Defendant entered fully negotiated plea of guilty to 1st degree murder contained in a criminal information, filed that day, that superseded a previous criminal indictment for the same offense. Court granted Defendant's timely pro se motion to withdraw his guilty plea, contending his plea counsel was ineffective and that he was coerced into accepting the plea. State filed motion to reconsider, and court, after appointing new counsel for Defendant, set aside its order granting motion to withdraw guilty plea, and reinstated his sentence. Court did not exceed its authority or infringe upon the rights of the Defendant when it reconsidered its ruling that granted motion to withdraw guilty plea. Full litigation of merits of Defendant's motion to withdraw led court to conclude that allegations in motion were baseless, and Defendant does not challenge that conclusion on appeal. (CATES and BARBERIS, concurring.)
Illinois Appellate Court
Criminal Court
Guilty Pleas