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Ronald Terry v. State of Illinois

60 Ill. Ct. Cl. 298 Illinois Court of Claims Filed 2007-08-08 No. 07-CC-1495
Disposition: (No. 07-CC-1495-Claim dismissed.) Agency: Illinois Department of Corrections
Cite as: Ronald Terry v. State of Illinois, 60 Ill. Ct. Cl. 298 (2007)

RONALD TERRY, Claimant, v. THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Respondent.

Case summary

Claimant, an inmate, alleged he was wrongfully held by IDOC due to errors in his mittimus orders. The Court dismissed the claim for lack of jurisdiction, holding that it cannot determine whether Claimant is being held illegally without a prior judicial ruling from a circuit court.

Claim type: Other

Statutes cited: 720 ILCS 5/9-1(a)(1); 720 ILCS 5/8-4 (5/9-1)

Cases cited: Shawn Edwards v. State, Ill. Ct. Cl. (03CC5082, Order dated January 4, 2005)

AI-generated summary from the opinion text — may contain errors. The opinion text and PDF above are the official record.

Headnotes

  1. Jurisdiction - Prisoner claiming he is incarcerated illegally, no jurisdiction - The Court of Claims has jurisdiction to reward a claimant with monetary damages if it has been judicially determined that he has been detained illegally, but the Court does not have jurisdiction to determine whether Claimant is being held illegally.

RONALD TERRY, pro se. LISA MADIGAN, Attorney General, (MICHAEL ROCKS, Assistant Attorney General, of Counsel), for Respondent.

STEFFEN, J.

ORDER

STEFFEN, J. This matter coming to be heard on the motion of Respondent to Dismiss the claim herein, and it appearing to the Court that Claimant has received due notice, and the Court being fully advised in the premises finds that:

Claimant, Ronald Terry, has filed a Court of Claims case against Respondent the State of Illinois that seeks $200,000.00 in damages. Claimant is an inmate with the Illinois Department of Corrections (“IDOC”) and currently incarcerated at Dixon Correctional Center (“Dixon”).

I. Complaint Allegations

Claimant alleges that he has been wrongfully held by IDOC for 11 years. On March 1, 1996 he was found guilty of Attempted First Degree Murder and sentenced to a term of incarceration for 33 years. The Mittimus Order of March 8, 1996 listed the statutory citation of the offense that he had been convicted of as 720 ILCS 5/9-1(a)(1). This statutory citation refers to First Degree Murder and not to Attempted First Degree Murder. Claimant learned later that a corrected Mittimus Order was issued September 1, 1998 that changed the statutory citation to 720 ILCS 5/8-4 (5/9-1). On January 30, 2006, a third Mittimus Order was issued that listed the statutory citation 720-5/9-1(A)(1) and gave Claimant credit for time served of 3,871 days from June 24, 1995. On [*299] March 16, 2006, a corrected Mittimus Order was issued that listed the statutory citation as 720-5/8-4 (720-5/9-1(A)(1). Claimant alleges that the corrected Mittimus Order of March 16, 2006 terminates and vacates the corrected Mittimus Order of March 1, 2006. Claimant alleges that he has been wrongfully held in IDOC for the crime of First Degree Murder because he was not convicted of that crime but rather he was convicted of Attempted First Degree Murder. Claimant initially presented this action in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Law Division and was instructed to file this action in the Illinois Court of Claims.

II. Analysis

Respondent has filed an affidavit from Ms. Ona Welch, who is an Assistant Chief Records Officer for the Illinois Department of Corrections (“IDOC”). According to Ms. Welch’s affidavit, Claimant has not been held in IDOC illegally, but has been held and is currently held pursuant to the Court’s Orders. As of the date of the affidavit, January 8, 2007, Claimant had a projected out date of June 9, 20091.

In Shawn Edwards v. State, Ill. Ct. Cl. (03CC5082, Order dated January 4, 2005), the Court of Claims held:

The Court of Claims has jurisdiction to entertain a claim for damages if it has been judicially determined in a Court of proper jurisdiction, either a Federal or State Circuit Court, that in fact, [Claimant] was detained for a period greater than that required from the statute. If [Claimant] obtained such a judicial ruling, then he may return to our Court and file the proper claim seeking monetary damages. At the present time there is nothing pending before the Court of Claims over which we have jurisdiction to rule. Accordingly, the Respondent’s Motion to Dismiss is granted.

Based on the Edwards case, the Court of Claims does not have jurisdiction to determine whether Claimant is being held illegally with IDOC.

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the motion of Respondent be, and the same is hereby granted, and the claim herein is dismissed.

As of March 9, 2007, IDOC’s web page indicates that Claimant now has a tentative parole date of April 9, 2009.

Official volume 60 (Official Reports of the Illinois Court of Claims For: Fiscal Year 2008 – July 1, 2007–June 30, 2008)  ·  All opinions in this volume

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