People v. Cook

Defendant was convicted, after jury trial, of 1st degree murder and aggravated battery with a firearm.Court did not err in denying Defendant's posttrial ineffective assistance of counsel motion without appointing new counsel and conducting a hearing because Defendant's claims pertained only to matters of trial strategy and did not show possible neglect of the case. Error in admitting hearsay testimony, the essence of which was properly admitted through another witness' prior inconsistent statements, did not severely threaten to tip scales of justice against Defendant. (REYES and ROCHFORD, concurring.)