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92_SB1161
LRB9207918REmg
1 AN ACT concerning mistrials in capital cases.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 is
5 amended by adding Section 115-21 as follows:
6 (725 ILCS 5/115-21 new)
7 Sec. 115-21. Prosecutor's misconduct; mistrial.
8 (a) The court may declare a mistrial in a capital case on
9 the grounds of a prosecutor's misconduct during trial that
10 the court determines is sufficiently material to affect the
11 reliability of the verdict. Instances of such misconduct
12 include, without limitation, a prosecutor's ad hominem attack
13 on the defendant during the prosecutor's closing argument and
14 a prosecutor's making of improper inferences from the
15 defendant's failure to testify on his or her own behalf.
16 (b) The court may declare a mistrial under this Section
17 on the defendant's oral or written motion or on the court's
18 own motion. The motion may be made at any time during the
19 course of the trial.
20 (c) The court may impose sanctions against a defendant's
21 counsel if the court determines that the counsel made a
22 motion under this Section other than in good faith. For
23 purposes of this subsection, a counsel's motion shall be
24 considered to be in good faith if the counsel reasonably
25 believed that the prosecutor's conduct was sufficient to
26 warrant the court to declare a mistrial under this Section.
27 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
28 becoming law.