Background
Brittany J. Rodriguez was charged in Madison County with domestic battery for allegedly spraying her former boyfriend with mace. She initially signed written jury-waiver documents and was convicted after a 2024 bench trial while representing herself.
The circuit court later vacated that conviction because Rodriguez’s waiver of counsel had not been knowing and intelligent. The case was reset and ultimately tried to the bench in May 2025, resulting in a second domestic-battery conviction and 12 months’ probation. Rodriguez argued on appeal that her first jury waiver did not survive the vacatur and that she never validly waived a jury for the second trial.
The Court’s Holding
The Illinois Appellate Court, Fifth District, affirmed. It agreed that a jury waiver made before the first trial would not itself remain effective after the conviction was vacated, but held that the appellate record was inadequate to establish that Rodriguez failed to make a new, knowing waiver.
The record contained no transcript, bystander’s report, or agreed statement of facts for the April 24, 2025 hearing, when the matter was set for a bench trial. Because the record did not reveal what occurred at that hearing, the court applied the presumption that the trial court acted in conformity with the law and resolved doubts from the incomplete record against Rodriguez.
Key Takeaways
- A jury waiver preceding an original trial does not automatically carry over after the conviction is vacated and the defendant receives a new trial.
- An appellant challenging a jury waiver must provide a record sufficient to show the claimed error.
- When a material hearing lacks a transcript, Illinois Supreme Court Rule 323 provides alternatives, including a bystander’s report or agreed statement of facts.
Why It Matters
The decision underscores that an incomplete appellate record can be dispositive even when the asserted error concerns the fundamental right to a jury trial. Counsel appealing a jury-waiver issue should preserve or reconstruct the material proceedings through the procedures in Rule 323 when no verbatim transcript is available.