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91_SB1908
LRB9112981RCpkA
1 AN ACT to amend the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 by
2 adding Section 115-21.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 is
6 amended by adding Section 115-21 as follows:
7 (725 ILCS 5/115-21 new)
8 Sec. 115-21. Prosecutor's misconduct; mistrial.
9 (a) The court may declare a mistrial in a capital case on
10 the grounds of a prosecutor's misconduct during trial that
11 the court determines is sufficiently material to affect the
12 reliability of the verdict. Instances of such misconduct
13 include, without limitation, a prosecutor's ad hominem attack
14 on the defendant during the prosecutor's closing argument and
15 a prosecutor's making of improper inferences from the
16 defendant's failure to testify on his or her own behalf.
17 (b) The court may declare a mistrial under this Section
18 on the defendant's oral or written motion or on the court's
19 own motion. Such a motion may be made at any time during the
20 course of the trial.
21 (c) The court may impose sanctions against a defendant's
22 counsel if the court determines that the counsel made a
23 motion under this Section other than in good faith. For
24 purposes of this subsection, a counsel's motion shall be
25 considered to be in good faith if the counsel reasonably
26 believed that the prosecutor's conduct was sufficient to
27 warrant the court to declare a mistrial under this Section.
28 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
29 becoming law.