The Illinois Supreme Court granted petitions for leave to appeal in a slate of interesting post-conviction cases on September 25, 2019. This means that the court has agreed to hear these appeals, and that its decision in these cases will be binding on all lower appellate and trial courts.

People v. Green, 2019 IL App (2d) 160217-U (link to original opinion)

Defendant argued that the trial court erred by denying his post-conviction petition because he established that defense counsel had a per se conflict of interest where counsel previously represented the intended victim of the murder, and defendant neither knew about the conflict nor waived it. The appellate court affirmed and the petitioner is seeking reversal.

People v. Stoecker, 2019 IL App (3d) 160781 (link to original opinion)

Defendant appealed the dismissal of his petition for relief from judgment, arguing that (1) his due process rights were violated where the court did not give him a meaningful opportunity to respond to the State’s motion to dismiss and the court held an ex partehearing on the motion and (2) his counsel did not adequately represent him. The appellate court affirmed and the petitioner is seeking reversal.

People v. Reed, 2019 IL App (4th) 170090 (blog post on opinion)

After an evidentiary hearing, the circuit court denied post-conviction relief to defendant, who is serving a prison sentence of 15 years for armed violence. He appealed, arguing that newly discovered evidence he presented to the court in the post-conviction hearing proved, clearly and convincingly, that he actually was innocent of armed violence despite his earlier negotiated guilty plea to that offense. The appellate court held that petitioner was bound by his guilty plea and that his claim of actual innocence could not be entertained. The petitioner is seeking reversal.

People v. Knapp, 2019 IL App (2d) 160162 (blog post on opinion)

Defendant filed a post-conviction petition arguing that his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance to him by misleading the defendant into giving up his right to testify. The appellate court affirmed the trial court’s first stage dismissal of defendant’s post-conviction petition where petition failed to state that defendant told trial counsel that he wanted to testify and where record rebutted petitioner’s claim. The petitioner is seeking reversal.

People v. Jackson, 2018 IL App (1st) 171773 (original opinion)

Defendant filed a post-conviction petition alleging actual innocence, arguing that his conviction was obtained by the prior inconsistent statements of three witnesses, who testified that their inconsistent statements resulted from police coercion, which was documented in that police department. The trial court denied the petition, and the appellate court affirmed. The petitioner is seeking reversal.