People v. Walker

53 N.E.3d 995

403 Ill.Dec. 358

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff–Appellee

v.James WALKER, Defendant–Appellant.

No. 3–14–0723.

Appellate Court of Illinois, Third District.

Rule 23 Filed March 30, 2016.

Motion to Publish Granted April 25, 2016.

Opinion Filed April 25, 2016.

Rehearing Denied April 27, 2016.

Shobha L. Mahadev and Scott F. Main (argued), both of Bluhm Legal Clinic, and Angela M Weis (argued), of Sidley Austin LLP, both of Chicago, for appellant.

James Glasgow, State's Attorney, of Joliet (Thomas D. Arado (argued), of State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor's Office, of counsel), for the People.

Marsha Levick, of Juvenile Law Center, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Bruce A. Boyer, of Loyola University Chicago School of Law, of Chicago, for amici curiae Juvenile Law Center, Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, and Civitas Childlaw Clinic.

OPINION

Justice SCHMIDT delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.

¶ 1 In July 1984, a Will County jury convicted defendant, James Walker, of felony murder (Ill.Rev.Stat.1983, ch. 38, ¶ 9–1 ). He was 17 years old at the time of the offense. The court sentenced him to natural life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Defendant raised three issues, including his sentence, on direct appeal; this court affirmed. People v. Walker, 136 Ill.App.3d 177, 91 Ill.Dec. 19, 483 N.E.2d 301 (1985). The Illinois Supreme Court denied defendant's petition for leave to appeal. People v. Walker, 111 Ill.2d 563, 92 Ill.Dec. 850, 485 N.E.2d 1093 (1985).

¶ 2 In June 2013, defendant filed a postconviction petition. Defendant argued that at his sentencing hearing, the trial court did not consider his status as a juvenile and the attendant characteristics of his youth at the time of the offense. Citing Miller v. Alabama in support, defendant alleges his constitutional rights were violated. Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. ––––, 132 S.Ct. 2455, 183 L.Ed.2d 407 (2012) (hereinafter Miller ). Defendant also claimed his sentence violated the proportionate penalties clause of the Illinois Constitution. Ill. Const. 1970, art. I, § 11. Upon the State's motion, the trial court dismissed defendant's petition.

¶ 3 Defendant appeals the dismissal of his postconviction petition, arguing his sentence: (1) violates the United States Constitution; (2) violates the proportionate penalties clause of the Illinois Constitution; and (3) as it applies to juveniles, Illinois's natural life sentencing scheme is unconstitutional.

In addition to countering defendant's claims, the State asserts that defendant's postconviction petition is untimely. We find defendant's petition is untimely, and affirm the trial court's ruling.

¶ 4 BACKGROUND

¶ 5 The defendant murdered Charles Davis during an attempted armed robbery. Defendant and his codefendant, Xavier Williams, are African American. In March 1984, defendant and Williams were minors—17 and 16 years old, respectively.¹ They decided they needed money and in order to get some, they should rob a cabdriver. Defendant called Davis's taxi company specifically because he thought they were known to employ “white drivers.” Walker, 136 Ill.App.3d at 178, 91 Ill.Dec. 19, 483 N.E.2d 301. Davis was, in fact, white.

¶ 6 Davis picked up defendant and Williams in his taxi cab. Defendant sat directly behind Davis in the cab with a loaded, sawed-off shotgun concealed under his coat. After a brief drive, defendant produced the shotgun and demanded that Davis stop the cab. Williams exited the rear passenger side of the cab, intending to take over as the driver. Before Williams reached the driver's side door, defendant fired the shotgun. Upon seeing the carnage that resulted from defendant shooting Davis in the back of the head with a shotgun at point-blank range, Williams fled; defendant followed.

¶ 7 Defendant and Williams both went to the home of a mutual friend where they encountered friends throughout the night. Each separately told friends that defendant killed Davis. Defendant and Williams were arrested a few days later. Each provided the police with a confession that mirrored the other's account of events in most respects. The significant difference between their confessions was their professed intent. Williams said he concealed his face with a cap and scarf, intending merely to rob the driver. Defendant said he was aware he had no means to conceal his face going into the robbery, and killed Davis so that he could not later identify him.

¶ 8 Defendant and Williams were indicted for murder and felony murder and tried jointly. A jury found them both guilty of felony murder. At sentencing, the trial court discussed defendant's criminal record—containing both adult dispositions and juvenile records of adjudication—and the fact that defendant received counseling “for a variety of family, social, sexual and educational problems.” The trial court sentenced defendant to a discretionary natural life imprisonment without parole and Williams to 35 years' imprisonment.

¶ 9 On direct appeal, defendant contested, inter alia, the imposition of his life sentence. Id. at 181–82, 91 Ill.Dec. 19, 483 N.E.2d 301. Most notably, defendant argued that none of the statutory requirements for imposing a life sentence were met in his case. This court rejected all of defendant's arguments and affirmed his conviction. Before concluding, this court noted:

“Walker also suggests that this crime was not ‘brutal or heinous' since death was instantaneous and did not involve torture of the victim. He would have us ignore the fact that the murder was casually undertaken, was horribly mutilating to the body of the victim, and was performed cold-bloodedly without any provocation, real or imagined, on the part of the victim. No one can say what mental and physical suffering the victim incurred during his last few moments of life. We hold that the trial court did not err in sentencing Walker to life imprisonment.” Id. at 182, 91 Ill.Dec. 19, 483 N.E.2d 301.

¶ 10 Defendant filed a petition for relief under the Post–Conviction Hearing Act (725 ILCS 5/122–1 et seq. (West 2012)) in June 2013. He argued his life sentence was unconstitutional under Miller and violated the proportionate penalties clause of the Illinois Constitution. Miller, 567 U.S. ––––, 132 S.Ct. 2455. In August of that year, the trial court advanced defendant's petition to the second stage of postconviction proceedings. The State filed a motion to dismiss, which the trial court granted. The trial court found that the original trial court had considered defendant's youth and other relevant factors before sentencing. In so doing, the trial court noted the explicit discussion on the record of defendant's age and life circumstances during defendant's sentencing hearing. The trial court also declined to extend Miller to defendant's case, reasoning that Miller applies to mandatory life sentences, not discretionary ones. Id.

¶ 11 Defendant appeals the dismissal of his postconviction petition, arguing his sentence violates both the eighth amendment to the United States Constitution, contrary to the Supreme Court's ruling in Miller, and the proportionate penalties clause of the Illinois Constitution. Additionally, defendant argues that, as it applies to juveniles, Illinois' natural life sentencing scheme is per se unconstitutional. The State rebuts defendant's arguments and further asserts that defendant's postconviction petition is untimely. We affirm.

¶ 12 ANALYSIS

¶ 13 We review the trial court's dismissal of a postconviction petition in the second stage de novo. People v. Pendleton, 223 Ill.2d 458, 473, 308 Ill.Dec. 434, 861 N.E.2d 999 (2006). “[I]ssues that were raised and decided on direct appeal are barred from consideration by the doctrine of res judicata; issues that could have been raised, but were not, are considered forfeited.” People v. Davis, 2014 IL 115595, ¶ 13, 379 Ill.Dec. 381, 6 N.E.3d 709 (citing People v. Ortiz, 235 Ill.2d 319, 328, 336 Ill.Dec. 16, 919 N.E.2d 941 (2009) ).

¶ 14 The Post–Conviction Hearing Act provides three stages to adjudicate postconviction petitions. In the first stage, only petitions that are “frivolous or * * * patently without merit” may be dismissed. 725 ILCS 5/122–2.1(a)(2) (West 2012). The State may file a motion to dismiss a postconviction petition at the second stage. 725 ILCS 5/122–5 (West 2012). In order to survive dismissal, the defendant must make a substantial showing of a constitutional violation. People v. Edwards, 197 Ill.2d 239, 246, 258 Ill.Dec. 753, 757 N.E.2d 442 (2001).

¶ 15 Defendant's petition asserted two claims: (1) Miller requires defendant's sentence to be vacated and that he be resentenced; and (2) defendant's sentence violates the proportionate penalties clause of the Illinois Constitution. Defendant's arguments on appeal include the additional assertion that Illinois's natural life sentencing scheme is per se unconstitutional, as it applies to juveniles. The record indicates that defendant declined to amend his petition in the trial court to include the latter argument. As such, we need not address it. “Any claim of substantial denial of constitutional rights not raised in the original or an amended petition is waived.” 725 ILCS 5/122–3 (West 2012).

¶ 16 I. The State's Untimely Petition Argument

¶ 17 The State argues defendant violated the Post–Conviction Hearing Act's time limitations (725 ILCS 5/122–1(c) (West 2012)), forfeiting all claims asserted in his petition. Defendant asserts that the notion that juveniles are less culpable for their actions than adults is a recent revelation and, therefore, his petition is timely. More precisely, defendant claims this strand of thought has only been available to criminal defendants since the Supreme Court decided Miller. We disagree.

¶ 18 Where, as here, the petitioner is not under sentence of death and has not petitioned for writ of certiorari, the Post–Conviction Hearing Act prohibits filing a postconviction petition more than six...