Circuit court summarily dismissed Defendant's pro se postconviction petition, but circuit clerk did not send notification of the order to Defendant until 21 days later. Clerk thus failed to comply with Rule 651(b) by failing to provide Defendant with the required notice of an adverse judgment. Defendant's untimely notice of appeal is treated as a petition to file a late notice of appeal, and thus appellate court has jurisdiction to consider the appeal on the merits. Circuit court's summary dismissal of postconviction petition was made within 90 days of its filing and was thus in compliance with the Post-Conviction Hearing Act. Judgment affirmed as Defendant raises no substantive arguments on appeal. (FITZGERALD SMITH and LAVIN, concurring.)
Illinois Appellate Court
Criminal Court
Postconviction Petitions