Find Court Cases > Go Back to List > Village of Lake Villa v. Bransley

Village of Lake Villa v. Bransley

Case Date: 05/11/2004
Court: 2nd District Appellate
Docket No: 2-02-1152 Rel

No. 2--02--1152


IN THE

APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS

SECOND DISTRICT
 

THE VILLAGE OF LAKE VILLA,

           Plaintiff-Appellee,

v.

JAMES J. BRANSLEY,

           Defendant-Appellant.
 

 )
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)		 Appeal from the Circuit Court
of Lake County.


No. 01--TR--94706

Honorable
Wallace B. Dunn and
Diane E. Winter,
Judges, Presiding.


PRESIDING JUSTICE O'MALLEY delivered the opinion of the court:

The Village of Lake Villa (Village) charged defendant, James J. Bransley, with operating avehicle (a motorcycle) with a suspended driver's license. 625 ILCS 5/6--303(a) (West 2000). Defendant was found guilty following a bench trial in the circuit court of Lake County and wassentenced to a one-year period of conditional discharge and a $500 fine. Defendant argues on appealthat the Village failed to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt because it did not prove that heoperated the motorcycle on a highway. Defendant further argues that the trial court erred in failingto appoint counsel to represent him. We affirm.

Defendant was arrested on July 2, 2001. It is undisputed that his driver's license wassuspended at that time and that he was operating a motorcycle on streets located in Unit 3 of thePainted Lakes subdivision in the Village. Defendant was originally represented by private counseland he pleaded guilty to the charge. However, he successfully moved, pro se, to withdraw his plea,and the matter was set for trial on April 22, 2002. On that date, defendant filed a certificate of assetsindicating that he and his wife were unemployed and essentially had no assets. There is no transcriptof the proceedings in open court on that date, but the matter did not proceed to trial.

On April 29, 2002, defendant filed a motion to dismiss, claiming that he committed no offensebecause he was riding on a private road. After an evidentiary hearing on May 14, 2002, the trial courtdenied the motion. The matter proceeded to a bench trial on August 5, 2002. The recorded plat forUnit 3 of the Painted Lakes subdivision was admitted into evidence. The plat shows that the streetswhere defendant operated his motorcycle were dedicated to the Village, and it contains the Village'scertificate (dated February 12, 1997) accepting the dedication. The parties also stipulated to theadmission of a letter dated January 7, 2002, from the Village's treasurer, stating:

"As of this date the Village of Lake Villa has not accepted the subdivisionimprovements in the Painted Lakes Subdivision. However, the Village of Lake Villa doeshold a cash deposit as a guarantee that the required subdivision improvements will becompleted."

The record contains a copy of a Lake Villa ordinance providing that, before applying for a final plat,a subdivider shall submit to the Village clerk a "statement of agreement" providing, inter alia, thatwithin two years after approval of the plat, the subdivider will complete all improvements inaccordance with plans and specifications approved by the Village engineer and that "[t]he roadwaysremain the responsibility (including maintenance and snowplowing) of the developer until acceptedby the Village Board." Lake Villa Municipal Code