People v. Soskin

Defendant was charged in information with violation of an order of protection (VOOP). Defendant was convicted, after bench trial, of VOOP. Although judgment of dissolution incorporated the marital settlement agreement (MSA), it did not incorporate the letter of agreement because that letter was not attached to judgment of dissolution. Letter agreement stated that simultaneous with entry of judgment of dissolution, the OP shall be dismissed and/or vacated ab initio. Neither State nor criminal court judge were bound by the parties' agreement in a civil matter when determining whether a criminal matter should be dismissed. Thus, criminal court properly ruledthat letter of agreement had no effect on State's ability to prosecute Defendant for VOOP.  Circuit court order is rendered void only where court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction, which was not the case here. A court cannot invalidate an earlier OP ab initio. There was sufficient evidence to support criminal court's finding that Defendant was served with or had knowledge of the contents of the OP, and to find Defe3ndant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of VOOP. (SCHOSTOK and BIRKETT, concurring.)