People v. Withers

Defendant was found guilty by a jury of one count of armed robbery, unlawful restraint, and armed violence, but not guilty of attempted murder. Because the armed violence count was predicated upon the unlawful restraint, the circuit court entered judgment only on the armed robbery and armed violence counts. The court subsequently found defendant to be an habitual criminal and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

On appeal, defendant raises as issues whether: (1) the State’s use of peremptory challenges to exclude all blacks from the jury violated his right to a fair trial; (2) defense counsel’s…