People v. Joiner

Defendant was convicted of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder. The appellate court affirmed his convictions, remanded for a new sentencing hearing, and affirmed the new sentence imposed on remand. Defendant then filed a post-conviction petition, which the trial court summarily dismissed at the first stage. Defendant appealed, arguing that the petition must be advanced to the second stage both because the circuit court failed to rule on it within 90 days after it was filed and because the claims had merit. The appellate court affirmed. The supreme court allowed defendant’s leave to appeal and also affirmed, finding that the trial court properly calculated the date of filing under section 122-2.1 of the Post-Conviction Hearing Act and ruled on the petition within the required 90 days and that defendant did not state the gist of a constitutional claim that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel when his trial counsel failed to call two witnesses at trial because their testimony would not have changed the outcome of the trial. (NEVILLE, OVERSTREET, HOLDER WHITE, CUNNINGHAM, ROCHFORD, and O’BRIEN, concurring)