People v. Smith

Defendant was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder for his involvement in two gang-related killings and he was sentenced to life in prison. He received a second trial after a primary witness recanted his testimony and defendant was again convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Defendant then filed a post-conviction petition alleging that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel after counsel failed to locate a witness and failed to solicit testimony from a different witness. The trial court dismissed the petition after a third-stage evidentiary hearing and defendant appealed. The appellate court affirmed, finding that defendant was not denied the effective assistance of counsel. (NAVARRO and LYLE, concurring)