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Appellate Court Date: 2017.09.25
13:14:41 -05'00'
People v. Miller, 2017 IL App (1st) 143779
Appellate Court THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v.
Caption MELVIN MILLER, Defendant-Appellant.
District & No. First District, Second Division
Docket No. 1-14-3779
Filed June 27, 2017
Decision Under Appeal from the Circuit Court of Cook County, No. 13-CR-1106; the
Review Hon. Diane G. Cannon, Judge, presiding.
Judgment Affirmed.
Counsel on Stephen L. Richards, of Chicago, for appellant.
Appeal
Kimberly M. Foxx, State’s Attorney, of Chicago (Alan J. Spellberg,
Eric Leafblad, Mary P. Needham, and Riebana E. Sachs, Assistant
State’s Attorneys, of counsel), for the People.
Panel PRESIDING JUSTICE HYMAN delivered the judgment of the court,
with opinion.
Justices Pierce and Mason concurred in the judgment and opinion.
OPINION
¶1 Defendant Melvin Miller was convicted by a jury of delivery of a controlled substance
and sentenced to 12 years’ incarceration. He argues on appeal that (i) the trial court failed to
“conduct a meaningful inquiry” after a juror equivocated while answering a question posed
during the jury polling after the guilty verdict, (ii) the prosecution failed to tender Miller’s
statement to police officers giving his name and date of birth, and (iii) the trial court
erroneously refused his tendered jury instruction regarding prior inconsistent statements.
Miller requests reversal of his conviction based on each of these alleged errors.
¶2 We affirm. First, while polling the jury, the trial court’s response to a juror’s
equivocation did not prejudice Miller or affect the fairness of the trial or the integrity of the
judicial process. Second, Miller forfeited the issue of whether the State violated the rules of
discovery; moreover, Miller was not prejudiced by any nondisclosure of his “statement.”
Finally, Miller failed to show the trial judge abused her discretion in refusing a jury
instruction on impeachment by prior inconsistent statements.
¶3 BACKGROUND
¶4 Chicago police officer Lazaro Altamirano, Detective Donald Clark, and Sergeant Andrew
Dakuras, team supervisor, were assigned to an eight-man undercover narcotics team
conducting drug investigations in Chicago and the suburbs. Altamirano was the “designated
undercover officer” who used marked bills (prerecorded Chicago police department “1505”
funds) to buy heroin from a suspected drug dealer. On November 14, 2012, the team
conducted an undercover heroin purchase from Miller in the area of Iowa Street and Harding
Avenue in Chicago. Dakuras recorded the serial numbers of a $10 bill and two $5 bills that
Altamirano used in the “buy” by writing them on his palm.
¶5 Altamirano approached Miller and asked him for two “blows” (street slang for heroin).
Miller went into a nearby house and returned with a small package. Altamirano paid him for
the package with $20 in marked “1505” bills. Clark, the surveillance officer, watched the
transaction from a distance of 50 to 75 feet. After the buy, Clark radioed Dakuras that Miller
was on the corner of Iowa Street and Lamon Avenue. Dakuras pulled up in an unmarked
police car and saw Miller. Dakuras called Miller over. Dakuras got out of the car and made
“small talk” with Miller about what he was doing, where he was going, and how long he had
been on the corner. Dakuras asked Miller if he had any money, and Miller pulled out about
$100 in various bills. Dakuras checked the serial numbers on all the bills and confirmed that
three bills matched the “1505” funds Altamirano used in the buy. As Dakuras and Miller
stood on the corner, Altamirano drove past and confirmed by radio that Miller was the
individual who sold him the heroin.
¶6 Dakuras asked Miller his name and birthday, which Miller gave. At this point, defense
counsel objected but was overruled, and the trial court denied counsel’s request for a sidebar.
Dakuras did not recall if Miller had identification or simply gave his name. Dakuras signed
off on Clark’s “Surveillance Supplementary Report” of the incident that stated Miller “was
identified,” but neither Clark nor Dakuras wrote in any report that Miller identified himself.
¶7 Miller was not arrested the same day as the “buy.” Doing so would have exposed
Altamirano as an undercover police officer. Instead, Dakuras returned to the police station
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and obtained Miller’s photograph from police computer records by his name and birthday.
According to Dakuras, “[w]hen you have been previously arrested, you are given an
identification record number.” The following exchange then ensued:
“MR. GASSMAN [defense counsel]: I will object again. This is coming out now
for the first time.
THE COURT: That will be stricken. Counsel, you have had the photographs.
MR. GASSMAN: Not photographs, statements allegedly made by the suspect. It
is coming out now for the first time.
THE COURT: Sustained. That will be stricken.”
¶8 Dakuras created a photo array of six photos including Miller’s. All the photos were of
black males fitting Miller’s general description. On the same day, Altamirano viewed the
photo array and selected Miller as the person who sold him the heroin. In December 2012,
Miller was arrested on a warrant.
¶9 The parties stipulated that the package Miller sold to Altamirano contained 0.4 grams of
heroin. The State rested, and defense counsel moved for a mistrial based on the State’s
failure to disclose Miller’s incriminating statement, specifically the “very damning
identifying information”—his name and birth date. The trial court found that the reports
tendered to the defense contained the identifying information as Dakuras testified.
¶ 10 The defense rested without calling any witnesses.
¶ 11 Jury Instructions
¶ 12 At the jury instruction conference, the defense requested an impeachment instruction
(Illinois Pattern Jury Instructions, Criminal, No. 3.11 (2d ed. 1981)) based on an inconsistent
statement made on a former occasion that was not consistent with the witness’s testimony in
this case. The trial court denied the instruction after finding no perfection of impeachment at
trial.
¶ 13 Jury Polling
¶ 14 The trial court polled the jury after its guilty verdict, asking “was this then and is this now
your verdict.” Eight jurors answered “yes” until the ninth juror was questioned:
“THE COURT: [Mr. Juror], was this then and is this now your verdict
forepersons? [Mr. Juror]. Is [Mr. Juror] here? Was this then and is this your verdict?
[Mr. Juror], you have to answer yes or no.
[JUROR]: That’s now my verdict.
THE COURT: Okay. I am going to ask that you continue your deliberations,
ladies and gentlemen.
[JUROR]: I said that’s now my verdict.
THE COURT: That’s now your verdict.
[JUROR]: Now.
THE COURT: I meant when you signed it and is it now.”
With that, the trial court moved to the next juror.
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¶ 15 The jury convicted Miller of one count of delivery of a controlled substance; he was later
sentenced to 12 years’ incarceration.
¶ 16 ANALYSIS
¶ 17 Jury Polling
¶ 18 A defendant’s right to poll the jury is a “substantial” right. People v. Townsend, 5 Ill.
App. 3d 924, 925 (1972); see also People v. McGhee, 2012 IL App (1st) 093404, ¶ 15
(criminal defendant’s right to poll jury has long been recognized in Illinois and is rooted in
Illinois common law). The purpose of polling a jury is to ensure unanimity and determine
whether the verdict was freely and voluntarily reached. People v. Wheat, 383 Ill. App. 3d
234, 237 (2008).
¶ 19 Illinois courts have consistently held that the manner in which jury polls are conducted is
within the discretion of the trial court and whether a juror freely assented to a verdict in a poll
is a question of fact for the trial court to decide. People v. Herron, 30 Ill. App. 3d 788,
791-92 (1975); see also Wheat, 383 Ill. App. 3d at 238; People v. Bennett, 154 Ill. App. 3d
469, 477-78 (1987); People v. Chandler, 88 Ill. App. 3d 644, 650 (1980). If a juror indicates
some hesitancy or ambivalence in answering, the trial court has the duty to ascertain the
juror’s intent. People v. Kellogg, 77 Ill. 2d 524, 528 (1979). The most frequent question used
to poll jurors is “ ‘Was this then and is this now your verdict?’ ” Id.
¶ 20 Miller first argues that the trial court did not conduct an adequate inquiry of a juror who
did not directly answer “yes or no” when asked “was this then and is this now your verdict?”
Additionally, Miller claims error when, immediately after the juror answered, the trial court
threatened to continue deliberations (“I am going to ask that you continue your deliberations,
ladies and gentlemen.”).
¶ 21 The State responds that Miller forfeited the issue because, even though his posttrial
motion raised the issue, he did not contemporaneously object to the trial court’s conduct.
¶ 22 Relying on People v. McLaurin, 235 Ill. 2d 478 (2009), Miller urges us to relax the
forfeiture rule first enunciated in People v. Sprinkle, 27 Ill. 2d 398 (1963), where the defense
counsel made no objection when the trial court conducted witness examinations during the
defendant’s jury trial and implied its own opinions of the case and the witnesses. In Sprinkle,
the supreme court granted review of the defendant’s claims and held “a less rigid application
of the rule requiring timely and proper objection and preservation of rulings thereon should
prevail where the basis for the objection is the conduct of the trial judge than is otherwise
required.” Id. at 401. The Sprinkle court observed that by objecting “to a comment or
question by the judge,” the lawyer may be “viewed with considerable suspicion and
skepticism by the very group whom [the lawyer] is trying to convert to his [or her] client’s
view of the facts.” Id. at 400. But in McLaurin, the supreme court noted: “[t]hat we have
seldom applied Sprinkle to noncapital cases further underscores the importance of uniform
application of the forfeiture rule except in the most compelling of situations.” McLaurin, 235
Ill. 2d at 488. No compelling circumstance is present to excuse forfeiture.
¶ 23 The plain-error doctrine creates a limited exception to the general rule of forfeiture to
protect the rights of the defendant and the integrity and reputation of the judicial process.
People v. Kitch, 239 Ill. 2d 452, 461 (2011). The defendant bears the burden of persuasion in
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a plain-error analysis, but the first step in plain-error review is to determine if an error has
occurred. Id. at 461-62.
¶ 24 “[A]n opportunity must be afforded for the juror to express his [or her] opinion free from
coercive influences that may have dominated the deliberations of the jury room.” Kellogg, 77
Ill. 2d at 529. And although subject to review, the trial court’s determination as to whether a
juror freely assented to the verdict is a matter of discretion for the trial judge who not only
hears the juror’s response but also observes the juror’s demeanor and tone of voice. Id. If a
juror indicates some hesitancy or ambivalence in answering, the trial court should ascertain
the juror’s intent. Id. at 528.
¶ 25 The trial court polled the jury after its guilty verdict, asking “was this then and is this now
your verdict.” Eight jurors answered “yes.” Then the ninth juror did not immediately answer.
Moments later the ninth juror said “that’s now my verdict” twice and then reiterated “now” a
third time. The trial court must ascertain a juror’s present intent by affording the juror the
opportunity to unambiguously reply as to his or her present state of mind. People v. Bennett,
154 Ill. App. 3d 469, 476 (1987). Although this juror’s answer was not an unambiguous and
immediate “yes” or “no” answer, the juror did not express uncertainty as in Bennett, where a
juror, during polling, stated that she was “not sure” whether it was her verdict (id.) or
half-hearted agreement such as “Um—I have to say yes, I guess” in People v. Beasley, 384
Ill. App. 3d 1039, 1044 (2008).
¶ 26 Wheat, 383 Ill. App. 3d 234, is factually distinguishable. There, the trial court discharged
the jury “two seconds” after reading the verdict. Id. at 236. The trial court continued to
address the jury, however, and defense counsel attempted to interject some six seconds later
but was prevented from speaking. Id. When the trial court paused in its remarks, defense
counsel requested that the jury be polled at “the first reasonable opportunity,” but the trial
court refused. Id. at 240. The appellate court held the request was timely and reversed. Id. at
242. Unlike Wheat, the jury was polled properly with one juror slightly hesitating before
answering.
¶ 27 Miller also cites Kellogg where, while polling the jury, the trial court failed to answer a
juror’s inquiry as to whether she could change her vote, and instead twice repeated the
question “ ‘Was this then and is this now your verdict?’ ” until the juror answered in the
affirmative. Kellogg, 77 Ill. 2d at 527. Here, the juror made no request to change his vote,
and in fact stated his vote before the trial court’s response, “I am going to ask that you
continue your deliberations, ladies and gentlemen.” The trial court’s quickness might be
considered premature and impolitic, but at no time did the juror change his vote or request
any clarification. Not only did the juror not dissent, he stated three times that “now” his
verdict was guilty. Under these circumstances, the jury verdict was unanimous, and no error
occurred. The trial court’s response was not so serious as to have affected the fairness of the
trial or the integrity of the judicial process.
¶ 28 Discovery Violation
¶ 29 Illinois Supreme Court Rule 412(a)(ii) (eff. Mar. 1, 2001) requires the State to disclose to
defense counsel “any written or recorded statements and the substance of any oral statements
made by the accused *** and a list of witnesses to the making and acknowledgement of such
statements.” The rule’s purpose is to protect a defendant against surprise, unfairness, and
inadequate preparation and to afford the defense an opportunity to investigate the
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circumstances surrounding the statement. People v. Sanchez, 388 Ill. App. 3d 467, 473
(2009). Rule 412 applies to all statements made by a defendant, not only formal statements
made to the authorities, that might have a bearing on the defendant’s guilt or innocence. Id.
¶ 30 Miller argues that the trial court erred by overruling his objection to Dakuras’s testimony
that Miller gave his name and birthday and denying his motion for a mistrial. The State
responds that Miller forfeited his claim because, even though he objected at trial, he failed to
include it in his posttrial motion. See People v. Enoch, 122 Ill. 2d 176, 186 (1988) (“failure to
raise an issue in a written motion for a new trial results in a waiver of that issue on appeal”).
The State also asserts that no discovery violation occurred because Miller was not in custody
when the reports were written so the logical inference was that he gave his name and
birthday.
¶ 31 The plain-error doctrine creates a limited exception to the general rule of forfeiture in the
interest of protecting the rights of the defendant and the integrity and reputation of the
judicial process. People v. Kitch, 239 Ill. 2d 452, 461 (2011). The doctrine allows
consideration of an otherwise forfeited error when a clear or obvious error occurred and (i)
the evidence is closely balanced, regardless of the seriousness of the error or (ii) the error is
so serious that it affected the fairness of the defendant’s trial regardless of the closeness of
the evidence. People v. Thompson, 238 Ill. 2d 598, 613 (2010). As stated, the first step
involves whether an error occurred. Kitch, 239 Ill. 2d at 461.
¶ 32 Rule 412 applies to statements that might have a bearing on the defendant’s guilt or
innocence (People v. Cisewski, 118 Ill. 2d 163, 172 (1987)) and requires the State to disclose
the substance of a defendant’s oral statements, not the statements verbatim. People v. Batrez,
334 Ill. App. 3d 772, 778 (2002). The wording of the police report did not explicitly state
“Miller gave his name,” but the essence was that the police learned his name and birthday. A
person’s name and birthday, without more, are simply identifying characteristics.
¶ 33 Even were we to find a Rule 412 violation, a new trial would be warranted only if the
discovery violation prejudiced the defendant and the trial court failed to eliminate the
prejudice. Cisewski, 118 Ill. 2d at 172; see also People v. Weaver, 92 Ill. 2d 545, 559 (1982).
Weaver enumerates factors that bear on whether the defendant suffered prejudice and a new
trial must be granted, including (1) the closeness of the evidence, (2) the strength of the
undisclosed evidence, (3) the likelihood that prior notice could have helped the defense
discredit the evidence, and (4) the willfulness of the State in failing to disclose the evidence.
Weaver, 92 Ill. 2d at 560.
¶ 34 Miller asserts that the State’s answer to discovery did not any mention that he gave his
name and birthday to police on the day of the buy. Dakuras testified that he asked Miller his
name and birthday and signed off on Clark’s supplementary report of the incident. The report
listed Miller’s name and birthday but said that he “was identified.” Defense counsel objected
to Dakuras’s testimony, which the trial court overruled. Miller maintains that he was unfairly
surprised and prejudiced by the failure to disclose the alleged statement and that, but for this
testimony, he could have plausibly argued that Miller was not the seller and that the police
officers were mistaken.
¶ 35 Had Miller not given his name right away, no photographic array would have been
possible and no identification would have been made by Altamirano. But lacking the
photographic array identification made later that afternoon would not have changed the trial’s
outcome given the overwhelming nature of the evidence and given that experienced members
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of a narcotics team methodically presented the steps they took to make this arrest. The
testimony by three members of the narcotics team established Miller’s identity independent
of the photographic identification. A “commonsense assessment of the evidence” (People v.
Belknap, 2014 IL 117094, ¶ 52) requires us to acknowledge when the facts of a particular
case limit the range of reasonable inferences that might otherwise be drawn from
circumstantial evidence. We do not find the evidence closely balanced.
¶ 36 Regarding the willfulness of the State in failing to disclose this statement, the police
reports tendered to the defense in discovery included the information that Miller was
identified by name and birthday. Miller, though, complains about the source of that
information, and the wording in the report is not conclusive on this point. (The exhibit itself
does not appear in the record.) But the result would have been the same even if the report
was intended to mislead and the evidence regarding the photo array identification was
excluded.
¶ 37 Finally, we note that Dakuras testified that he assembled the photographic array when he
returned to the station and checked Miller’s police department record, adding “When you
have been previously arrested, you are given an identification record number.” Defense
counsel objected. The trial court responded with “That will be stricken. Counsel, you have
had the photographs.” Defense counsel then explained the objection was not to the
photographs but to “statements allegedly made by the suspect” that were “coming out now
for the first time.” The trial court sustained the objection and ruled, “That will be stricken.”
With the court’s rulings in place, as well as the jury instructions “You should disregard
questions and exhibits which were withdrawn or to which objections were sustained” and
“You should disregard testimony [and] exhibits which the court has refused or stricken,” we
find that any error that may have occurred in the presence of the jury was adequately
addressed.
¶ 38 Thus, Miller was not prejudiced by any nondisclosure of his “statement.”
¶ 39 Jury Instruction
¶ 40 In a related argument, Miller contends that the trial court’s refusal to give his tendered
impeachment instruction regarding prior inconsistent statements mandates a reversal. He
maintains Dakuras was impeached by omission as the police report did not include the
information that Miller gave his name and birthday.
¶ 41 “Jury instructions are intended to provide the jury with accurate legal principles to apply
to the evidence so it can reach a correct verdict.” People v. Campbell, 2012 IL App (1st)
101249, ¶ 44 (citing People v. Pierce, 226 Ill. 2d 470, 475 (2007)). When reviewing the
adequacy of instructions, we consider all of the instructions as a unit in deciding if they fully
and fairly cover the law. People v. Cooper, 2013 IL App (1st) 113030, ¶ 110. “The decision
of whether to tender a particular instruction lies with the trial court and is reviewed under an
abuse of discretion standard.” Campbell, 2012 IL App (1st) 101249, ¶ 44 (citing People v.
Mohr, 228 Ill. 2d 53, 65-66 (2008)). An abuse of discretion takes place when the instructions
are either unclear, mislead the jury, or are not justified by both the evidence and the law.
Cooper, 2013 IL App (1st) 113030, ¶ 108.
¶ 42 “The theory of attack by prior inconsistent statements is not based on the assumption that
the present testimony is false and the former statement true but rather upon the notion that
talking one way on the stand and another way previously is blowing hot and cold, and raises
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a doubt as to the truthfulness of both statements.” John William Strong, McCormick on
Evidence § 34 at 114 (4th ed. 1992). The tendered instruction read: “The believability of a
witness may be challenged by evidence that on some former occasion he made a statement
that was not consistent with his testimony in this case. Evidence of this kind may be
considered by you only for the purpose of deciding the weight to be given the testimony you
heard from the witnesses in this courtroom.” Illinois Pattern Jury Instructions, Criminal, No.
3.11 (2d ed. 1981) (hereinafter, IPI Criminal 2d No. 3.11).
¶ 43 The impeachment by omission instruction (IPI Criminal 2d No. 3.11) informs the jury
that the believability of a witness may be challenged by evidence of a prior inconsistent
statement and, accordingly, covers inconsistencies caused by both omissions and affirmative
statements in the prior statement. Campbell, 2012 IL App (1st) 101249, ¶ 47 (citing People v.
Eggert, 324 Ill. App. 3d 79, 82-83 (2001)). Under the rule for impeachment by omission it is
permissible to use prior silence to discredit a witness’s testimony if (1) it is shown that the
witness had an opportunity to make a statement and (2) the witness fails to mention a fact
under circumstances that make it reasonably probable that he or she would have mentioned
them if true. People v. Clay, 379 Ill. App. 3d 470, 481 (2008).
¶ 44 The police report, prepared by Clark and signed by Dakuras, stated Miller was identified
by name and birthday. That the wording did not specifically state that Miller identified
himself by giving his name and birthday does not constitute an omission that could
reasonably be expected to be “mentioned if true.” Simply put, this argument is over
semantics.
¶ 45 And, in considering the testimony of any witness, the trial court instructed the jury to
“take into account his ability and opportunity to observe, his memory, his manner while
testifying, any interest, bias, or prejudice he may have and the reasonableness of his
testimony considered in the light of all of the evidence in the case.” (Emphasis added.) This
court found no error in refusing the defendant’s proffered IPI Criminal 2d No. 3.11 regarding
impeachment by a prior inconsistent statement where the jury received the identical
instruction. People v. Luckett, 273 Ill. App. 3d 1023, 1035 (1995) (“ ‘It is obvious to the
layman that any contradiction of a witness’ testimony calls into question the accuracy of that
testimony, and if that testimony is disbelieved as to one matter, the veracity of the remainder
is cast in doubt.’ ” (quoting People v. McClellan, 62 Ill. App. 3d 590, 596 (1978))).
¶ 46 Affirmed.
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