People v. Macklin

Illinois Appellate Court
Criminal Court
Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
Citation
Case Number: 
2019 IL App (1st) 161165
Decision Date: 
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
District: 
1st Dist.
Division/County: 
Cook Co., 2d Div,
Holding: 
Affirmed.
Justice: 
MASON

Defendant was convicted, after bench trial, of armed robbery involving personal discharge of a firearm causing great bodily harm. No ineffective assistance of counsel in not presenting an expert witness to support defense that eyewitness identifications were unreliable. There is not a reasonable probability that presentation of such expert would have had any impact on outcome. Counsel filed pretrial motion to suppress identification testimony and did extensive cross-examination and argument at trial. Discrepancies in testimony of eyewitnesses is collateral and not fatal to reliability of their identifications. (LAVIN, concurring; HYMAN, dissenting.)