Defendant, who pleaded guilty to aggravated battery with a firearm and was sentenced to 12 years in prison, appealed from the trial court’s dismissal of his post-conviction petition. Defendant argued on appeal that his guilty plea was not voluntary, intelligent, and knowing when he faced impeachment through introduction of a prior conviction that was invalidated by an opinion of the Supreme Court and, as a result, was a void conviction. The appellate court reversed and remanded, explaining that taking the allegations of the petition as true, defendant had put forth a substantial showing that his constitutional rights were violated and that the trial court should have held an evidentiary hearing on the post-conviction petition. (ODEN JOHNSON and C.A. WALKER, concurring)
Illinois Appellate Court
Criminal Court
Post-Conviction Hearing Act