People v. Stump

              Filed 10/22/08 NO. 4-07-0565
IN THE APPELLATE COURT
OF ILLINOIS
FOURTH DISTRICT
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
LEONARD E. STUMP,
Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from
Circuit Court of
Champaign County
No. 07CF20
Honorable
Heidi Ladd,
Judge Presiding.
PRESIDING JUSTICE APPLETON delivered the opinion of the court:
In May 2007, a jury convicted defendant, Leonard E. Stump, of unlawful
possession with intent to deliver less than 1 gram of heroin (720 ILCS 570/401(d) (West
2006)), a Class 2 felony. The trial court sentenced defendant to 18 years in prison.
Defendant appeals, claiming the court erred in failing to question the jurors during voir
dire in compliance with Illinois Supreme Court Rule 431(b) (Official Reports Advance
Sheet No. 8 (April 11, 2007), R. 431(b), eff. May 1, 2007) regarding the jurors' under-standing
of the four basic constitutional guarantees afforded criminal defendants at
trial. He also appeals his sentence as being excessive. We affirm.
I. BACKGROUND
On January 4, 2007, the State charged defendant with (1) unlawful
possession with intent to deliver between 1 and 15 grams of heroin (720 ILCS
570/401(c)(1) (West 2006)), a Class 1 felony (count I), and (2) unlawful possession with
intent to deliver less than 1 gram of heroin (720 ILCS 570/401(d) (West 2006)), a Class