People v. James

Defendant was convicted, after jury trial, of unlawful and knowing possession of BZP, a controlled substance,  aggravated unlawful use of a weapon (AUUW), for carrying a firearm without a valid FOID card, and armed violence, based on his possession of the BZP while armed with a firearm. Defendant failed to establish that any relevant gun-related bias would not have been uncovered by court's general question about fairness and impartiality. Court's questioning of prospective jurors created a reasonable assurance of impartiality. State was entitled to argue that consciousness of guilt is a reasonable inference to be drawn from such conduct, that inference constituting circumstantial evidence of the Defendant's guilt. Convictions for AUUW and possession of a controlled substance, based on same conduct as conviction for armed violence, should be vacated in accordance with one-act, one-crime rule.(CONNORS and SIMON, concurring.)