, fleeing and one traffic violation. Defendant drove off while the officer reached into the vehicle in an attempt to unlock the door after he pulled her over for unsafe passing. The state agrees that the resisting conviction must be vacated because it is based on the same act as the battery conviction, that is the trapping of the officer's arm in the window. Affirmed in part, vacated in part.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Hutchinson , Filed On: June 29, 2023, Case #: 2-22-0084, Categories: Obstruction, Battery, Vehicle
J. Martin finds the trial court improperly convicted defendant for first-degree murder for allegedly shooting someone in the head during a fight precipitated by defendant's shouting “f*** [them], play the music!” in response to a moment of silence observed at a bar in honor of a deceased patron. Defendant was apprehended in possession of the weapon used in the shooting after being identified by bar patrons. The court violated defendant's rights to a public trial when it excluded his mother, a potential witness who was present with defendant during questioning, from the courtroom. The state failed to show that there was any reasonable probability that the mother would actually testify, even stating that it was unlikely to call her. Reversed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Martin , Filed On: June 29, 2023, Case #: 1-18-1070, Categories: Fair Trial, Murder, Due Process
J. McBride finds the trial court properly denied the property owner's petition to set aside a tax deed issued to the investment company after the property was offered for sale due to tax delinquency. The owner's statement of facts fails to provide any citation to the record. The property owner failed to seek a stay of judgment and the purchaser is entitled to protection of its purchase of the property. The appeal is dismissed as moot.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: McBride , Filed On: June 28, 2023, Case #: 1-22-1366, Categories: Property, Tax
J. Zenoff finds the sentencing court improperly sentenced defendant to 12 years 6 months on his guilty conviction for aggravated criminal sexual abuse. The 31-year-old defendant had sex with a 15-year-old victim who lived with her blind mother and who he met online, impregnating her. Investigation revealed defendant had similarly fathered 16 children, and all evidence supports conviction, though the record suggests that the court improperly sentenced defendant to prevent him from fathering more children. The court failed to adhere to standards by repeatedly belittling and demeaning defendant, referring to him as a "baby-making machine" and as "smothering the earth." Reversed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Zenoff , Filed On: June 28, 2023, Case #: 4-22-0717, Categories: Judiciary, Sex Offender, Child Victims
J. Hutchinson finds the trial court improperly convicted defendant for aggravated battery with a firearm and second-degree murder. The jury was mistakenly provided with the state’s closing argument PowerPoint presentation during deliberations. It cannot be said that the error and resulting prejudice was “harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.” Reversed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Hutchinson , Filed On: June 28, 2023, Case #: 2-22-0178, Categories: Firearms, Jury, Murder
J. Jorgensen finds the trial court improperly denied defendant's motion to withdraw his sexual assault guilty plea. Due to record inaccuracies and the court's lack of corrective efforts, remand would serve the substantive purpose of requiring postplea counsel to comply with rules and file a new certificate of compliance and conduct new postplea proceedings. Uncertainty as to counsel’s examination of the report of proceedings, consultation regarding potential sentencing errors, and the decision concerning the filing of a motion to reconsider the sentence would be fully developed in new postplea proceedings accompanied by an unrebutted certificate. Vacated.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Jorgensen , Filed On: June 28, 2023, Case #: 2-22-0323, Categories: Sex Offender, Plea, Due Process
J. Steigmann finds the trial court improperly granted summary judgment to the school bus driver injured in a traffic accident who says the policy covering the at-fault driver's fleet truck for $1 million, which also covers 6 other uninvolved trucks, should be "stacked" to result in liability of $7 million. Regardless of any ambiguity in the policy, its anti-stacking provision is clear and should be applied as such. Reversed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Steigmann , Filed On: June 28, 2023, Case #: 4-22-0827, Categories: Insurance, Vehicle
J. Ellis finds that the lower court properly denied defendant's motion to suppress his murder confession. Defendant painted himself into a corner by lying to detectives. The detectives may have "played along" rather than disclosing their doubts, but that does not amount to police coercion. Further, the police did not inappropriately promise defendant any leniency based on his confession to the crime. Affirmed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Ellis, Filed On: June 27, 2023, Case #: 191699, Categories: Murder, Search, Self Incrimination
J. Oden Johnson finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of murder but improperly sentenced him to 50 years in prison. The evidence was sufficient to convict defendant, but the court did not ask defendant whether he wished to waive his right to appear in person at his sentencing hearing held via Zoom conference. Affirmed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Oden Johnson, Filed On: June 23, 2023, Case #: 210754, Categories: Murder, Sentencing
J. Walker finds that the lower court properly found that former employees did not violate the Trade Secrets Act by soliciting business from seven of the plaintiff staffing company's customers because customer and employee information was readily obtainable from temporary employees. Further, there is no evidence the former employees misrepresented any information to customers. Affirmed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Walker, Filed On: June 23, 2023, Case #: 220533, Categories: Fraud, Trade Secrets
J. Delort finds that the lower court properly convicted adjudicated the minor of vehicular hijacking and sentenced them to 24 months of probation. The evidence was sufficient to sustain the verdict because the victim's identification of her was reliable enough. Affirmed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Delort, Filed On: June 23, 2023, Case #: 211538, Categories: Juvenile Law, Witnesses