CCBA Statement on Denial of Leave to Appeal Jason Van Dyke's Sentence
The Cook County Bar Association (CCBA) expresses our dissatisfaction with the Illinois Supreme Court's denial of the Illinois Attorney General and Special Prosecutor's request for leave to file a petition for a writ of mandamus or prohibition in No. 124535, Raoul v. Gaughan.
When multiple convictions are obtained for offenses arising from a single act, Illinois law requires the circuit court to sentence a defendant on the most serious charge of which he was convicted. Fifteen years ago, in People v. Lee, 213 Ill. 2d 218 (2004), the Supreme Court resolved that aggravated battery with a firearm is a more serious offense than second-degree murder. Last fall, a jury convicted Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke of one count of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm after he killed a young black man named Laquan McDonald.
Despite the clear holding in Lee, circuit judge Vincent Gaughan elected to sentence Van Dyke on his conviction for second-degree murder, to a term of fewer than seven years' imprisonment. As the oldest bar association of African-American lawyers in the country, the CCBA is extremely disappointed in the Court's decision not to intervene, despite the circuit judge's disregard of applicable precedent.
The CCBA echoes the concerns articulated by the dissent of Justice P. Scott Neville Jr., that allowing Van Dyke's sentence to stand will undermine public confidence in the court system. That is particularly true considering the history of Chicago police officers' use of unlawful force in black communities with little to no repercussions.
