Opinion ID: 3135441
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: conclusion

Text: The Act requires that, in a noncapital case, the trial court must, within 90 days after the filing and docketing of a postconviction petition, review the petition to determine if it is frivolous and patently -21- without merit. This requirement is mandatory, and that is precisely what the trial court did here. The trial court’s order was correct, because this petition did not state the gist of a meritorious claim. Whether to allow an amendment to the petition is discretionary, and defendant has failed to demonstrate that the court abused its discretion in ruling on the merits of the petition without granting him leave to amend. Under the version of the Act under consideration, the legislature required that some petitions would have to be filed while the direct appeal was still pending. This was one of those cases, and to hold that the trial court was required to hold the petition in abeyance or dismiss it without prejudice would be contrary to clearly expressed legislative intent. A defendant who is forced by the statute of limitations to file his petition while the direct appeal is pending and who later wishes to argue that he received constitutionally ineffective assistance of counsel on appeal must proceed by way of a successive petition. Defendant has failed to demonstrate error by the circuit court; therefore, the judgment of the appellate court, which affirmed the circuit court’s summary dismissal of defendant’s postconviction petition, is affirmed. Appellate court judgment affirmed. -22-