People v. Vara

This case presents question as to whether Appellate Court properly vacated certain statutorily-mandated fines that were imposed on defendant by circuit court clerk, rather than circuit court itself as part of defendant’s sentence, where Appellate Court had failed to remand matter back to circuit court for re-imposition of same fines. Appellate Court found that: (1) fines imposed by circuit court clerk were void because imposition of fines is part of sentencing, which was within sole jurisdiction of judiciary; and (2) under Wade, 2013 IL App (3d) 1050417, it lacked authority to impose subject fines or to order trial court to do so. In its petition for leave to appeal, State argued, among other things, that only avenue of relief recognized by Appellate Court to correct substantively proper mandatory fines that had been imposed in procedurally defective manner, i.e., mandamus action filed with Illinois Supreme Court, would constitute waste of judicial resources.