Background
A Cook County jury found Jessie White guilty of aggravated criminal sexual assault and aggravated kidnapping arising from an August 2012 assault. The trial court initially sentenced White to 45 years for the sexual-assault conviction and a consecutive 6 years for aggravated kidnapping. On January 29, 2024, after considering White’s timely motion to reconsider sentence, the court reduced the sexual-assault term to 34 years while leaving the consecutive 6-year kidnapping term intact.
White filed a notice of appeal on February 21, 2024. The notice identified April 27, 2023—the date of the jury’s guilty verdicts—as the judgment appealed from. More than eight months later, White sought to amend the notice to identify the January 29, 2024 sentencing order, and the appellate court initially allowed the amendment. On the merits, White planned to challenge his kidnapping conviction and the denial of a lesser-included-offense instruction.
The Court’s Holding
The appellate court dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. Under Illinois Supreme Court Rules 606 and 303, the court explained, a notice of appeal may be amended after the initial 30-day period only within a further 30-day period and upon a motion showing reasonable excuse. White’s November 2024 request came well after that period, so the appellate court lacked jurisdiction to permit the amendment.
The original notice could not support appellate jurisdiction because it identified only the April 27, 2023 jury verdict. In a criminal case, the final judgment is the sentence, not the verdict. Because the original notice did not specify a final order, the court vacated its prior order allowing amendment, struck the amended notice of appeal, and dismissed without reaching White’s substantive claims.
Key Takeaways
- A criminal notice of appeal must identify a final judgment, which is the sentence rather than the jury verdict.
- An appellate court cannot allow an amendment to a notice of appeal after the Rule 303 amendment period has expired.
- Jurisdictional defects can require dismissal even when neither party raises them.
Why It Matters
The decision underscores that appellate jurisdiction in criminal cases depends on strict compliance with notice-of-appeal requirements. A timely notice that names a nonfinal ruling may leave the reviewing court unable to consider otherwise substantive appellate arguments.