People v. Whiteley

── People v. Whiteley ── Court: Appellate Court of Illinois Date: April 23, 2026 Category: General NOTICE 2026 IL App (5th) 250219-U NOTICE Decision filed 04/23/26. The This order was filed under text of this decision may be NO. 5-25-0219 Supreme Court Rule 23 and is changed or corrected prior to the filing of a Petition for not precedent except in the IN THE limited circumstances allowed Rehearing or the disposition of the same. under Rule 23(e)(1). APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS FIFTH DISTRICT ______________________________________________________________________________ THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) Appeal from the ) Circuit Court of Plaintiff-Appellee, ) Champaign County. ) v. ) No. 23-CF-1560 ) AMANDA WHITELEY, ) Honorable ) Roger B. Webber, Defendant-Appellant. ) Judge, presiding. ______________________________________________________________________________ PRESIDING JUSTICE CATES delivered the judgment of the court. Justices McHaney and Hackett concurred in the judgment. ORDER ¶1 Held: The defendant’s conviction is vacated and the cause is remanded for a new trial as the trial court erred by not obtaining a valid jury waiver prior to conducting a stipulated bench trial and finding the defendant guilty. As such, the circumstances warrant vacating the defendant’s conviction under second prong plain error. ¶2 Following a bench trial, the defendant, Amanda Whitely, was found guilty of one count of methamphetamine delivery. 720 ILCS 646/55(a)(2)(c) (West 2022). The defendant was sentenced to the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) for 7 years and 18 months of mandatory supervised release. On appeal, the defendant alleges that her conviction should be vacated and that she is entitled to have this case remanded for a new trial because the defendant did not waive her right to a jury trial until after a finding of guilt. In the alternative, the defendant claims that the lack of a valid jury waiver constitutes second prong plain error. For the following reasons, we vacate the defendant’s conviction and remand with instructions. 1 ¶3 I. BACKGROUND ¶4 In December 2023 the defendant was charged with methamphetamine delivery. 720 ILCS 646/55(a)(2)(c) (West 2022). On December 12, 2023, the defendant was arraigned and advised of the charges against her and the potential penalties. The trial court explained the defendant’s rights, including that she “would have the right to a trial by a judge or a jury, it would be your choice.” 1 The defendant waived her right to a preliminary hearing, and the trial court entered a plea of not guilty on defendant’s behalf. In addition, the trial court entered a demand for a jury trial on behalf of the defendant. The State filed a verified petition to deny the defendant pretrial release. The trial court granted the State’s petition. The defendant appealed the trial court’s pretrial detention order under the Pretrial Fairness Act. 725 ILCS 5/110-1