People v. Ash

A jury found defendant, Russell S. Ash, guilty of possession of a controlled substance (less than 15 grams) (720 ILCS 570/402(c) (West 2002)). Ash appeals on four grounds: (1) the trial court violated Supreme Court Rule 608(a)(9) (177 Ill. 2d R. 608(a)(9)) and his right to due process by allowing voir dire to proceed off the record; (2) defense counsel rendered ineffective assistance by waiving the reporting of voir dire; (3) the trial court erroneously admitted evidence of an uncharged crime, possession of drug paraphernalia (720 ILCS 600/ 3.5(a) (West 2002)); and (4) the evidence was too…