The People v. Gilbert

These cases turn upon the construction of section 18 of division XIII of the Criminal Code, which commands that “Any person committed for a criminal or supposed criminal offense, and not admitted to bail, and not tried by the court having jurisdiction of the offense, within four months of the date of commitment, shall be set at liberty by the court * * *.” (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1959, chap. 38, par. 748.) The question presented is whether this provision is satisfied by a trial within four calendar months from the date of a defendant’s commitment, or whether the trial must be had within 120 days…