People v. Smith

Defendant, Audrey Murphy, a/k/a James Smith, was placed on five years’ probation conditioned upon his serving the first nine months in the House of Correction for armed robbery following a “stipulated bench trial” in the circuit court of Cook County. The appellate court affirmed his conviction (People v. Smith, 16 Ill. App. 3d 100), and we granted leave to appeal. Defendant asserts that his conviction was improper because it violated his constitutional and statutory right against double jeopardy and the proceeding itself was tantamount to a guilty plea which entitled him to the appropriate…