Legal Question in Criminal Law in Illinois

Violent offender appeals conviction, goes to trial

Hello, here is the situation:

(1) A violent offender pleads guilty to his offense and is sentenced to court supervision

(2) A month later, he decides that he really does not want to have the aggravated assault on his criminal record. [He already has a rap sheet for some non-violent offenses]

(3) Offender gets a new defense attorney who appeals the conviction using a technicality - he claims that the judge did not correctly read the offender his rights at the time of sentencing

(4) This claim is untrue, but it can't be proven exactly what the judge did or did not say. So the offender reneges on his previous plea bargain and for whatever reason is allowed to go to a jury trial

Question: At the trial will the jurors be aware that the offender is appealing a previous conviction? As a witness, is there anything which would prevent me from making reference to the fact that the offender already willingly admitted his own guilt? The fact is that the judge who previously sentenced him did follow all of the correct procedures, and the offender acknowledged that no one had forced or coerced him into making a confession.

Thank you !


Asked on 12/17/08, 7:19 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
George Zuganelis Zuganelis & Zuganelis, Attorneys at Law, P.C.

Re: Violent offender appeals conviction, goes to trial

If you are testifying and mention the previous plea that has been reversed, the judge will give the defense a mistrial. Since you are a state's witness, the charges will be dismissed for reasons of double jeapardy. Your roll in this is to testify to the truth regarding the facts of the case. It's the jury's decision as to the outcome. Not yours. It is the court's decision regarding the legal issues (which a withdrawl of a guilty plea is). Not yours. You could also face contempt of court charges and end up in jail instead of the offender.

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Answered on 12/22/08, 3:10 pm


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