People v. Beeler

Court found Defendant not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI) of first degree murder after stipulated bench trial, and found him in need of inpatient mental-health services in secure setting. Commitment of a defendant found NGRI is a civil proceeding, and NGRI finding is an acquittal, not intended as punishment. Thus, Supreme Court Rule 402 is inapplicable, and no admonishment is required for stipulation to be used as evidence in NGRI proceeding. No ineffective assistance of counsel in defense counsel failing to engage in adversarial testing of whether Defendant met criteria for inpatient treatment. Counsel's strategy to use stipulation rather than live testimony of psychologist was reasonable. (McCULLOUGH and COOK, concurring.)