People v. Lee

Defendant was convicted, after jury trial, of first-degree murder, robbery, arson, home invasion and residential burglary. Defendant's statement that he didn't want to say anything and wanted a lawyer had no bearing on whether Defendant later waived his rights when given fresh set of Miranda warnings during each interview session. Court's finding that Defendant's statement was voluntary was not against manifest weight of evidence. Miranda warnings were given multiple times prior to statement, interview sessions were under 45 minutes with long time intervals between them, Defendant was age 21 and had a GED and had previous experience with criminal justice system, and he was not coerced by police. Medical examiner's testimony on autopsy report findings was not testimonial in nature, and reports fell within business records exception to hearsay; thus, Defendant's right to confrontation was not implicated. (QUINN and HARRIS, concurring.)