People v. Csaszar

Defendant was convicted, after bench trial, of solicitation of murder for hire and sentenced to 30 years. Postconviction counsel filed statement of compliance with duties stated in Rule 651, and chose not to raise issues Defendant sought to raise in his draft postconviction petition, as counsel found thos issues meritless. No basis to disbelieve counsel's statement that surveillance video, as she had viewed it, did not substantiate defendant's claim. Thus, Defendant failed to show that his postconviction counsel failed to provide reasonable level of assistance. (HYMAN and MASON, concurring.)