People v. Burke

The defendant, Philip Burke, was charged by information with six counts of deceptive practice. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 38, par. 17— l(B)(d).) After a jury trial, the defendant was convicted on all counts and sentenced to concurrent three-year terms of imprisonment. The office of the State Appellate Defender was appointed to represent defendant on appeal and raised the following issues: (1) whether the prosecutor’s reference to defendant’s prearrest and post-arrest silence denied him a fair trial; (2) whether the trial judge prejudiciously injected his personal knowledge into the sentencing…