People v. Kyles

(Court opinion corrected 9/25/20.) Defendant, age 16 at time of offenses, was charged as an adult with aggravated battery with a firearm, attempted 1st-degree murder, and 2 other offenses; he pled guilty to aggravated battery with a firearm and was sentenced to 21 years. Court, at Krankel hearing, failed to inquire into the basis of Defendant's claims that his initial attorney was ineffective. Defendant's later-appointed counsel rendered ineffective assistance of counsel. Defendant had met Krankel's threshold requirement of an actual allegation of ineffective assistance with some factual basis, and he requested new counsel. If a defendant has made a sufficient pro se claim of ineffective assistance and request for new counsel, the general appointment of new counsel does not eliminate trial court's obligation to make a preliminary inquiry into the merits of the pro se claim. Defendant's Krankel counsel abandoned the ineffective-assistance claims that Defendant raised in his pro se motion but did not move to withdraw. Record is not clear whether appointed defense counsel fulfilled her duty to independently evaluate Defendant's pro se claims, so prejudice is presumed. (BRIDGES and BRENNAN, concurring.)