Holly v. Montes

              Supreme Court Summaries
Opinions filed May 22, 2008
No. 105415 Holly v. Montes
Original action for mandamus.
JUSTICE KILBRIDE delivered the judgment of the court, with
opinion.
Chief Justice Thomas and Justices Freeman, Fitzgerald, Garman, and Karmeier concurred in the judgment and opinion.
Justice Burke took no part in the decision.
This Cook County offender entered a negotiated plea of guilty to second degree murder in connection with a 1996 homicide. At the plea hearing, the judge advised him that a statutorily required term of mandatory supervised release (formerly known as parole) would be part of the sentence.
In 2007, electronic home confinement was imposed as part of the mandatory supervised release. Holly responded by filing an original action for mandamus in the Illinois Supreme Court, seeking to have the electronic home confinement eliminated. Before oral arguments were heard, the electronic home confinement did come to an end, and the issue could be considered moot, but the court addressed it anyway as a matter of public interest.
Statute provides that mandatory supervised release is part of every sentence that is not for death or natural life. Statute also gives correction authorities wide discretion to fashion the terms of mandatory supervised release. Within that framework, electronic home confinement is a permissible option. Mandamus is not available to this offender, since such a remedy directs a public official to perform his duty where that duty is not a matter of discretion. Mandamus was denied.