Court Opinion

ID: 9476381
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 05:54:42.745996+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:45:17.424418
License: Public Domain

CUDAHY, Circuit Judge,
concurring:
I write separately only to indicate my view that the ineffective assistance of counsel claim should not be treated as waived. As the majority notes, the Illinois Appellate Court made no express determination that the claim had been waived. The Illinois court considered the claim on its merits. Rather than attempting to divine the unspoken “intent” of that court, I think we should invoke a presumption that waiver not clearly found has been condoned. Waiver, particularly of an ineffective assistance claim on direct appeal, is an essentially technical ground for avoiding very difficult, very important and very close issues on the merits. Certainly it is within the state courts’ power to protect their procedural requirements merely by making express findings that a petitioner has waived.
Judge Getzendanner struggled with the important and difficult issues here and, after a hearing lasting three days, denied the petition. Although the matter is very close, I would support her determination and thereby reach the same result as the majority but by a different route.