{
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  "name": "The People of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Tommie Lee Warfield, Defendant-Appellant",
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    "parties": [
      "The People of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Tommie Lee Warfield, Defendant-Appellant."
    ],
    "opinions": [
      {
        "text": "Mr. PRESIDING JUSTICE McGLOON\ndelivered the opinion of the court:\nDefendant, Tommie Lee Warfield, was charged with unlawful use of weapons in violation of section 24 \u2014 1(a) (10) of the Criminal Code (Ill. Rev. Stat., ch. 38, par. 24 \u2014 1(a) (10)); failure to register a firearm in violation of Chicago, Illinois, Municipal Code, chapter 11, section 1 \u2014 7; and failure to possess a firearm owner\u2019s identification card in violation of section 2 of \u201cAn Act relating to * * * firearms * * *\u201d (Ill. Rev. Stat., ch. 38, par. 83 \u2014 2). Defendant waived trial by jury and was found guilty of all three offenses. He was sentenced for 9 months to the House of Corrections on the first and third offenses, the sentences to run concurrently, and was fined $100 on the second offense, the fine suspended for time served. Defendant now appeals.\nOn appeal the only issue raised by the defendant concerns the constitutionality of section 24 \u2014 1(a) (10) of the Criminal Code (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1973, ch. 38, par. 24 \u2014 1(a) (10)). Defendant contends that said statute is unconstitutional because (1) it violates article IV, section 13 of the Illinois Constitution, and (2) it violates the equal protection clause of the United States Constitution.\nThe State contends (1) that said statute violates neither article IV, section 13, of the Illinois Constitution nor the equal protection clause of the United States Constitution; (2) that the defendant waived these constitutional objections because he raises them for the first time on appeal; and (3) that tire defendant lacks standing to challenge the constitutionality of the statute.\nWe affirm.\nSection 24 \u2014 1(a) (10) of the Criminal Code (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1973, ch. 38, par. 24 \u2014 1(a)(10)) reads as follows:\n\u201c\u00a7 24 \u2014 1. Unlawful Use of Weapons.\n(a) A person commits the offense of unlawful use of weapons when he knowingly:\n* * *\n(10) Carries or possesses in a vehicle or on or about his person within the corporate limits of a city, village or incorporated town, except when on his land or in his own abode or fixed place of business, any loaded pistol, revolver or other firearm.\u201d\nDefendant, in support of his argument concerning the unconstitutionality of the above statute argues that the Illinois Legislature, by providing protection for those within the boundaries of a city, village, or incorporated town, apparently used population density as a basis for classification; that there are numerous unincorporated areas more densely populated than incorporated areas; and that, therefore, the statute is without a reasonable or rational basis. Defendant does not dispute the fact that both the crime rate and the population density are greater in the incorporated areas, taken as a whole, than in the unincorporated areas, taken as a whole.\nDefendant also contends that no reasonable or rational basis exists for excluding any area in Illinois from the coverage of the above statute and that the mere technicality of incorporation should not form the basis for gun-control legislation.\nThis court has already considered the constitutionality of section 24 \u2014 1 (a)(10) (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1973, ch. 38, par. 24 \u2014 1(a)(10)) in People v. Graves (1974), 23 Ill.App.3d 762, 320 N.E.2d 95. In Graves, the Illinois Appellate Court specifically rejected the contentions that the statute violated article IV, section 13 of the Illinois Constitution and the equal protection clause of the United States Constitution and held the statute to be constitutional.\nIn considering whether or not the statute violated article IV, section 13, of the Illinois Constitution, the court in Graves, citing Bridgewater v. Hotz (1973), 51 Ill.2d 103, 281 N.E.2d 317, determined that there is no violation if the puipose of the statute is legitimate and the distinction rational. In determining that the purpose of the statute was legitimate and the distinction between incorporated and unincorporated areas was rational, the court in Graves stated as follows:\n\u201cIt seems obvious that the object and purpose of the statute in question here was to limit the availability of firearms in the more populated areas of the state. Pursuant to its police powers, the State has a valid interest in controlling crime within its borders, and we think that the.limitations on the right to carry or possess guns fulfills a valid State purpose in controlling the incidence of their use in the commission of crimes.\nLikewise, the distinction in the statute between incorporated and unincorporated areas appears to be a rational one. On the whole, incorporated areas, be they cities, villages or towns, are much more densely populated than unincorporated areas. Furthermore, there seems to be a rational distinction between the crime rates in the more largely populated areas than in less populous areas. * * *\u201d 23 Ill.App.3d 762, 767, 320 N.E.2d 95, 99.\nDefendant does not question the fact that the State has a legitimate interest in gun control and further admits that, on the whole, crime rates in incorporated areas are higher than those in unincorporated areas. The latter fact is supported by crime statistics published by the Illinois Department of Law Enforcement entitled \u201cCrime in Illinois, 1972\u201d which indicates that the crime rate in incorporated areas is more than twice that in unincorporated areas.\nIn rejecting the contention that section 24 \u2014 1(a) (10) (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1973, ch. 38, par. 24 \u2014 1(a) (10)) violates article IV, section 13, of the Illinois Constitution, the court in Graves went on to say:\n\u201cIn view thereof, we feel that the legislature\u2019s expression here of the difference in terms of \u2018incorporated\u2019 as opposed to unincorporated\u2019 areas was not arbitrary. Whether expressed as \u2018rural-urban\u2019 or in terms of distance from urban areas or in terms of incorporated areas as opposed to unincorporated areas, a distinction in crime rates does exist. The expression of this distinction is a matter for the legislature, and its classifications need not be logical, harmonious, scientific or even accurate provided they will accomplish the legislative design and are not arbitrary. (People ex rel. City of Salem v. McMackin, 53 Ill.2d 347, 364, 291 N.E.2d 807; People ex rel. Vermilion County Conservation District v. Lenover, 43 Ill.2d 209, 251 N.E.2d 175.) Here, we believe that there is a rational difference of situation\u2019 and a \u2018reasonable basis for the classification in view of the objects and purposes to be accomplished,\u2019 as required by Bridgewater, supra. We reject defendant\u2019s contention that the statute was in violation of article IV, section 13 of the Illinois Constitution.\u201d 23 Ill.App.3d 762, 768, 320 N.E.2d 95, 100.\nFurthermore, we adopt the reasoning in Graves, supra, that because the challenged statute does not violate tire special legislation prohibition of article IV, section 13, of the Illinois Constitution and because the Rodriquez exceptions (see San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriquez (1973), 411 U.S. 1, 61) are absent, the challenged statute satisfies the equal protection requirements.\nHaving ruled that the statute is constitutional, we see no necessity for considering the State\u2019s contentions that defendant waived his constitutional objections because he raises them for the first time on appeal and that defendant lacks standing to challenge the constitutionality of the statute.\nFor the reasons above stated, the judgment of the circuit court of Cook County is affirmed.\nJudgment affirmed.\nMcNAMARA and MEJDA, JJ., concur.",
        "type": "majority",
        "author": "Mr. PRESIDING JUSTICE McGLOON"
      }
    ],
    "attorneys": [
      "James J. Doherty, Public Defender, of Chicago (Robert P. Isaacson, Assistant Public Defender, and Frederick F. Cohn, of counsel), for appellant.",
      "Bernard Carey, State\u2019s Attorney, of Chicago (Patrick T. Driscoll, Jr., and John F. Brennan, Assistant State\u2019s Attorneys, of counsel), for the People."
    ],
    "corrections": "",
    "head_matter": "The People of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Tommie Lee Warfield, Defendant-Appellant.\n(No. 59894;\nFirst District (3rd Division)\nFebruary 20, 1975.\nJames J. Doherty, Public Defender, of Chicago (Robert P. Isaacson, Assistant Public Defender, and Frederick F. Cohn, of counsel), for appellant.\nBernard Carey, State\u2019s Attorney, of Chicago (Patrick T. Driscoll, Jr., and John F. Brennan, Assistant State\u2019s Attorneys, of counsel), for the People."
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  "file_name": "0772-01",
  "first_page_order": 798,
  "last_page_order": 802
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