People v. Johnson

This case presents question as to whether defendant’s trial counsel was ineffective in defendant’s trial on charges of armed robbery and aggravated robbery for failing to have DNA swab tested for presence of victim’s DNA, where said swab was taken from gun allegedly used in charged offenses. Appellate Court, in reversing defendant’s conviction on armed robbery, found that: (1) trial counsel was deficient in failing to have DNA swab tested, where he mistakenly believed that no swab had been collected; and (2) negative DNA result would have created strong probability of different result at any re-trial, since negative result would have either cast doubt that defendant was perpetrator of robbery or create strong chance that defendant was carrying BB-gun during robbery, which could have mandated acquittal on armed robbery charge and have generated conviction only on lesser offense of aggravated robbery. In its petition for leave to appeal, State argued that Appellate Court’s ruling created impermissible automatic rule that allows defendants to establish prejudice in ineffective assistance of counsel claims based on nothing more than assumption that yet-to-be-performed DNA test would come out in his or her favor. (Dissent filed.)