People v. Smith

Defendant appealed the second-stage dismissal of his post-conviction petition after the circuit court concluded that the petition was time-barred and procedurally barred. On appeal, defendant argued that he received unreasonable assistance of post-conviction counsel because counsel did not cure various deficiencies in defendant’s pro se petition. The appellate court affirmed, finding that there was no basis in the record on which to conclude that there was any viable amendment to be made. (MIKVA, concurring and ODEN JOHNSON, dissenting)