In Fall 2020, the Criminal Appeals Clinic obtained a reduced sentence for their client. In a fractured opinion, the Appellate Court of Illinois, First District agreed that the client's sentence was excessive and reduced the sentence by twenty years. While the resultant thirty-year sentence is still a long sentence, the reduction increases the likelihood that the client will be able to survive his sentence. Criminal Appeals Clinic student Allison Foellger co-drafted the appellate opening brief in Spring 2019 and Criminal Appeals Clinic Professor Gil Lenz drafted the reply brief and conducted the oral argument later in 2020.
The case is People v. Hardy, 2020 IL App (1st) 172485
Decision Under Review: Appeal from the Circuit Court of Cook County, Nos. 14-CR-
15929, 14-CR-21461; the Hon. Thomas J. Byrne, Judge,
presiding
Attorneys for Appellant: DePaul University Legal Clinic, of Chicago (Gilbert Lenz, of
counsel, and Allison Foellger, law student), for appellant and
Attorneys for Appellee: Kimberly M. Foxx, State’s Attorney, of Chicago (Alan J. Spellberg, Matthew Connors, and Tyler J. Cox, Assistant
State’s Attorneys, of counsel), for the People.