{ "id": 5437179, "name": "THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. DONNA L. WILLIAMS, Defendant-Appellant", "name_abbreviation": "People v. Williams", "decision_date": "2004-05-26", "docket_number": "No. 3-02-0456", "first_page": "273", "last_page": "276", "citations": [ { "type": "official", "cite": "349 Ill. App. 3d 273" } ], "court": { "name_abbreviation": "Ill. App. Ct.", "id": 8837, "name": "Illinois Appellate Court" }, "jurisdiction": { "id": 29, "name_long": "Illinois", "name": "Ill." }, "cites_to": [ { "cite": "539 U.S. 558", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "U.S.", "case_ids": [ 8898517 ], "weight": 12, "year": 2003, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "578-79" }, { "page": "526" }, { "page": "2484" }, { "page": "578" }, { "page": "525" }, { "page": "2484" }, { "page": "578" }, { "page": "525" }, { "page": "2484", "parenthetical": "the present case \"does not involve public conduct or prostitution\"" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/us/539/0558-01" ] }, { "cite": "407 N.E.2d 761", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "N.E.2d", "year": 1980, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "764", "parenthetical": "it is legitimate for the legislature to prohibit offers and agreements to perform sexual acts" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "85 Ill. App. 3d 964", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill. App. 3d", "case_ids": [ 3197574 ], "year": 1980, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "968", "parenthetical": "it is legitimate for the legislature to prohibit offers and agreements to perform sexual acts" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ill-app-3d/85/0964-01" ] }, { "cite": "376 N.E.2d 381", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "N.E.2d", "weight": 5, "year": 1978, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "384" }, { "page": "386" }, { "page": "386" }, { "page": "386" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "60 Ill. App. 3d 183", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill. App. 3d", "case_ids": [ 3350426 ], "weight": 5, "year": 1978, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "186" }, { "page": "190" }, { "page": "190" }, { "page": "190" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ill-app-3d/60/0183-01" ] }, { "cite": "664 N.E.2d 43", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "N.E.2d", "year": 1996, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "47" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "171 Ill. 2d 297", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill. 2d", "case_ids": [ 57340 ], "weight": 2, "year": 1996, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "304" }, { "page": "304" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ill-2d/171/0297-01" ] }, { "cite": "777 N.E.2d 1062", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "N.E.2d", "year": 2002, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "1071" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "333 Ill. App. 3d 1116", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill. App. 3d", "case_ids": [ 486739 ], "year": 2002, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "1126" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ill-app-3d/333/1116-01" ] } ], "analysis": { "cardinality": 430, "char_count": 6903, "ocr_confidence": 0.749, "pagerank": { "raw": 9.487628011215601e-08, "percentile": 0.5181118667536215 }, "sha256": "35897c70323ab1de55c4404175b97fb0d2f481726b6e62ff544765faf39fdf81", "simhash": "1:a07f1d0c6ae0e790", "word_count": 1123 }, "last_updated": "2023-07-14T17:18:36.100393+00:00", "provenance": { "date_added": "2019-08-29", "source": "Harvard", "batch": "2018" }, "casebody": { "judges": [ "McDADE and SCHMIDT, JJ. concur." ], "parties": [ "THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. DONNA L. WILLIAMS, Defendant-Appellant." ], "opinions": [ { "text": "JUSTICE O\u2019BRIEN\ndelivered the opinion of the court:\nFollowing a bench trial, the appellant Donna L. Williams was convicted of prostitution pursuant to section 11 \u2014 14 of the Illinois Criminal Code of 1961 (Criminal Code) (720 ILCS 5/11 \u2014 14 (West 2002)). She was sentenced to four years\u2019 imprisonment. Williams appeals her conviction. We affirm the trial court.\nFACTS\nOn November 16, 2001, Williams was charged with the offense of prostitution. Because of a previous conviction for prostitution, the offense was elevated to a Class 4 felony. Williams waived her right to a jury trial and a bench trial was held. At trial, the following evidence was presented. While working a \u201cprostitution detail,\u201d a Peoria police officer encountered Williams walking the street. The officer offered Williams a ride, which she accepted. Once inside the officer\u2019s vehicle, Williams agreed to perform an act of oral copulation upon the officer in exchange for $30. Williams was arrested and charged with prostitution under section 11 \u2014 14 of the Criminal Code. 720 ILCS 5/11 \u2014 14 (West 2002). She was convicted and sentenced to a term of four years\u2019 imprisonment. Williams appeals her conviction.\nANALYSIS\nOn appeal Williams does not dispute that she performed an act of prostitution as defined in the Criminal Code. Williams argues that the conduct the statute prohibits is conduct constitutionally protected under the fourteenth amendment of the United States Constitution. U.S. Const., amend. XIV Williams contends that the activity proscribed in the statute is private consensual sexual activity between adults and is therefore protected from unwarranted governmental interference.\nAs a threshold issue, the State argues that Williams has waived her argument on appeal because she failed to raise the issue at trial or in a posttrial motion. Waiver is a limitation on the parties, not the court. Wausau Insurance Co. v. All Chicagoland Moving & Storage Co., 333 Ill. App. 3d 1116, 1126, 777 N.E.2d 1062, 1071 (2002). We therefore consider Williams\u2019 argument on appeal.\nSection 11 \u2014 14(a) of the Criminal Code defines prostitution as follows:\n\u201cAny person who performs, offers or agrees to perform any act of sexual penetration as defined in Section 12 \u2014 12 of this Code for any money, property, token, object, or article or anything of value, or any touching or fondling of the sex organs of one person by another person, for any money, property, token, object, or article or anything of value, for the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification commits an act of prostitution.\u201d 720 ILCS 5/11 \u2014 14(a) (West 2002).\nWhere, as in the present case, legislation does not affect a fundamental right or suspect classification, the court will review the statute under the rational basis test. Tully v. Edgar, 171 Ill. 2d 297, 304, 664 N.E.2d 43, 47 (1996). To withstand a due process challenge under rational review, the statute in question needs to bear only a rational relation to a legitimate legislative purpose and be neither arbitrary nor discriminatory. Tully, 171 Ill. 2d at 304, 64 N.E.2d at 47.\nThe Illinois courts have previously applied the rational basis test to the criminal prostitution statute and upheld it as a valid attempt by the State to promote the legitimate purpose of protecting the safety, health, and welfare of the people. In People v. Johnson, 60 Ill. App. 3d 183, 376 N.E.2d 381 (1978), the defendant was convicted of prostitution because of conduct similar to that of Williams. Johnson raised several constitutional challenges to the statute, including the assertion that the statute violated her due process right to privacy in sexual matters. Johnson, 60 Ill. App. 3d at 186, 376 N.E.2d at 384. The Johnson court found that the state legislature acted properly within the scope of its authority. Johnson, 60 Ill. App. 3d at 190, 376 N.E.2d at 386. The court in Johnson reasoned that the State\u2019s legitimate interests in enacting the statute included \u201cpreventing venereal disease, cutting down prostitution-related crimes of violence and theft, and protecting the integrity and stability of family life.\u201d Johnson, 60 Ill. App. 3d at 190, 376 N.E.2d at 386. The Johnson court concluded that the statute rationally related to a valid state interest. Johnson, 60 Ill. App. 3d at 190, 376 N.E.2d at 386. See also People v. Thompson, 85 Ill. App. 3d 964, 968, 407 N.E.2d 761, 764 (1980) (it is legitimate for the legislature to prohibit offers and agreements to perform sexual acts).\nThe rationale and conclusion of the Johnson court apply to the present case. Williams agreed to perform a sexual act in exchange for money. She does not dispute that her actions violated the prostitution statute. As discussed above, the State of Illinois has a legitimate governmental interest in proscribing the activity defined in the statute. Because the statute is a valid attempt by the State to protect the public welfare, it does not violate Williams\u2019 constitutional rights.\nWilliams relies heavily on the recent United States Supreme Court decision in Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558, 156 L. Ed. 2d 508, 123 S. Ct. 2472 (2003). In Lawrence, the United States Supreme Court struck as unconstitutional a Texas statute that made it a crime for two persons of the same sex to engage in a consensual act of sodomy in the privacy of their home. Lawrence, 539 U.S. at 578-79, 156 L. Ed. 2d at 526, 123 S. Ct. at 2484. Included in the conduct the Lawrence Court specifically excluded from its opinion were acts of prostitution. 539 U.S. at 578, 156 L. Ed. 2d at 525, 123 S. Ct. at 2484.\nWilliams\u2019 reliance on the Lawrence decision is misplaced. Williams characterizes her conduct as private sexual activity between two consenting adults. As the State argues, however, Williams\u2019 activity is more aptly described as the commercial sale of sex. The Lawrence Court specifically excluded prostitution from its analysis. Lawrence, 539 U.S. at 578, 156 L. Ed. 2d at 525, 123 S. Ct. at 2484 (the present case \u201cdoes not involve public conduct or prostitution\u201d). Moreover, the drafters of the Illinois statute were careful to craft the language of the statute to distinguish between \u201cthe prime concern\u201d of the legislation, the business of selling sex, and private, noncommercial acts. 720 ILCS Ann. 5/11 \u2014 14, Committee Comments \u2014 1961, at 448 (Smith-Hurd 2002).\nFor the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the circuit court of Peoria County is affirmed.\nAffirmed.\nMcDADE and SCHMIDT, JJ. concur.", "type": "majority", "author": "JUSTICE O\u2019BRIEN" } ], "attorneys": [ "Carrie B. Marche (argued), of State Appellate Defender\u2019s Office, of Ottawa, for appellant.", "Kevin W Lyons, State\u2019s Attorney, of Peoria (Lawrence M. Bauer and Deidre A. Donnellan (argued), both of State\u2019s Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor\u2019s Office, of counsel), for the People." ], "corrections": "", "head_matter": "THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. DONNA L. WILLIAMS, Defendant-Appellant.\nThird District\nNo. 3\u201402\u20140456\nOpinion filed May 26, 2004.\nCarrie B. Marche (argued), of State Appellate Defender\u2019s Office, of Ottawa, for appellant.\nKevin W Lyons, State\u2019s Attorney, of Peoria (Lawrence M. Bauer and Deidre A. Donnellan (argued), both of State\u2019s Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor\u2019s Office, of counsel), for the People." }, "file_name": "0273-01", "first_page_order": 291, "last_page_order": 294 }