People v. Jenkins

(Modified upon denial of rehearing 2/8/2021.) Defendant and codefendant were jointly charged in the same information with 2 felonies and 1 misdemeanor: residential burglary, theft, and obstructing identification. Later, State increased Defendant's charges to 4 felonies based on a subsequent indictment. Cases were severed, and codefendant was convicted of all counts. Defendant represented himself at trial. Defendant, who is indigent, claims that circuit court deprived him of equal protection right to free access to his codefendant's trial transcripts. The presumption of value applies equally to requests for free access to transcripts of preliminary hearings in the same case, free transcripts of prior mistrials in the same case, and free transcripts of a codefendant's trial. Transcript of codefendant's trial should be viewed as presumptively valuable to Defendant's preparation for his own trial. Defendant was prejudiced by his appellate counsel's failure to recognize and raise this transcript issue on direct appeal, resulting in ineffective assistance of appellate counsel, and denial of due process. (McDADE and O'BRIEN, concurring.)