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Illinois Statutes Chapter 725. Criminal Procedure § 5/115-3. Trial by the Court

Current as of January 01, 2025 | Updated by Findlaw Staff

§ 115-3. Trial by the Court.

(a) A trial shall be conducted in the presence of the defendant unless he waives the right to be present.

(b) Upon conclusion of the trial the court shall enter a general finding, except that, when the affirmative defense of insanity has been presented during the trial and acquittal is based solely upon the defense of insanity, the court shall enter a finding of not guilty by reason of insanity. In the event of a finding of not guilty by reason of insanity, a hearing shall be held pursuant to the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code  1 to determine whether the defendant is subject to involuntary admission.

(c) When the defendant has asserted a defense of insanity, the court may find the defendant guilty but mentally ill if, after hearing all of the evidence, the court finds that:

(1) the State has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty of the offense charged; and

(2) the defendant has failed to prove his insanity as required in subsection (b) of Section 3-2 of the Criminal Code of 2012  2 and subsections (a), (b) and (e) of Section 6-2 of the Criminal Code of 2012;  3 and

(3) the defendant has proven by a preponderance of the evidence that he was mentally ill, as defined in subsections (c) and (d) of Section 6-2 of the Criminal Code of 2012 at the time of the offense.

1 405 ILCS 5/1-100 et seq.
2 720 ILCS 5/3-2.
3 720 ILCS 5/6-2.
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Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Illinois Statutes Chapter 725. Criminal Procedure § 5/115-3. Trial by the Court - last updated January 01, 2025 | https://codes.findlaw.com/il/chapter-725-criminal-procedure/il-st-sect-725-5-115-3/

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