Opinion ID: 2009926
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Pending Direct Appeal

Text: Defendant first argues that the trial court erred when it summarily dismissed his petition with prejudice while the direct appeal of his conviction was pending. Defendant contends that he filed his petition while the direct appeal was pending only because the statute of limitations was about to run. Moreover, his petition raised a claim of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel and also included a general request for leave to amend. According to defendant, because his direct appeal was pending, it was premature for the trial court to rule on the merits of the petition because the court could not have known whether defendant would need to amend the petition to address the brief his appellate lawyer would eventually file. Defendant relies on Williams, another case in which a postconviction petition was filed before the defendant's brief was filed in the direct appeal. In that case, the court held that the petition should have been held in abeyance until the brief was filed in the direct appeal or dismissed without prejudice with leave to refile once the direct appeal brief was filed. We disagree with defendant's argument and find no error in the trial court's dismissal order. Initially, we review basic procedure under the Act. The Act provides a procedural mechanism in which a convicted criminal can assert that in the proceedings which resulted in his or her conviction there was a substantial denial of his or her rights under the Constitution of the United States or of the State of Illinois or both. 725 ILCS 5/122-1(a) (West 2002). Postconviction proceedings are not a continuation of, or an appeal from, the original case. People v. Flowers, 208 Ill.2d 291, 303, 280 Ill.Dec. 653, 802 N.E.2d 1174 (2003). Rather, a postconviction proceeding is a collateral attack upon the prior conviction and affords only limited review of constitutional claims not presented at trial. People v. Greer, 212 Ill.2d 192, 203, 288 Ill.Dec. 153, 817 N.E.2d 511 (2004). The scope of the proceeding is limited to constitutional matters that have not been, nor could have been, previously adjudicated. Any issues that could have been raised on direct appeal, but were not, are procedurally defaulted, and any issues that have previously been decided by a reviewing court are barred by res judicata. People v. Rissley, 206 Ill.2d 403, 412, 276 Ill.Dec. 821, 795 N.E.2d 174 (2003). The legislature has frequently amended the statute of limitations for filing a postconviction petition. The version in effect at the time defendant filed his petition provided as follows: No proceedings under this Article shall be commenced more than 6 months after the denial of a petition for leave to appeal or the date for filing such a petition if none is filed or more than 45 days after the defendant files his or her brief in the appeal of the sentence before the Illinois Supreme Court (or more than 45 days after the deadline for the filing of the defendant's brief with the Illinois Supreme Court if no brief is filed) or 3 years from the date of conviction, whichever is sooner, unless the petitioner alleges facts showing that the delay was not due to his or her culpable negligence. 725 ILCS 5/122-1(c) (West 2002). [1] In noncapital cases, the Act provides a three-stage process for the adjudication of postconviction petitions. People v. Boclair, 202 Ill.2d 89, 99, 273 Ill.Dec. 560, 789 N.E.2d 734 (2002). At the first stage, section 122-2.1 directs the circuit court to independently assess the substantive merit of the petition. 725 ILCS 5/122-2.1 (West 2002). If the court finds that the petition is frivolous or patently without merit, the Act requires that the court dismiss it, and this dismissal is a final order. 725 ILCS 5/122-2.1(a)(2) (West 2002). A postconviction petition is frivolous or patently without merit when its allegations, taken as true and liberally construed, fail to present the gist of a constitutional claim. People v. Edwards, 197 Ill.2d 239, 244, 258 Ill.Dec. 753, 757 N.E.2d 442 (2001). Additionally, section 122-2 of the Act requires that the petition have attached thereto affidavits, records, or other evidence supporting its allegations or explain why they are not attached. 725 ILCS 5/122-2 (West 2002). The failure to comply with section 122-2 is fatal and by itself justifies the petition's summary dismissal. People v. Collins, 202 Ill.2d 59, 66, 270 Ill.Dec. 1, 782 N.E.2d 195 (2002). If the petition is not dismissed at this stage, it advances to the second stage (725 ILCS 5/122-2.1(b) (West 2002)), where the court may appoint counsel and the State may move to dismiss the petition (725 ILCS 5/122-4, 122-5 (West 2002); Edwards, 197 Ill.2d at 245-46, 258 Ill.Dec. 753, 757 N.E.2d 442). If at the second stage a substantial showing of a constitutional violation is established, the petition proceeds to the third stage for an evidentiary hearing. 725 ILCS 5/122-6 (West 2002). There is no provision in the Act barring a postconviction case from proceeding at the same time as a direct appeal. The legislature has amended the Act's limitations period many times, but has never enacted a provision stating that the petition may not be filed while a direct appeal of the conviction is proceeding. [2] In fact, the opposite is true. In the version of the statute of limitations under consideration, the determining date for the filing of the petition is the soonest of three dates, and two of them are (1) three years after conviction; and (2) 45 days after the defendant files his or her brief in the appeal of the sentence before the Illinois Supreme Court. 725 ILCS 5/122-1(c) (West 2002). This statutory language led this court to conclude in Rissley that the legislature removed any doubt that postconviction petitions must sometimes be filed before the termination of proceedings on direct appeal. Rissley, 206 Ill.2d at 415, 276 Ill. Dec. 821, 795 N.E.2d 174. In addition to there being no provision in the Act prohibiting a postconviction petition from being filed while a direct appeal is pending, this court has already determined that postconviction proceedings and direct appeals may proceed at the same time. In People v. Partee, 125 Ill.2d 24, 35, 125 Ill.Dec. 302, 530 N.E.2d 460 (1988), this court stated that [s]ince a collateral attack upon a judgment is a case separate and apart from the case in which the judgment has been attacked, it has been held that the availability or pendency of a direct appeal will not affect the ripeness of a claim for post-conviction or post-judgment relief. The Partee court cited with approval People v. Edsall, 94 Ill.App.3d 469, 49 Ill.Dec. 923, 418 N.E.2d 943 (1981), which the appellate court in the present case relied upon, and People v. Alfano, 95 Ill.App.3d 1026, 51 Ill.Dec. 556, 420 N.E.2d 1114 (1981). Partee, 125 Ill.2d at 35-36, 125 Ill.Dec. 302, 530 N.E.2d 460. In Edsall, the appellate court stated that it could find no provision in the Act barring a trial court from considering a post-conviction petition while a direct appeal of petitioner's criminal conviction is pending. Edsall, 94 Ill.App.3d at 473, 49 Ill.Dec. 923, 418 N.E.2d 943. Because there was no such provision, the court concluded that a trial court's dismissal of a petition without an evidentiary hearing must be based upon the specific allegations appearing in the petition. Edsall, 94 Ill.App.3d at 473, 49 Ill.Dec. 923, 418 N.E.2d 943. Alfano dealt with a petition filed under section 72 of the Civil Practice Act (the statutory predecessor to section 2-1401) (Ill.Rev.Stat.1979, ch. 110, par. 72) while a direct appeal was pending. In Alfano, the trial court dismissed the petition because a direct appeal was pending. The appellate court held that this was error and that the court had jurisdiction to consider the petition despite the pendency of the defendant's direct appeal. The court explained that [s]ection 72 petitions and direct appeals are not conflicting routes, but may be considered parallel and both may be followed simultaneously. Alfano, 95 Ill.App.3d at 1030, 51 Ill.Dec. 556, 420 N.E.2d 1114. Thus, there is no basis in either the Act's language or in this court's jurisprudence for the proposition that a postconviction proceeding may not proceed at the same time as a direct appeal. And this makes perfect sense. As we stated earlier, a postconviction proceeding is not a substitute for a direct appeal, nor is it a second direct appeal. Rather, it is a vehicle for asserting constitutional claims that could not be raised on direct appeal. Rissley, 206 Ill.2d at 411, 276 Ill.Dec. 821, 795 N.E.2d 174; People v. Derengowski, 44 Ill.2d 476, 479, 256 N.E.2d 455 (1970) (it is not within the view of the Act to have claims determined which could have been presented upon a direct review of the conviction). The legislature's failure to include a prohibition in the Act for filing a petition while the direct appeal is pending could very well have been deliberate. If a defendant has a meritorious claim of a denial of his constitutional rights that could not have been raised on direct appeal, the legislature might not have wanted to force him to wait for the direct appeal process to conclude before proceeding with his claim. For these reasons, we disagree with defendant's argument that a trial court faced with a postconviction petition filed while the direct appeal is pending must either hold it in abeyance or dismiss it without prejudice with leave to file after the direct appeal is concluded. Neither of these actions has any basis in the language of the statute. Rather, the Act requires that, within 90 days, the trial court examine the petition and determine if it is frivolous and patently without merit. 725 ILCS 5/122-2.1(a) (West 2002). If the court dismisses the petition pursuant to this section, that order is a final judgment. 725 ILCS 5/122-2.1(a)(2) (West 2002). We note that, if a trial court did hold a petition in abeyance and 90 days passed without the court ruling on the petition, the proceeding would have to move to the second stage. The appellate court recognized this in People v. Dauer, 293 Ill. App.3d 329, 227 Ill.Dec. 706, 687 N.E.2d 1188 (1997). In that case, the trial court held the postconviction petition in abeyance because the direct appeal was still pending. The appellate court held that the Act was violated when the court failed to examine the petition within 90 days and that this failure required the appellate court to reverse the dismissal and remand for second stage proceedings. The appellate court relied on this court's decision in People v. Porter, 122 Ill.2d 64, 85-86, 118 Ill.Dec. 465, 521 N.E.2d 1158 (1988), which held that the time limit in section 122-2.1(a) is mandatory and that a failure to comply with it requires that the petition be docketed for second stage proceedings. Dauer, 293 Ill.App.3d at 331, 227 Ill.Dec. 706, 687 N.E.2d 1188. Defendant contends that Dauer was abrogated by People v. Watson, 187 Ill.2d 448, 241 Ill.Dec. 590, 719 N.E.2d 719 (1999). In Watson, this court held that when a defendant files an amended postconviction petition during the initial 90-day period, the 90-day period restarts and the trial court has 90 days from the date of the filing of the amended petition to determine if it is frivolous and patently without merit. By analogy, defendant argues that the circuit court can hold a petition in abeyance for however long the direct appeal is pending and that the 90-day period would then start whenever the circuit court lifted the stay. Defendant's analogy is imprecise, because in Watson the amended petition was filed before the initial 90-day period expired. In other words, during the initial 90-day period, the petition was replaced by a new petition, and the 90-day period began anew. In defendant's example, if the 90-day period passes and the direct appeal is still pending, then the court would have failed to rule timely on the only petition pending before it. This would be contrary to both the plain language of the statute and this court's decision in Porter, which construed section 122-2.1(a)'s time period to be mandatory. As Dauer properly recognized, if the 90-day period passes without the trial court examining the petition pursuant to section 122-2.1(a)(2), the petition must proceed to the second stage. Dauer, 293 Ill.App.3d at 331, 227 Ill.Dec. 706, 687 N.E.2d 1188. There is no provision in the Act allowing the trial court to delay the beginning of the 90-day period when a petition is pending before it. Thus, if we were to require trial courts to hold postconviction petitions in abeyance when direct appeals were pending, then any defendant could circumvent section 122-2.1(a) and automatically receive appointment of counsel and second stage proceedings simply by filing his or her petition while the direct appeal is pending. We will not so hold. Similarly, we do not believe that a trial court is required to dismiss a postconviction petition without prejudice if the direct appeal is still pending. Defendant relies on section 122-5 of the Act, which provides, inter alia: The court may in its discretion grant leave, at any stage of the proceeding prior to entry of judgment, to withdraw the petition. The court may in its discretion make such order as to amendment of the petition or any other pleading, or as to pleading over, or filing further pleadings, or extending the time of filing any pleading other than the original petition, as shall be appropriate, just and reasonable and is generally provided in civil cases. 725 ILCS 5/122-5 (West 2002). By necessary implication, this court held in Watson that this section applies during the first stage of proceedings. Again, Watson held that when a defendant files an amended petition during the first stage, the 90-day review period begins anew. Watson, 187 Ill.2d at 451, 241 Ill.Dec. 590, 719 N.E.2d 719. One justice dissented in Watson, contending that the Act does not allow amendments at the first stage. Watson, 187 Ill.2d at 456, 241 Ill.Dec. 590, 719 N.E.2d 719 (Rathje, J., dissenting). No other justice joined in this dissent, so the question of whether section 122-5 applies at the first stage was settled by Watson. We do not believe, however, that, simply because the trial court has the discretion at the first stage to allow amendments to the petition, or to allow the petition to be withdrawn, or to allow the defendant to plead over, the trial court necessarily abuses that discretion by failing to dismiss the petition without prejudice when a direct appeal is pending. As set forth above, there is nothing in the Act or in this court's jurisprudence that would prohibit a postconviction proceeding and a direct appeal from proceeding at the same time. Moreover, this court has already held that, in the version of the Act under consideration, the legislature removed any doubt that postconviction petitions must sometimes be filed before the termination of proceedings on direct appeal. Rissley, 206 Ill.2d at 415, 276 Ill.Dec. 821, 795 N.E.2d 174. If we were to hold that the trial court should have dismissed this petition without prejudice with leave to refile when the direct appeal had concluded, that would be directly contrary to the statute of limitations then in effect. Under that version of the Act, the legislature required that the petition be filed by the soonest of the three following dates: (1) three years after conviction; (2) six months after the denial of a petition for leave to appeal or the date for filing such a petition if none is filed; or (3) 45 days after the defendant's brief is filed in the Illinois Supreme Court or 45 days after the due date for such a brief if none is filed. 725 ILCS 5/122-1(c) (West 2002). Here, defendant filed his petition two days before the soonest of these time periods ran, but he argues that the trial court should have allowed him to wait and file the petition when the direct appeal had concluded. Such an action would have thwarted the legislature's intent as to when the petition needed to be filed. One thing that section 122-5 does not permit the trial court to do is to extend the deadline for filing the original petition (725 ILCS 5/122-5 (West 2002)), and that is, in effect, what the court would be doing if it overrode the statutory deadline and allowed the defendant to wait until the direct appeal had concluded to file his petition. It would be absurd for this court to construe this version of the Act both as leaving no doubt that the legislature intended that postconviction petitions must sometimes be filed before the direct appeal had concluded and as requiring the trial court to dismiss a petition without prejudice because a direct appeal is pending. Defendant contends, nevertheless, that his situation is unique because he wanted to argue that he received the ineffective assistance of appellate counsel, but was required by the Act to file his petition before his attorney had filed a brief in the direct appeal. [3] Thus, according to defendant, the trial court was required to either hold the petition in abeyance or dismiss it without prejudice so that he could properly frame his argument. Defendant also claims that the trial court failed to rule on his ineffective assistance of appellate counsel claims and that, therefore, there was nothing for this court to review with respect to those claims. We disagree with both of these contentions. First, the trial court did not fail to rule on defendant's ineffective assistance of appellate counsel claims. The trial court found that the petition as a whole was frivolous and patently without merit, and it specifically addressed each of defendant's claims. With respect to defendant's appellate counsel claims, the trial court made two findings: (1) that the matter was still on appeal and there had been no ruling by the appellate court, so the trial court had no way of knowing if appellate counsel had been ineffective; and (2) some of the claims that defendant contended that appellate counsel was ineffective for failing to raise were those ineffective assistance of trial counsel claims that the postconviction court had found to be without merit. The trial court stated that, if those claims themselves were without merit, then appellate counsel could not have rendered ineffective assistance of counsel by failing to raise them. Thus, we find that the trial court did properly explain why defendant's claims were frivolous and without merit. Moreover, the claims were even more frivolous than the trial court found them to be. The problem with defendant's claims was not simply that the appellate court had not rendered a decision yet, but rather that defendant's attorney had not even filed a brief yet. What could be more frivolous and patently without merit than to argue that an attorney rendered constitutionally ineffective assistance by failing to raise certain issues on appeal before that attorney has raised any issues on appeal? The trial court properly carried out its statutory duty in ruling on this claim within 90 days, and we will not hold that a defendant can thwart the Act's statute of limitations simply by including a wholly speculative claim of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel in the petition. This does not leave persons in defendant's position without a remedy. The State correctly argues that a successive petition is the proper means for a defendant to assert a claim of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel when the statute of limitations forced him or her to file the initial petition while the direct appeal was pending. If defendant believes that he has a meritorious claim of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel, he may seek leave of court to file a successive petition. 725 ILCS 5/122-1(f) (West 2004). Defendant may obtain leave of court to do so if he demonstrates cause for failing to bring the claim in the initial petition and prejudice resulting from that failure. 725 ILCS 5/122-1(f) (West 2004). The Act states that a prisoner demonstrates cause by identifying an objective factor that impeded his or her ability to raise a specific claim during his or her initial postconviction proceedings. 725 ILCS 5/122-1(f) (West 2004). It is difficult to conceive of a more obvious case of cause for failing to raise a claim of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel in the initial proceeding than that the statute of limitations required that the petition be filed before the defendant's brief had been filed in the direct appeal. [4] A prisoner shows prejudice under the Act by demonstrating that the claim not raised during his or her initial post-conviction proceedings so infected the trial that the resulting conviction or sentence violated due process. 725 ILCS 5/122-1(f)(2) (West 2004). In his brief, defendant's only response to the State's argument that the successive petition route is still open is to state that there is no guarantee that he can obtain leave to do so. This is no answer. Defendant will be granted leave of court to file a successive petition if he demonstrates cause and prejudice, and he would seemingly have an obvious case of cause. Thus, he must be allowed leave to file a successive petition if he can meet the prejudice prong. If he cannot do so, then he has no complaint. In other words, persons in defendant's position will not be denied relief under the Act if they can demonstrate meritorious claims of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel. At oral argument, counsel for defendant claimed that it is not fair to require pro se petitioners to demonstrate prejudice. That, however, is the legislature's requirement. 725 ILCS 5/122-1(f)(2) (West 2004). It is worth noting in this regard that postconviction and other collateral proceedings are a matter of legislative grace, and the states have no obligation to provide this avenue of relief. Pennsylvania v. Finley, 481 U.S. 551, 556-57, 107 S.Ct. 1990, 1994, 95 L.Ed.2d 539, 547 (1987). The legislature enacted a statute under which it left no doubt that postconviction petitions must sometimes be filed while direct appeals are pending. Rissley, 206 Ill.2d at 415, 276 Ill.Dec. 821, 795 N.E.2d 174. If this means that, under this version of the Act, the only means for some defendants to assert ineffective assistance of appellate counsel claims is in successive petitions, then that is the legislature's choice and this court must enforce the statute as written. Our holding on this issue necessarily includes a repudiation of Williams. In that case, the defendant was convicted in August 1995 and filed a pro se postconviction petition in September 1996, before a brief had been filed in his direct appeal. The issue raised in the petition was that defendant was denied a fair trial because the photographic lineup used in the case was suggestive and prejudicial. In October 1996, the trial court dismissed the petition as frivolous and patently without merit. The trial court's order stated that `[a]t this time an appeal is pending in the Appellate Court of Illinois, Fifth District, and the post[ ]conviction petition is pending therein. The Court finds that the petition is patently without merit and dismisses same with prejudice for the reason that the allegations in the petition relate to issues that should be addressed on appeal.' Williams, 308 Ill.App.3d at 569, 243 Ill.Dec. 921, 724 N.E.2d 230. The parties disagreed over the meaning of the court's order. Defendant argued that the trial court dismissed the petition on the basis that a direct appeal was pending, which is error. The State disagreed with the defendant that the trial court dismissed the petition because the direct appeal was pending. According to the State, the circuit court properly found that the petition lacked merit because it asserted a claim that could be raised on direct appeal. If this issue were to be raised on direct appeal it would be res judicata and, if not, it would be procedurally defaulted. Williams, 308 Ill.App.3d at 569-70, 243 Ill.Dec. 921, 724 N.E.2d 230. The appellate court found that the language was ambiguous, but overall it meant that the trial court dismissed the petition because a direct appeal was pending and that it believed the issue could be raised on direct appeal. Williams, 308 Ill.App.3d at 570-71, 243 Ill.Dec. 921, 724 N.E.2d 230. Then the court concluded that the trial court had gone too far in dismissing the petition with prejudice and that it should have either held the petition in abeyance or dismissed it without prejudice with leave to refile once the defendant determined what issues would be raised by his counsel on direct appeal. Williams, 308 Ill.App.3d at 571-72, 243 Ill.Dec. 921, 724 N.E.2d 230. The court found that the defendant was concerned with the time limits of the Act and was simply trying to be prompt by filing his petition when he did. Thus, the court said that it would not cut off defendant's postconviction rights because defendant attempted to be prompt and file his petition in a timely manner. Williams, 308 Ill. App.3d at 571-72, 243 Ill.Dec. 921, 724 N.E.2d 230. It is difficult to follow Williams 's reasoning or to reconcile it with the plain language of the Act. First, it is not clear how the court concluded that the defendant was concerned with the time limits of the Act. The defendant filed his petition only a year after the conviction was entered and before a brief had even been filed in the appellate court. The appellate court failed to identify what time limit the defendant was up against, and it even acknowledged that the direct appeal brief was filed within two years of the conviction. Moreover, as set forth above, even if the defendant had been up against the statutory time limit, that would have not have required the circuit court to hold the petition in abeyance or to dismiss it without prejudice. We also see no error in the trial court's order in Williams. The defendant asserted a claim that should have been asserted on direct appeal. Thus, the trial court determined that it was patently without merit and dismissed it pursuant to section 122-2.1. The State correctly argued in Williams that issues that are determined on direct appeal have res judicata effect and that issues that could have been raised on direct appeal but were not are procedurally defaulted. These are proper bases for a trial court to enter a first-stage dismissal. People v. Blair, 215 Ill.2d 427, 442, 294 Ill.Dec. 654, 831 N.E.2d 604 (2005). Moreover, the Act does not permit consideration of questions raised on direct appeal simply because the reviewing court has yet to announce its disposition of the direct appeal. People v. Wright, 111 Ill.2d 18, 25, 94 Ill.Dec. 726, 488 N.E.2d 973 (1986). Faced with a petition raising a claim that should have been asserted on direct appeal, the trial court summarily dismissed it as without merit, and this dismissal order was a final judgment. 725 ILCS 5/122-2.1 (West 2002). The trial court was not going too far, as the appellate court claimed; it was simply fulfilling its duty under the Act. There was no basis for the appellate court to reverse that order. The appellate court stated that it was not going to cut off defendant's postconviction rights by upholding the dismissal with prejudice. Williams, 308 Ill. App.3d at 571, 243 Ill.Dec. 921 724 N.E.2d 230. It was not the trial court that was cutting off the defendant's postconviction rights. Rather, the defendant cut off his own postconviction rights by filing a petition that was frivolous and patently without merit. Williams is overruled.