People v. Schwab

Defendant, James C. Schwab, was convicted in the circuit court of De Kalb County of murder (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 38, par. 9 — 1) at the conclusion of a bench trial. He was sentenced to a term of 22 years’ imprisonment.

On appeal, defendant raises two issues: (1) whether the trial court erred when it failed to raise sua sponte the issue of defendant’s fitness to stand trial in violation of section 104 — 11(a) of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 38, par. 104— 11(a)) thus depriving defendant of his sixth amendment right to counsel; and (2) whether the trial…