People v. Lewis

The defendant, James A. Lewis, was found guilty of armed robbery in a bench trial in the circuit court of Cook County and sentenced to a term of 4 to 10 years in the penitentiary. The appellate court affirmed (People v. Lewis (1974), 17 Ill. App. 3d 188), and we have allowed defendant’s petition for leave to appeal.

Defendant argues that he was denied due process of law in that he was forced to choose between his right to effective assistance of counsel and his statutory right to trial within 120 days pursuant to section 103 — 5(a) of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 (Ill. Rev. Stat.…