People v. Morrow

1

2024 IL App (4th) 230617-U

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. ALISON MORROW, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 4-23-0617

Court of Appeals of Illinois, Fourth District

August 8, 2024

This Order was filed under Supreme Court Rule 23 and is not precedent except in the limited circumstances allowed under Rule 23(e)(1).

Appeal from the Circuit Court of McDonough County No. 21CF148 Honorable Raymond A. Cavanaugh, Judge Presiding

STEIGMANN, JUSTICE delivered the judgment of the court. Justices Zenoff and DeArmond concurred in the judgment.

ORDER

STEIGMANN, JUSTICE

¶ 1 Held: The appellate court affirmed the trial court's finding defendant "not not guilty" of (1) possession of lost or mislaid credit or debit cards and (2) theft of lost or mislaid property.

¶ 2 In August 2021, defendant, Alison Morrow, was charged with (1) one count of possession of lost or mislaid credit or debit cards, a Class 4 felony (720 ILCS 5/17-33 (West 2020)) and (2) one count of theft of lost or mislaid property, a Class B misdemeanor (id. § 16-2(d)(1)).

¶ 3 In January 2022, following a fitness hearing, the trial court found that defendant was not fit to stand trial. In June 2023, the court conducted a discharge hearing pursuant to section 104-25 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 (Code) (725 ILCS 5/104-25 (West 2022)), at which it found defendant "not not guilty" of the charges against her and ordered her remanded into the custody of the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) for an additional 15 months of treatment.

¶ 4 Defendant appeals, arguing that defense counsel was ineffective for failing to raise and present an insanity defense, which defendant contends was the only viable defense to the charges against her. We disagree and affirm.

¶ 5 I. BACKGROUND

¶ 6 A. The Charges

¶ 7 In August 2021, defendant was arrested and charged with (1) one count of possession of lost or mislaid credit or debit cards and (2) one count of theft of lost or mislaid property.

¶ 8 That same month, at defendant's initial appearance in the trial court on these charges, the State provided the following factual basis for defendant's arrest. Erica Stewart reported to the Macomb Police Department that her wallet had been stolen and she had noticed several unfamiliar transactions on her credit card at various stores in Macomb Illinois. Macomb police officers investigated those locations and determined that defendant was the culprit. The officers then found and arrested defendant, finding in her possession Stewart's property, as well as the items defendant had purchased with Stewart's credit card.

¶ 9 While the State was presenting the factual basis, defendant interjected: "Can I tell you what happened to me? I had a bad affect [ sic ] from my meds is what happened, and I didn't want to do anything controllably bad because I don't even care about-I didn't want to do it." The trial court informed defendant that it was merely addressing bond at the moment, and the hearing continued without further incident.

¶ 10 The trial court accepted the factual basis and found probable cause for defendant's arrest.

¶ 11 B. Defendant's Fitness Hearing

¶ 12 In October 2021, defense counsel filed a motion for a fitness evaluation, stating that he "has represented [defendant] since the inception of this case and has had numerous contacts with [defendant], and has had contact with her caseworker through Bridgeway" and he "believes that there is a legitimate question as to the ability of [defendant] to observe, recollect, and relate the occurrence of the incidents alleged, which creates a bona fide question as to [defendant's] fitness." By agreement of the parties, the trial court ordered a fitness examination.

¶ 13 1. The Fitness Evaluation and Report

¶ 14 In November 2021, Dr. Joel Eckert examined defendant and concluded that she was unfit to stand trial but was likely to attain fitness within one year. Eckert reviewed defendant's medical history and noted in his report that she had a "variety of psychiatric difficulties," including schizophrenia, alcohol use disorder, and marijuana use disorder. She also had "a history of 20 previous psychiatric hospitalizations" and experienced hallucinations and cognitive disorganization. She had tried several different antipsychotic medications and, as of January 2021, had been prescribed an antipsychotic medication.

¶ 15 Dr. Eckert noted that defendant's medical file contained a case note from a meeting she had with her psychiatrist in September 2021, after her arrest. The psychiatrist wrote that defendant appeared disorganized and disheveled. When the psychiatrist asked defendant about the criminal charges, she explained that "she blacked out and does not remember the event and that she went and got the wallet." Defendant blamed her medication for her actions. However, the psychiatrist explained to defendant that the medication would not make her steal a wallet and do what she had done. Defendant denied experiencing auditory or visual hallucinations. She also denied smoking marijuana or drinking on a regular basis, but she had been found smoking marijuana outside multiple times.

¶ 16 Before interviewing defendant, Dr. Eckert began the assessment by interviewing defendant's caseworker, Marcus Follis, who had transported defendant to the interview. Follis had known defendant for three to four months. Eckert asked Follis why defendant had been referred, and Follis said, "because of a criminal offense-and she had stolen credit cards out of a nursing home and bought things with them and this is not the first time she's searched for cigarette butts and has stolen from cards." Follis reported that "she has in the past admitted that she knew exactly what her offense was and knew that what she had done was 'wrong'. On other occasions she had reportedly claimed total innocence, 'because she said she blacked out.'" That sort of behavior had occurred for several years.

¶ 17 During Dr. Eckert's interview with defendant, she stated the following when asked about why she was referred to the assessment, "I'm here-what I'm saying is I had a type of problem-I'm only taking a little shot for disability and the other day I fell back and I couldn't concentrate and it was a bad medicine attack!" Eckert again asked defendant if she knew why she had been referred to him for the evaluation. Defendant answered, "I'm here to talk about what happened-I don't remember what happened and I spent time (in jail), and it's all due to a near fatal car accident in the 90's!" He asked if defendant could name the charges against her. Defendant answered, "I was charged with some kind of theft, and I don't even remember!" Eckert asked her to try to remember, to which she replied, "[T]hey said it was someone else's wallet. *** I was all moozed out and was reaching for my wallet and I had to sit down, and someone asked me what I was doing." Defendant claimed that the charges were due to "a misunderstanding" and that "legal misunderstandings" have periodically occurred to her in the past. Regarding how she spent her free time, defendant reported to Eckert, "I rest a lot and I don't have money to do what I want (to do)!" Later in the interview she again complained, "I have no money to do anything!"

¶ 18 2. The Fitness Hearing

¶ 19 In January 2022, the trial court conducted a fitness hearing. The only evidence presented at the hearing and considered by the court was Dr. Eckert's report containing his opinion regarding defendant's fitness. The State asked the court to find defendant unfit but likely to attain fitness in one year. The court agreed with the State, stating as follows:

"All right. I will-based on the evidence before the Court, I will find [defendant], to be unfit to stand trial. I further find that based on that same evidence that fitness could be restored in one year, and she would, once a plan is in place for treatment, be remanded to a DHS facility to regain fitness. I will allow [defendant] to remain out on bond pending that placement."

¶ 20 3. The Subsequent Proceedings

¶ 21 In February 2023, Elgin Mental Health Center, where defendant was receiving mental health treatment, produced a report regarding defendant's fitness. In that report, the center's staff reported that defendant did not believe she had done anything wrong and that she had only "mozzed out." The report provided that defendant's remote and recent memory appeared intact because she could recall her personal history and the details of her arrest. However, the report explained that when defendant was symptomatic, she was "a poor historian" and exhibited delusional thought patterns, especially concerning the charges and events leading to her arrest. Further, defendant said that she no longer had to go to court because of "time served already" and she was "already found innocent due to insanity." The report concluded that defendant remained unfit. In April 2023, an addendum was added to the report opining that defendant was still unfit as of that date.

¶ 22 C. The Discharge Hearing

¶ 23 In June 2023, the trial court conducted a discharge hearing.

¶ 24 1. Erica Stewart

¶ 25 Erica Stewart testified that on August 12, 2021, she worked at Macomb Post Acute Care Center in Macomb. During her shift, she took a smoke break and went to the designated smoking area on the center's property. After returning to work, she realized that she had forgotten her "cigarette pack," which contained credit cards, gift cards, and her driver's license, outside at the smoking area. When she went out to the smoking area to retrieve her wallet, she was unable to find it, and none of her coworkers had seen the wallet. At that point, Stewart suspected that...