People v. Erwin

Defendant was convicted of first-degree murder and armed robbery. On appeal, defendant argued that the circuit court erred when it denied his petition for leave to file a successive post-conviction petition asserting that his arrest violated the search and seizure clause of the Illinois Constitution. The appellate court affirmed, concluding that because the good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule applied under the facts of the case, that defendant would not be entitled to suppression of any evidence even if the court found his arrest to be illegal and, as a result, defendant could not establish prejudice as is required to file a successive petition. (HOWSE, concurring and COBBS, specially concurring)