People v. Campbell

── People v. Campbell ── Court: Appellate Court of Illinois Date: May 08, 2026 Category: General 2026 IL App (1st) 250788-U No. 1-25-0788 Order filed May 8, 2026 Sixth Division NOTICE: This order was filed under Supreme Court Rule 23 and is not precedent except in the limited circumstances allowed under Rule 23(e)(1). ______________________________________________________________________________ IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS FIRST DISTRICT ______________________________________________________________________________ THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) Appeal from the ) Circuit Court of Plaintiff-Appellee, ) Cook County. ) v. ) No. 15 CR 9396 ) DEANGELO CAMPBELL, ) Honorable ) Alfredo Maldonado, Defendant-Appellant. ) Judge, presiding. JUSTICE HYMAN delivered the judgment of the court. Presiding Justice C.A. Walker and Justice Gamrath concurred in the judgment. ORDER ¶1 Held: Defendant’s facial constitutional challenge to his conviction for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon fails under the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution and the test in New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n, Inc. v. Bruen, 597 U.S. 1 (2022) . ¶2 Deangelo Campbell appeals from the denial of his pro se petition for relief from judgment filed under section 2-1401 of the Code of Civil Procedure (Code) (735 ILCS 5/2-1401 (West 2024)). He argues that the provision of the aggravated unlawful use of a weapon (AUUW) statute No. 1-25-0788 under which he was convicted is facially unconstitutional because it violates the second amendment of the United States Constitution and the test set forth in New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n, Inc. v. Bruen, 597 U.S. 1 (2022). We affirm. ¶3 Background ¶4 After a 2016 bench trial, Campbell was found guilty of AUUW predicated on possessing a firearm without a valid Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) card and a concealed carry license (CCL). See 720 ILCS 5/24-1.6(a)(1), (3)(A-5), (3)(C) (West 2014). Evidence reflected that officers saw Campbell retrieve a firearm from his waistband and throw it into a car. A certification from the Illinois State Police Department established that Campbell did not have a valid FOID card or CCL at the time of the offense. Campbell was sentenced to one year in prison. We affirmed on direct appeal. See People v. Campbell, 2019 IL App (1st) 161640. ¶5 In 2024, Campbell filed a pro se section 2-1401 petition alleging that his AUUW conviction should be vacated under People v. Aguilar, 2013 IL 112116. The circuit court denied relief, stating that Campbell’s case was not an “Aguilar issue.” ¶6 Analysis ¶7 Campbell argues that the provision of the AUUW statute under which he was convicted is facially unconstitutional under the Second Amendment and Bruen. ¶8 As a threshold matter, Campbell failed to raise the facial Bruen challenge in the circuit court. Ordinarily, a defendant “who fails to raise an issue before the trial court forfeits the issue” on appeal. People v. Rodriguez, 2021 IL App (1st) 200173, ¶ 58. But, “[w]hen a statute is declared facially u