# People v. Atherton

> Appellate Court of Illinois · December 16, 2010 · 406 Ill. App. 3d 598

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9779757

## Case

- **Full name:** The PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. FRANK D. ATHERTON, Defendant-Appellant
- **Court:** Appellate Court of Illinois
- **Decided:** December 16, 2010
- **Citations:** 406 Ill. App. 3d 598; 346 Ill. Dec. 406; 940 N.E.2d 775; 2010 Ill. App. LEXIS 1365
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Concurrence by McLAREN
- **Judges:** Schostok, McLaren
- **Cited by:** 38 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9779757

## How later opinions describe it (automated extraction)

- holding that the instruction that the “ ‘defendant does not have the burden of proving himself innocent’ ” sufficiently conveyed the third principle

## Opinion text

JUSTICE McLAREN, specially concurring:
I specially concur because I have a concern regarding the relevance and admissibility of the alleged syndrome postulated by Dr. Summit. If Dr. Meyer is to be believed, this is neither an accredited syndrome nor a scientific tool to aid the trier of fact. Rather, it is a tool to aid the counselor in rehabilitating the victim. If the trial court had determined that Dr. Meyer’s testimony was credible and preponderant, or that Dr. Summit did not believe his postulated syndrome was formulated to be utilized by courts, then I believe it would have been an abuse of discretion to admit evidence of this syndrome. Giving deference to the court’s assessment of credibility, I do not believe the record establishes that evidence of the syndrome was inadmissible. However, there may come a day when a court determines that the weight of the evidence regarding relevance and admissibility will result in a denial of this alleged syndrome as a legal tool and an affirmation that it is solely a counseling tool.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9779757. Public record. Not legal advice.