People v. Tolbert

This case presents question as to whether State’s charging information on charge of aggravated unlawful use of weapon (720 ILCS 5(24-1.6(a)(1), (a)(3)(A)) was fatally defective because it failed to allege “invitee exception,” i.e., that defendant was not on premises with permission of property holder. Appellate Court, in reversing defendant’s conviction, found that State bore burden of disproving existence of said exception, and thus language regarding exception should have been included in said information. Moreover, defendant suffered prejudice where inclusion of invitee exception in information would have alerted defense counsel to raise valid defense that state had failed to prove that defendant was not invitee.