Background
Kord T. Cain was charged with speeding 21 to 25 miles per hour above the statutory limit. He filed a not-guilty plea and jury-trial demand, after which the circuit court mailed notice that a jury pretrial hearing would occur on July 17, 2025.
Cain did not appear at that hearing. The docket reflects that the court entered an ex parte judgment of $251, along with additional collection-related assessments. Cain later filed an application to waive criminal court assessments, which the circuit court denied as “untimely.”
The Court’s Holding
The Illinois Appellate Court affirmed the July 17 default judgment. Cain did not dispute that he failed to appear, and the appellate record contained neither a report of proceedings nor an acceptable substitute. Because an appellant bears the burden to provide a record supporting claimed error, the court presumed the circuit court acted correctly and declined to speculate about Cain’s asserted reasons for missing the hearing.
The court vacated the August 7 order denying Cain’s Rule 404 application for waiver of criminal court assessments. Rule 404 permits an application filed no later than 30 days after sentencing; Cain filed eight days after the July 17 sentence. The application was therefore timely, making untimeliness an erroneous sole basis for denial. The case was remanded for consideration of the application.
Key Takeaways
- An inadequate appellate record requires presumptions favoring the trial court’s judgment.
- A party’s factual assertions in an appellate brief cannot supplement the record.
- A Rule 404 application filed within 30 days after sentencing cannot be denied solely as untimely.
Why It Matters
The decision underscores the decisive role of a complete record in appellate review, even in a traffic case involving a default judgment. It also confirms that trial courts must apply Rule 404’s 30-day filing period when evaluating requests to waive criminal court assessments.