Defendant was convicted of five counts of felony disorderly conduct for falsely reporting to law enforcement that he had been the victim of a hate crime. The appellate court affirmed defendant’s conviction and the supreme court allowed his petition for leave to appeal. The main issue before the court was whether double jeopardy precluded his conviction because he previously had entered into a non-prosecution agreement with the State. The supreme court reversed, finding that under the circumstances of this case the dismissal of the original charges by nolle prosequi did not allow new charges to be brought. The court explained that it would be fundamentally unfair to allow for a prosecution to renege on a deal with the defendant when the defendant had relied on the agreement to his detriment. (NEVILLE, OVERSTREET, HOLDER WHITE, O’BRIEN, concurring. THEIS and CUNNINGHAM took no part in the decision)
Illinois Supreme Court
Criminal Court
Double Jeopardy