People v. Fields

Court improperly granted a certificate of innocence to Defendant who had been found not guilty at retrial on first-degree murder charges. Contrary to statute, court improperly equated finding of not guilty at retrial and actual innocence of the charged offenses. Under Section 2-702 of Code of Civil Procedure, in determining whether Defendant showed by preponderance of evidence that he is innocent of murders, court was required to consider materias attached to Defendant's petition in support of his innocence claim (his affidavit and stipulated-to testimony of witness) in relation to evidence presented against him at both trials. (R.E. GORDON and GARCIA, concurring.)