People v. Givens

              Fourth Division
July 10, 2008
No. 1-06-0679
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) Appeal from the
) Circuit Court of
Plaintiff-Appellee, ) Cook County.
)
v. ) 05 CR 10852
)
FATIMA GIVENS, ) Honorable
) Daniel P. Darcy,
Defendant-Appellant. ) Judge Presiding.
PRESIDING JUSTICE NEVILLE delivered the opinion of the court:
Fatima Givens was charged with one count of possession of a controlled substance with
intent to deliver. At the close of the State's case, the trial court granted Givens' motion for a directed
verdict and dismissed the count for possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.
Following a bench trial, Givens was found guilty of the lesser included offense of possession of a
controlled substance and sentenced to 12 months' probation. In this appeal, Givens presents the
following issues for review: (1) whether she received ineffective assistance of counsel because her
trial counsel filed but withdrew a motion to quash arrest and suppress evidence; (2) whether the State
failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that she had either actual or constructive possession of the
drugs recovered inside her friend’s apartment; (3) whether the State failed to establish a sufficient
chain of custody where the inventory numbers of the items recovered did not match the number of
the items that were tested; and (4) whether the trial court abused its discretion when it refused to
sentence her to probation pursuant to section 410 of the Illinois Controlled Substances Act (720