People v. Thomas

              THIRD DIVISION
DECEMBER 19, 2007
1-05-2778
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) Appeal from the
) Circuit Court of
Plaintiff-Appellee, ) Cook County.
)
v. ) No. 96 CR 6451
)
JEROME THOMAS, ) Honorable
) Bertina E. Lampkin,
Defendant-Appellant. ) Judge Presiding.
JUSTICE CUNNINGHAM delivered the opinion of the court:
In a bench trial, the defendant Jerome Thomas was convicted of two counts of first degree
murder and one count of home invasion, receiving a sentence of natural life imprisonment, concurrent
with a 30-year prison term. On appeal the defendant does not contest the sufficiency of the evidence
of his guilt. He seeks a new trial on the following grounds: (1) his trial counsel was ineffective for
eliciting the defendant’s testimony concerning the details of previous home invasions committed by
the defendant; (2) the trial judge abused her discretion when she barred expert testimony concerning
the unreliability of eyewitness identification; (3) because the trial judge was a long-time friend of
defense counsel, she erred in denying the defendant’s request that she recuse herself from hearing the
defendant’s motion for a new trial, which was based on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel;
and (4) the trial judge erred by, sua sponte, allegedly taking judicial notice of the time it would take
to cook a particular meal thereby impeaching the alibi testimony of the defendant’s mother. For the
reasons set forth below, we find no reversible error and affirm the defendant’s convictions and
sentences.