Background
Marvelo Wilson pleaded guilty to aggravated unlawful use of a weapon after police found that he carried a handgun in a vehicle outside his home, land, or business without a valid Firearm Owners Identification card. Under a fully negotiated plea, the Lake County circuit court imposed 24 months of probation and $1,874 in fees and costs.
Wilson’s retained counsel moved for an indigency-based waiver of the assessments, but neither counsel nor Wilson appeared for the scheduled hearing and the court struck the motion. After Wilson’s probation was revoked, the court sentenced him to two years’ imprisonment and entered judgment for the $1,874. On appeal, Wilson challenged the FOID-based AUUW provision under the Second Amendment and argued counsel was ineffective for failing to pursue a fee waiver.
The Court’s Holding
The appellate court affirmed Wilson’s conviction. His facial constitutional challenge was not waived by his guilty plea because it contested the State’s authority to prosecute the admitted conduct. But the Illinois Supreme Court’s decision in People v. Thompson controlled and held that Illinois’s shall-issue FOID regime is not facially unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. Wilson’s as-applied argument was undeveloped and did not meaningfully differ from his facial challenge.
The court vacated the $1,874 fees-and-costs judgment and remanded. Under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 472 and People v. Nibbelin, a defendant seeking an assessment waiver must first raise the issue in the circuit court through a Rule 472 motion; it cannot be presented for the first time on appeal as an ineffective-assistance claim. On remand, Wilson may move for an assessment waiver under section 124A-20.
Key Takeaways
- Thompson forecloses a facial Second Amendment challenge to Illinois’s FOID-based AUUW provision.
- A guilty plea does not bar a facial challenge that alleges the statute of conviction is void, but it can bar case-specific as-applied claims.
- Claims for waiver of criminal fees, costs, or assessments must first be raised in circuit court under Rule 472.
Why It Matters
The decision applies the Illinois Supreme Court’s recent FOID and assessment-waiver rulings to a post-revocation appeal. It preserves the conviction while directing defendants seeking relief from assessments to the Rule 472 process, even when counsel previously failed to pursue a waiver.