Illinois Appellate Court
Criminal Court
Post-Conviction Hearing Act
Defendant was convicted of first-degree murder. After a direct appeal and post-conviction proceedings, defendant sought leave to file a successive post-conviction petition. The circuit court allowed the petition and then dismissed it at the second stage. Defendant appealed and the appellate court found that the circuit court failed to make the required cause-and-prejudice determination at the leave-to-file stage and vacated the order dismissing the petition for the court to conduct a cause-and-prejudice inquiry. (ROCHFORD and MARTIN, concurring)