Illinois Appellate Court
Criminal Court
Voir Dire
(Court opinion corrected 12/27/11.) Defendant was convicted, after jury trial, of residential burglary. Court properly refused to allow inquiry of venire as to whether a witness or a defendant's prior conviction would affect their ability to be fair and impartial, as inquiry would violate Rule 431(a) prohibition against questions covered by jury instructions, and the subject was covered by IPI Criminal 3.13, and would tend to unfairly tip the balance in favor of the Defendant's case. Even though it was undisputed that Defendant was a diabetic, police officers stated that Defendant appeared alert and coherent, and they denied that Defendant informed him of that, or requested food, drink, insulin, or medical attention during interview; thus, court properly denied Defendant's motion to suppress his inculpatory statement based on court's assessment of credibility and resolution of conflicting evidence. (LAMPKIN and ROCHFORD, concurring.)