{ "id": 3749665, "name": "THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. LAWRENCE BONNER, Defendant-Appellant", "name_abbreviation": "People v. Bonner", "decision_date": "2005-03-01", "docket_number": "No. 1-03-2634", "first_page": "386", "last_page": "390", "citations": [ { "type": "official", "cite": "356 Ill. App. 3d 386" } ], "court": { "name_abbreviation": "Ill. App. Ct.", "id": 8837, "name": "Illinois Appellate Court" }, "jurisdiction": { "id": 29, "name_long": "Illinois", "name": "Ill." }, "cites_to": [ { "cite": "796 N.E.2d 153", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "N.E.2d", "year": 2003, "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "343 Ill. App. 3d 664", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill. App. 3d", "case_ids": [ 3719555 ], "year": 2003, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ill-app-3d/343/0664-01" ] }, { "cite": "354 Ill. App. 3d 70", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill. App. 3d", "case_ids": [ 3216231 ], "year": 2004, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "77-79", "parenthetical": "while noting that two statutes had child protection in common, the court held that the aggravated-criminal-sexual-abuse statute had a purpose distinct from the child pornography statute" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ill-app-3d/354/0070-01" ] }, { "cite": "771 N.E.2d 374", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "N.E.2d", "year": 2002, "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "199 Ill. 2d 440", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill. 2d", "case_ids": [ 58947 ], "weight": 2, "year": 2002, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "459" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ill-2d/199/0440-01" ] }, { "cite": "581 N.E.2d 637", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "N.E.2d", "year": 1991, "pin_cites": [ { "parenthetical": "upholding an earlier version of the Act" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "144 Ill. 2d 381", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill. 2d", "case_ids": [ 5592803 ], "year": 1991, "pin_cites": [ { "parenthetical": "upholding an earlier version of the Act" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ill-2d/144/0381-01" ] }, { "cite": "644 N.E.2d 1147", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "N.E.2d", "year": 1994, "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "163 Ill. 2d 250", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill. 2d", "case_ids": [ 477662 ], "year": 1994, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "259" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ill-2d/163/0250-01" ] }, { "cite": "687 N.E.2d 24", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "N.E.2d", "year": 1997, "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "177 Ill. 2d 495", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill. 2d", "case_ids": [ 317115 ], "weight": 4, "year": 1997, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "502" }, { "page": "506" }, { "page": "506" }, { "page": "507-08" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ill-2d/177/0495-01" ] }, { "cite": "769 N.E.2d 928", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "N.E.2d", "year": 2002, "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "199 Ill. 2d 392", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill. 2d", "case_ids": [ 58927 ], "weight": 3, "year": 2002, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "394" }, { "page": "394" }, { "page": "394" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ill-2d/199/0392-01" ] }, { "cite": "739 N.E.2d 433", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "N.E.2d", "year": 2000, "pin_cites": [ { "parenthetical": "court rejected numerous arguments attacking the constitutionality of the Act" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "193 Ill. 2d 413", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill. 2d", "case_ids": [ 963706 ], "weight": 7, "year": 2000, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "418", "parenthetical": "court rejected numerous arguments attacking the constitutionality of the Act" }, { "page": "418" }, { "page": "418" }, { "page": "420" }, { "page": "420" }, { "page": "420", "parenthetical": "the Act creates an additional measure of protection for children from the increasing incidence of sexual assault and child abuse" }, { "page": "425" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ill-2d/193/0413-01" ] }, { "cite": "816 N.E.2d 322", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "N.E.2d", "year": 2004, "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "212 Ill. 2d 107", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill. 2d", "case_ids": [ 2444442 ], "weight": 2, "year": 2004, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "131" }, { "page": "146" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ill-2d/212/0107-01" ] } ], "analysis": { "cardinality": 534, "char_count": 10344, "ocr_confidence": 0.741, "pagerank": { "raw": 8.496022568906086e-08, "percentile": 0.4863893609241311 }, "sha256": "dd604321276f77971803e900d2e1c22024239b5702f8f6f1467f2232bfbd2a85", "simhash": "1:d3a8a95acf2850f2", "word_count": 1669 }, "last_updated": "2023-07-14T16:18:02.423948+00:00", "provenance": { "date_added": "2019-08-29", "source": "Harvard", "batch": "2018" }, "casebody": { "judges": [], "parties": [ "THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. LAWRENCE BONNER, Defendant-Appellant." ], "opinions": [ { "text": "JUSTICE HALL\ndelivered the opinion of the court:\nThe defendant, Lawrence Bonner, a convicted sex offender, was charged with violating the Sex Offender Registration Act (the Act) (730 ILCS 150/1 et seq. (West 2000)). Following a stipulated bench trial, the defendant was found guilty and sentenced to one year of probation. The defendant appeals. The sole issue raised on appeal is whether, as applied to the defendant, the penalty provisions of the Act violate the proportionate penalties clause.\nThe underlying facts are undisputed. On September 27, 2000, the defendant was convicted of sexual exploitation of a child, a Class A misdemeanor. 720 ILCS 5/11 \u2014 9.1(a)(1), (c)(1) (West 2000). As a result of his conviction for a sex offense, the defendant was required to register as a sex offender and to report any change of address. See 730 ILCS 150/3, 6 (West 2000). On April 4, 2002, the defendant was charged with failing to register as a sex offender.\nPrior to trial, the defendant filed a motion to dismiss contending that the penalty portion of the Act was unconstitutional as applied to him because it made failing to register a Class 4 felony, while the offense the defendant was convicted of was a Class A misdemeanor. See 730 ILCS 150/10 (West 2000). Thus, the failing to register was punished more severely than the underlying offense. The trial court denied the motion to dismiss.\nBased on the stipulated evidence that the defendant had failed to register in 2001 and 2002, the trial court found him guilty of violating the Act. The court sentenced the defendant to one year of probation and ordered him to participate in the probation department\u2019s mental health unit\u2019s program.\nANALYSIS\nThe defendant contends that section 10 of the Act is unconstitutional as applied to him. \u201cA holding that a statute is unconstitutional as applied does not broadly declare a statute unconstitutional but narrowly finds the statute unconstitutional under the specific facts of the case.\u201d People v. Huddleston, 212 Ill. 2d 107, 131, 816 N.E.2d 322 (2004).\nI. Standard of Review\n\u201cA statute is presumed constitutional, and the party challenging the statute bears the burden of demonstrating its invalidity.\u201d People v. Malchow, 193 Ill. 2d 413, 418, 739 N.E.2d 433 (2000) (court rejected numerous arguments attacking the constitutionality of the Act). \u201c[The] court has a duty to construe a statute in a manner that upholds its validity and constitutionality if it can be reasonably done.\u201d Malchow, 193 Ill. 2d at 418. Whether a statute is constitutional is a question of law that the court reviews de novo. Malchow, 193 Ill. 2d at 418.\nII. Discussion\nArticle I, section 11, of the Illinois Constitution, commonly known as the proportionate penalties clause, provides in pertinent part that \u201c[a]ll penalties shall be determined *** according to the seriousness of the offense.\u201d Ill. Const. 1970, art. I, \u00a7 11. Three distinct tests are employed for making this determination. \u201cFirst, a penalty violates the proportionate penalties clause if it is cruel, degrading, or so wholly disproportionate to the offense committed as to shock the moral sense of the community.\u201d People v. Walden, 199 Ill. 2d 392, 394, 769 N.E.2d 928 (2002). \u201cSecond, a penalty violates the proportionate penalties clause where similar offenses are compared and conduct that creates a less serious threat to the public health and safety is punished more severely.\u201d Walden, 199 Ill. 2d at 394. \u201cThird, the proportionate penalties clause is violated when identical offenses are given different sentences.\u201d Walden, 199 Ill. 2d at 394. The defendant\u2019s constitutional challenge is based on the second test. He argues that his failure to register under the Act is punished more severely than the sexual offense he committed.\nAs in this case, where a comparison of different offenses is at issue, a penalty \u201c \u2018violates the proportionate penalties clause where conduct that creates a less serious threat to the public health and safety than other conduct is punished more harshly.\u2019 \u201d People v. Davis, 177 Ill. 2d 495, 502, 687 N.E.2d 24 (1997), quoting People v. Hickman, 163 Ill. 2d 250, 259, 644 N.E.2d 1147 (1994). In its analysis, the court must determine, first, if the purposes of the two offenses are distinct, and if so, then comparative proportionality review is not appropriate. Davis, 177 Ill. 2d at 506. If the purposes of the two offenses are related, the second inquiry is whether the offense with the harsher penalty is more serious than the other offense. Davis, 177 Ill. 2d at 506. In Davis, the court found that the penalty for violating the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act (430 ILCS 65/1 et seq. (West 1994)) (a nonprobationable felony) violated the proportionate penalties clause when compared with the penalty for the offense of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon (a probationable felony). Davis, 177 Ill. 2d at 507-08.\nIn Malchow, the supreme court reiterated that the legislative intent in requiring registration of sex offenders was to \u201ccreate an additional measure of protection for children from the increasing incidence of sexual assault and child abuse.\u201d Malchow, 193 Ill. 2d at 420. Protection of the public, rather than punishing sex offenders and child murderers, is the intent of the Act. Malchow, 193 Ill. 2d at 420; see also People v. Adams, 144 Ill. 2d 381, 581 N.E.2d 637 (1991) (upholding an earlier version of the Act).\nThe State maintains that the purposes of the Act and the sexual-exploitation-of-a-child statute are distinct. The State notes that in Huddleston, the court rejected the defendant\u2019s proportionate penalties argument. Citing the physical injuries inflicted under the battery statute and psychological injuries inflicted under the predatory-criminal-sexual-assault statute, the court determined that the two statutes did not share a common statutory purpose. Huddleston, 212 Ill. 2d at 146.\nIn the present case, the defendant had been convicted of violating section 11 \u2014 9.1(a)(1) of the Criminal Code of 1961 (the Code) (720 ILCS 5/11 \u2014 9.1(a)(1) (West 2000)). Section 11 \u2014 9.1 provides in pertinent part as follows:\n\u201cAny person commits sexual exploitation of a child if in the presence of a child and with intent or knowledge that a child would view his or her acts, that person:\n(1) engages in a sexual act[.]\u201d 720 ILCS 5/11 \u2014 9.1(a)(1) (West 2000).\nSexual exploitation of a child is included among the sex offenses contained in article 11 of the Code. See 720 ILCS 5/11 \u2014 9.1 (West 2000). In seeking to proscribe specific acts of sexual conduct, the legislature, inter alia, sought to protect children from the advances of older and more mature individuals. See 720 ILCS Ann. 5/art. 11, Committee Comments \u2014 1961, at 388 (Smith-Hurd 2002). Thus the purpose of both the sexual-exploitation-of-a-child statute and the Act is to protect children from offenses of a sexual nature. See Malchow, 193 Ill. 2d at 420 (the Act creates an additional measure of protection for children from the increasing incidence of sexual assault and child abuse).\nHowever, it is not sufficient for the cross-comparison test that both statutes have the protection of children in common. In People v. Hill, 199 Ill. 2d 440, 771 N.E.2d 374 (2002), our supreme court applied the first prong of the cross-comparison test to the home invasion statute (720 ILCS 5/12 \u2014 11 (West 2000)). The court rejected the defendant\u2019s argument that the sentence enhancements to the statute violated the proportionate penalties clause, stating:\n\u201cWhile one might properly conclude that the general purpose of the statute as a whole has not changed, we nevertheless find that the new firearms provisions serve a second, more specific purpose and target a unique type of danger. Given the pervasive and enhanced danger arising from an intruder\u2019s possession of a firearm, the legislature\u2019s superior position to identify and address the evils of gun-related violence, and the presumptive constitutionality of a legislative enactment, we conclude that the purpose of subsections (a)(1) and (a)(2) are sufficiently distinct from that of subsection (a)(3) to make proportionality review inappropriate.\u201d Hill, 199 Ill. 2d at 458-59.\nWhile both the Act and the sexual-exploitation-of-a-child statute have the protection of children in common, the Act has the additional and distinct purpose of tracking the movements of sexual offenders in order to prevent the recurrence of attacks on adults as well as children. Given this distinction, we will defer to the legislature\u2019s judgment in establishing the penalties for these offenses. See People v. Borash, 354 Ill. App. 3d 70, 77-79 (2004) (while noting that two statutes had child protection in common, the court held that the aggravated-criminal-sexual-abuse statute had a purpose distinct from the child pornography statute).\nSince the Act and the sexual-exploitation-of-a-child statute have distinct purposes, cross-comparison review is inappropriate. Therefore, we do not reach the second prong of the cross-comparison test. See Hill, 199 Ill. 2d at 459.\nWe conclude that, as applied to the defendant, section 10 of the Act does not violate the proportionate penalties clause of the Illinois Constitution.\nThe judgment of the circuit court is affirmed.\nAffirmed.\nBURKE, EJ., and GARCIA, J., concur.\nThe details of the offense are not contained in the record on appeal.\nIn Malchow, the defendant had been convicted of a Class 2 felony. Therefore, the court did not reach the question raised in the present case because of a lack of standing. Malchow, 193 Ill. 2d at 425.\nThe defendant\u2019s argument is distinguishable from the argument raised in People v. Grochocki, 343 Ill. App. 3d 664, 796 N.E.2d 153 (2003). There the court rejected the argument that the Act was itself punishment and, thus, it could not violate the proportionate penalties clause. Here, the failure to register triggers a punishment.", "type": "majority", "author": "JUSTICE HALL" } ], "attorneys": [ "Michael J. Pelletier and Jennifer Y. Wu, both of State Appellate Defender\u2019s Office, of Chicago, for appellant.", "Richard A. Devine, State\u2019s Attorney, of Chicago (Renee Goldfarb and Mary L. Boland, Assistant State\u2019s Attorneys, of counsel), for the People." ], "corrections": "", "head_matter": "THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. LAWRENCE BONNER, Defendant-Appellant.\nFirst District (2nd Division)\nNo. 1\u201403\u20142634\nOpinion filed March 1, 2005.\nMichael J. Pelletier and Jennifer Y. Wu, both of State Appellate Defender\u2019s Office, of Chicago, for appellant.\nRichard A. Devine, State\u2019s Attorney, of Chicago (Renee Goldfarb and Mary L. Boland, Assistant State\u2019s Attorneys, of counsel), for the People." }, "file_name": "0386-01", "first_page_order": 404, "last_page_order": 408 }