People v. James

PRESIDING JUSTICE TURNER

delivered the opinion of the court:

In summer 2003, the State charged defendant with unlawful use of a weapon by a felon (720 ILCS 5/24 — 1.1(a) (West 2002)), armed robbery (720 ILCS 5/18 — 2(a)(1) (West 2002)), and home invasion (720 ILCS 5/12 — 11(a)(3) (West 2002)). Shortly after his arrest, the trial court appointed the public defender to represent defendant. Before opening statements at his January 2004 bench trial, defendant elected to proceed pro se. At the conclusion of his trial, the court found defendant guilty of all three charges. At a joint hearing in April…