HB4784 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB101 18955 RLC 68414 b

101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB4784

Introduced 2/18/2020, by Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

705 ILCS 405/5-815
705 ILCS 405/5-820

Amends the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. Provides that if the court adjudicates a minor as a Habitual Juvenile Offender or as a Violent Juvenile Offender, it may commit the minor to the Department of Juvenile Justice (rather than require the minor to be committed until his or her 21st birthday, without possibility of aftercare release, furlough, or non-emergency authorized absence). Deletes provision that the minor shall be entitled to earn one day of good conduct credit for each day served as reductions against the period of his or her confinement.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning courts.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Juvenile Court Act of 1987 is amended by changing Sections 5-815 and 5-820 as follows:

(705 ILCS 405/5-815)

Sec. 5-815. Habitual Juvenile Offender.

(a) Definition. Any minor having been twice adjudicated a delinquent minor for offenses which, had he been prosecuted as an adult, would have been felonies under the laws of this State, and who is thereafter adjudicated a delinquent minor for a third time shall be adjudged an Habitual Juvenile Offender where:

1. the third adjudication is for an offense occurring after adjudication on the second; and

2. the second adjudication was for an offense occurring after adjudication on the first; and

3. the third offense occurred after January 1, 1980; and

4. the third offense was based upon the commission of or attempted commission of the following offenses: first degree murder, second degree murder or involuntary manslaughter; criminal sexual assault or aggravated criminal sexual assault; aggravated or heinous battery involving permanent disability or disfigurement or great bodily harm to the victim; burglary of a home or other residence intended for use as a temporary or permanent dwelling place for human beings; home invasion; robbery or armed robbery; or aggravated arson.

Nothing in this Section shall preclude the State's Attorney from seeking to prosecute a minor as an adult as an alternative to prosecution as an habitual juvenile offender.

A continuance under supervision authorized by Section 5-615 of this Act shall not be permitted under this Section.

(b) Notice to minor. The State shall serve upon the minor written notice of intention to prosecute under the provisions of this Section within 5 judicial days of the filing of any delinquency petition, adjudication upon which would mandate the minor's disposition as an Habitual Juvenile Offender.

(c) Petition; service. A notice to seek adjudication as an Habitual Juvenile Offender shall be filed only by the State's Attorney.

The petition upon which such Habitual Juvenile Offender notice is based shall contain the information and averments required for all other delinquency petitions filed under this Act and its service shall be according to the provisions of this Act.

No prior adjudication shall be alleged in the petition.

(d) Trial. Trial on such petition shall be by jury unless the minor demands, in open court and with advice of counsel, a trial by the court without jury.

Except as otherwise provided herein, the provisions of this Act concerning delinquency proceedings generally shall be applicable to Habitual Juvenile Offender proceedings.

(e) Proof of prior adjudications. No evidence or other disclosure of prior adjudications shall be presented to the court or jury during any adjudicatory hearing provided for under this Section unless otherwise permitted by the issues properly raised in such hearing. In the event the minor who is the subject of these proceedings elects to testify on his own behalf, it shall be competent to introduce evidence, for purposes of impeachment, that he has previously been adjudicated a delinquent minor upon facts which, had he been tried as an adult, would have resulted in his conviction of a felony or of any offense that involved dishonesty or false statement. Introduction of such evidence shall be according to the rules and procedures applicable to the impeachment of an adult defendant by prior conviction.

After an admission of the facts in the petition or adjudication of delinquency, the State's Attorney may file with the court a verified written statement signed by the State's Attorney concerning any prior adjudication of an offense set forth in subsection (a) of this Section which offense would have been a felony or of any offense that involved dishonesty or false statement had the minor been tried as an adult.

The court shall then cause the minor to be brought before it; shall inform him of the allegations of the statement so filed, and of his right to a hearing before the court on the issue of such prior adjudication and of his right to counsel at such hearing; and unless the minor admits such adjudication, the court shall hear and determine such issue, and shall make a written finding thereon.

A duly authenticated copy of the record of any such alleged prior adjudication shall be prima facie evidence of such prior adjudication or of any offense that involved dishonesty or false statement.

Any claim that a previous adjudication offered by the State's Attorney is not a former adjudication of an offense which, had the minor been prosecuted as an adult, would have resulted in his conviction of a felony or of any offense that involved dishonesty or false statement, is waived unless duly raised at the hearing on such adjudication, or unless the State's Attorney's proof shows that such prior adjudication was not based upon proof of what would have been a felony.

(f) Disposition. If the court finds that the prerequisites established in subsection (a) of this Section have been proven, it shall adjudicate the minor an Habitual Juvenile Offender and may commit him to the Department of Juvenile Justice until his 21st birthday, without possibility of aftercare release, furlough, or non-emergency authorized absence. However, the minor shall be entitled to earn one day of good conduct credit for each day served as reductions against the period of his confinement. Such good conduct credits shall be earned or revoked according to the procedures applicable to the allowance and revocation of good conduct credit for adult prisoners serving determinate sentences for felonies.

For purposes of determining good conduct credit, commitment as an Habitual Juvenile Offender shall be considered a determinate commitment, and the difference between the date of the commitment and the minor's 21st birthday shall be considered the determinate period of his confinement.

(Source: P.A. 98-558, eff. 1-1-14.)

(705 ILCS 405/5-820)

Sec. 5-820. Violent Juvenile Offender.

(a) Definition. A minor having been previously adjudicated a delinquent minor for an offense which, had he or she been prosecuted as an adult, would have been a Class 2 or greater felony involving the use or threat of physical force or violence against an individual or a Class 2 or greater felony for which an element of the offense is possession or use of a firearm, and who is thereafter adjudicated a delinquent minor for a second time for any of those offenses shall be adjudicated a Violent Juvenile Offender if:

(1) The second adjudication is for an offense occurring after adjudication on the first; and

(2) The second offense occurred on or after January 1, 1995.

(b) Notice to minor. The State shall serve upon the minor written notice of intention to prosecute under the provisions of this Section within 5 judicial days of the filing of a delinquency petition, adjudication upon which would mandate the minor's disposition as a Violent Juvenile Offender.

(c) Petition; service. A notice to seek adjudication as a Violent Juvenile Offender shall be filed only by the State's Attorney.

The petition upon which the Violent Juvenile Offender notice is based shall contain the information and averments required for all other delinquency petitions filed under this Act and its service shall be according to the provisions of this Act.

No prior adjudication shall be alleged in the petition.

(d) Trial. Trial on the petition shall be by jury unless the minor demands, in open court and with advice of counsel, a trial by the court without a jury.

Except as otherwise provided in this Section, the provisions of this Act concerning delinquency proceedings generally shall be applicable to Violent Juvenile Offender proceedings.

(e) Proof of prior adjudications. No evidence or other disclosure of prior adjudications shall be presented to the court or jury during an adjudicatory hearing provided for under this Section unless otherwise permitted by the issues properly raised in that hearing. In the event the minor who is the subject of these proceedings elects to testify on his or her own behalf, it shall be competent to introduce evidence, for purposes of impeachment, that he or she has previously been adjudicated a delinquent minor upon facts which, had the minor been tried as an adult, would have resulted in the minor's conviction of a felony or of any offense that involved dishonesty or false statement. Introduction of such evidence shall be according to the rules and procedures applicable to the impeachment of an adult defendant by prior conviction.

After an admission of the facts in the petition or adjudication of delinquency, the State's Attorney may file with the court a verified written statement signed by the State's Attorney concerning any prior adjudication of an offense set forth in subsection (a) of this Section that would have been a felony or of any offense that involved dishonesty or false statement had the minor been tried as an adult.

The court shall then cause the minor to be brought before it; shall inform the minor of the allegations of the statement so filed, of his or her right to a hearing before the court on the issue of the prior adjudication and of his or her right to counsel at the hearing; and unless the minor admits the adjudication, the court shall hear and determine the issue, and shall make a written finding of the issue.

A duly authenticated copy of the record of any alleged prior adjudication shall be prima facie evidence of the prior adjudication or of any offense that involved dishonesty or false statement.

Any claim that a previous adjudication offered by the State's Attorney is not a former adjudication of an offense which, had the minor been prosecuted as an adult, would have resulted in his or her conviction of a Class 2 or greater felony involving the use or threat of force or violence, or a firearm, a felony or of any offense that involved dishonesty or false statement is waived unless duly raised at the hearing on the adjudication, or unless the State's Attorney's proof shows that the prior adjudication was not based upon proof of what would have been a felony.

(f) Disposition. If the court finds that the prerequisites established in subsection (a) of this Section have been proven, it shall adjudicate the minor a Violent Juvenile Offender and may commit the minor to the Department of Juvenile Justice until his or her 21st birthday, without possibility of aftercare release, furlough, or non-emergency authorized absence. However, the minor shall be entitled to earn one day of good conduct credit for each day served as reductions against the period of his or her confinement. The good conduct credits shall be earned or revoked according to the procedures applicable to the allowance and revocation of good conduct credit for adult prisoners serving determinate sentences for felonies.

For purposes of determining good conduct credit, commitment as a Violent Juvenile Offender shall be considered a determinate commitment, and the difference between the date of the commitment and the minor's 21st birthday shall be considered the determinate period of his or her confinement.

(g) Nothing in this Section shall preclude the State's Attorney from seeking to prosecute a minor as a habitual juvenile offender or as an adult as an alternative to prosecution as a Violent Juvenile Offender.

(h) A continuance under supervision authorized by Section 5-615 of this Act shall not be permitted under this Section.

(Source: P.A. 98-558, eff. 1-1-14.)