People v. Williams, 2015 IL 117470 (November 2015). Episode 109 (Duration: 4:33)
Certain sections of the AUUW statute criminalizing gun possession with a valid FOID remain constitutional.
The trial court had invalidated AUUW convictions based on 720 ILCS 5/24-1.6 (24-1.6(a)(1), (a)(3)(C) and (a)(2), (a)(3)(C) of the AUUW statute, which were based on defendant’s lack of a Firearm Owner’s Identification Card.
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The trial court based its ruling on a proportionate penalties argument and stayed away from Aguilar reasoning. The gist was that the same conduct was punished more harshly under AUUW than it was under the FOID section (430 ILCS 65/2(a)(1)).
Illinois Supreme Court said the conduct in the different sections is different so the proportionate penalties section is inapplicable.
REMEMBER: In Aguilar, section 24-1.6(a)(1), (a)(3)(A) of the AUUW statute were declared unconstitutional. No other section or subsection was declared unconstitutionality.
Samuel Partida, Jr. is now prosecuting criminal law cases in an Illinois county near you. He is, therefore, unavailable to answer questions on this site. Always remember, there is no substitute for steady, persistent attention to the cases.