People v. Bridges

Defendant appealed from the circuit court’s second-stage dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief filed under the Post-Conviction Hearing Act, arguing that the trial court erred in determining that his claim that trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance of counsel by failing to retain an expert witness on the reliability of eyewitness identifications was both forfeited and meritless. The appellate court found that defendant did not forfeit his claims by failing to raise it on direct appeal, but nonetheless affirmed dismissal of defendant’s petition on the merits because defendant failed to demonstrate either prong of his ineffective assistance of counsel claim. (NAVARRO and LYLE, concurring)