People v. Clankie

Defendants, Thomas Clankie, a/k/a Tom or Tommy Clankie, and Karen Clankie, appeal from the judgment of the circuit court of Stephenson County finding them guilty of the offense of State benefits fraud (111. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 38, par. 17 — 6(a)). The trial court sentenced Thomas to four years’ imprisonment and Karen to 30 months’ probation conditioned upon her performing 1,000 hours of public service and serving 60 days in jail. Two issues are raised on appeal: (1) whether the trial court erred in refusing to authorize defendants, who are indigent, to hire an independent handwriting expert…