People v. Phillips

              THIRD DIVISION
June 18, 2008
No. 1-06-1940
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) Appeal from the
) Circuit Court of
Plaintiff-Appellee, ) Cook County.
)
v. ) No. 02 CR 10176
)
HAROLD PHILLIPS, ) The Honorable
) Daniel P. Darcy,
Defendant-Appellant. ) Judge Presiding.
JUSTICE GREIMAN delivered the opinion of the court:
Following a jury trial, defendant Harold Phillips was convicted of first degree felony
murder and aggravated arson and was sentenced to natural life and 30 years’ imprisonment,
respectively, the sentences to be served consecutively. On appeal, defendant advances numerous
claims pertaining to his convictions and the sentences imposed thereon. Specifically, defendant
contends: (1) his felony murder conviction must be vacated pursuant to the same-act doctrine
because the same conduct formed the bases for the predicate felony and the felony murder
charges; (2) trial counsel provided ineffective assistance when he failed to offer jury instructions
on the lesser-included offense of criminal damage to property and failed to introduce, as
substantive evidence, a report from state fire investigators concluding that the fire originated in a
different location than the location determined by the supervising fire marshall; (3) the trial court
erred in refusing to grant defense counsel’s motion for a mistrial when one of the State’s witness
provided testimony that violated the court’s prior ruling on a motion in limine; (4) the trial court
violated defendant’s constitutional right to be present at his trial when it permitted trial counsel
to waive defendant’s presence at a conference discussing the response to a question posed by the
jury during jury deliberations; and (5) his conviction and consecutive sentence for aggravated