People v. Grant

Defendant was convicted of aggravated criminal sexual assault and criminal sexual assault and sentenced to 14 years in prison. Ten years later defendant filed a motion for forensic testing of evidence only to discover that all forensic evidence had been destroyed. Defendant moved for a new trial or judgment notwithstanding the verdict on the grounds that the police department failed to comply with section 116-4 of the Code of Criminal Procedure pertaining to the preservation of forensic evidence. The circuit court denied the motion and the appellate court reversed and vacated defendant’s conviction. The Illinois Supreme Court noted that post-conviction access to forensic testing is not a constitutional right and found nothing in the plain language of section 116-4 indicated that the legislature intended a conviction to be vacated for a failure to comply with the statute. As a result, the Supreme Court held that the trial court erred when it vacated the conviction. (ANNE M. BURKE, GARMAN, THEIS, and MICHAEL J. BURKE, concurring. NEVILLE, dissenting. CARTER took no part in the decision.)