People v. Rodriguez

Defendant was convicted of predatory criminal sexual assault and criminal sexual abuse and sentenced to prison terms of seven and three years, respectively. He appealed arguing the trial court erred when it failed to ascertain from potential jurors they understood and accepted his right not to present evidence under SCR 431(b), that the trial court erred by viewing a recording of the complainant’s victim-sensitive interview outside the presence of defendant without first obtaining a waiver of his right to be present, and that his trial court rendered ineffective assistance for not pursuing a motion to suppress his post-arrest statements. The appellate court affirmed, finding that defendant was not deprived of his right to be present at critical stages of the proceeding, that defendant had failed to establish that a motion to suppress had a reasonable probability of success, and that the trial court evidence was no so closely balanced so that any error regarding SCR 431(b) was not plain error. (PIERE and MIKVA, concurring)