Defendant was found guilty of attempted murder after a jury trial and his conviction and sentence were affirmed on direct appeal. Defendant filed a post-conviction petition raising multiple allegations of ineffective assistance of counsel, which the trial court denied after a third stage evidentiary hearing. Defendant appealed alleging the trial court erred when it did not grant defendant’s petition after the second stage where the State did not file an answer and that his post-conviction counsel provided unreasonable assistance. The appellate court affirmed, finding that while the State was permitted to file a response at the second stage, it was not required to do so and the trial court did not err by advancing the petition to the third stage. The appellate court further found defendant failed to overcome the rebuttable presumption of reasonableness created by the SCR 615(c) certificate. (BOIE and MOORE, concurring)
Illinois Appellate Court
Criminal Court
Post-Conviction Hearing Act