Court Opinion

ID: 9859886
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 22:54:28.055795+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T11:09:13.009044
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE TULLY, dissenting: I dissent from the majority opinion because I believe the dismissal of the petition is inevitable and further proceedings in the circuit court will only delay dismissal. I wholly agree with the majority that summary dismissal should not be read into the procedure provided by section 116 — 3 as it is unfair to a defendant, when faced with the proposed dismissal of his section 116 — 3 petition, to be deprived of notice and an opportunity to respond. I further agree with the majority that we should apply the harmless error analysis to the circuit court’s summary dismissal of defendant’s postconviction petition for DNA testing. I disagree with the majority because in this case I believe the procedural defects had no prejudicial effect. Here, the defendant was required to make a prima facie case that identity was the issue in the trial which resulted in his conviction. The record clearly shows that identity was not an issue because the defendant pled guilty. Moreover, postconviction DNA testing is predicated upon a claim of actual innocence. The defendant has never wavered from his guilty plea and has never claimed he is actually innocent. In the instant case, identity was never at issue. The defendant here did not deny committing the acts charged, pled guilty and did not have a trial. Thus, the inherent defects in defendant’s section 116 — 3 petition are patently incurable. I find that regardless of whether the circuit court erred in failing to provide defendant with notice and an opportunity to be heard, defendant could not have cured the inherent defects in his section 116 — 3 petition because he could not make a prima facie case that identity was at issue. The dismissal of the petition is inevitable and further proceedings will only delay that result. Because I find that any procedural error was harmless, I would affirm the order of the circuit court.