Defendant pled guilty to one count of first-degree murder and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Defendant field a pro se petition for post-conviction relief and the trial court dismissed the petition. On appeal, defendant argued that he was denied the effective assistance of post-conviction counsel relating to an additional claim raised by post-conviction counsel. The appellate court affirmed and the supreme court granted defendant’s PLA. The Supreme Court affirmed the judgments of the lower courts, explaining that while post-conviction counsel is required to provide reasonable assistance when adding a claim to a post-conviction petition, defendant failed to rebut the presumption of reasonable assistance raised by post-conviction counsel’s SCR 651(c) certificate. (THEIS, OVERSTREET, HOLDER WHITE, CUNNINGHAM, ROCHFORD, and O’BRIEN, concurring)
Illinois Supreme Court
Criminal Court
Post-Conviction Hearing Act