People v. Joiner

Defendant, who was convicted of first-degree murder when he was 16 years old and sentenced to 71 years in prison, appealed from the circuit court’s summary dismissal of his post-conviction petition. Defendant argued on appeal that the trial court should have advanced his petition to the second stage because the trial court failed to rule on the petition within 90 days after it was filed. Defendant also argued that his petition sufficiently set forth a Brady violation claim, ineffective assistance of counsel claim, and an actual innocence claim. The appellate court affirmed, finding that the record did not support a finding that the trial court failed to rule on the petition within 90 days of filing and that defendant failed to set forth actionable claims in his petition. (BURKE, concurring and D.B. WALKER, dissenting