People v. Jones

• Decision Date: 18 November 2004
• Docket Number: No. 96503.,96503.
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellee, v. Tramaine JONES, Appellant.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

821 N.E.2d 1093

213 Ill.2d 498

290 Ill.Dec. 519

The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Appellee, v. Tramaine JONES, Appellant.

No. 96503.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

November 18, 2004.

Rehearing Denied January 24, 2005.

Michael J. Pelletier, Deputy Defender, and Letty S. DiGiulio, Assistant Appellate Defender, of the Office of the State Appellate Defender, Chicago, for appellant.

Lisa Madigan, Attorney General, Springfield, and Richard A. Devine, State's Attorney, Chicago (Linda D. Woloshin, Assistant Attorney General, Chicago, and Renee Goldfarb and Michele Grimaldi Stein, Assistant State's Attorneys, of counsel), for the People. Justice FREEMAN delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant, Tramaine Jones, entered into a negotiated guilty plea to a charge of attempted first degree murder in the circuit court of Cook County. Defendant received a 20-year prison sentence. Subsequently, defendant filed a pro se postconviction petition pursuant to the Illinois Post-Conviction Hearing Act (725 ILCS 5/122-1 et seq. (West 2000)). The circuit court dismissed the petition as being frivolous and patently without merit, and the appellate court affirmed. 341 Ill.App.3d 103, 274 Ill.Dec. 707, 791 N.E.2d 1118. This court granted defendant leave to appeal (177 Ill.2d R. 315(a)), and we now affirm.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

The State charged defendant by information with one count of attempted first degree murder and five counts of aggravated battery predicated upon a variety of factors. On August 12, 1999, after several conferences pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 402 (see 134 Ill.2d R. 402), defendant entered into a negotiated plea agreement with the State in which he agreed to plead guilty to the attempted first degree murder charge in exchange for a 20-year prison sentence.

At the conclusion of the August 12 hearing on the guilty plea, the circuit court advised defendant that he had the right to appeal both the finding of guilty and the sentence that had been imposed. The court further advised that, pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 605(b)(2) (134 Ill.2d R. 605(b)(2)), before filing the notice of appeal, defendant had 30 days to file motions seeking leave to withdraw the plea or reconsider the sentence. The court explained that these motions had to be in writing and that any reasons not in writing could not be used as a basis for appeal. The court further detailed that if the motions were denied, defendant would then have 30 days from the date of the denial to file a notice of appeal.¹

On September 7, 1999, defendant filed a pro se"Motion for a Reduction of Sentence." In the motion, defendant argued that his lack of previous criminal conduct, combined with his age, warranted a sentence of less than the 20 years that the court had imposed. The circuit court appointed the same assistant public defender who had represented defendant during the plea proceedings to assist defendant with his postplea motion. On November 1, 1999, counsel appeared in court, stating that, in compliance with Supreme Court Rule 604(d) (see 134 Ill.2d R. 604(d)), he had reviewed both defendant's motion and the record in the case and had spoken with defendant about the matter. The case was continued in order to secure defendant's presence for a hearing and for counsel to prepare and file his Rule 604(d) certificate.

The court conducted a hearing on defendant's motion on December 9, 1999. After hearing the arguments by both defense counsel and the State, the court denied the motion for a reduction of sentence. The court then advised defendant that he had 30 days in which to file an appeal in the case. Defendant stated on the record that he understood his rights. In January 2000, defendant filed two different documents in the circuit court of Cook County. The first document was entitled "Petition to Withdraw Guilty Plea and Vacate Sentence." The petition was a copy of a sample, preprinted form consisting of a number of different types of allegations that were intended to be pleaded alternately as they applied to a particular case. Defendant attempted to raise a claim in this petition by filling in one of the alternate allegations. The preprinted allegation read: "Petitioner's guilty plea was entered as a result of coercion by * * *." Defendant completed this sentence by writing the word "State" next to it. No further additions were made by defendant to the form. Defendant's second document was a different sample preprinted form, which defendant filled in with his name and place of incarceration. This petition, also titled "Petition to Withdraw Guilty Plea and Vacate Sentence," included the following handwritten allegation by defendant:

"I feel I wasn't represented to the fullest by my counsel he didn't pay attention to the whole case. He was just looking at the crime instead of the fact."

On May 26, 2000, the circuit court entered a written order dismissing the "Petition to Withdraw Guilty Plea and Vacate Sentence," finding that the petition was untimely.

Subsequently, defendant filed a pro se petition for postconviction relief in March 2001. Like defendant's two previous filings, the postconviction petition filed with the court was a preprinted form. The form consisted of blank spaces that defendant filled in with handwritten text. Paragraph four of the form was intended to present the basis of the petition and read as follows:

"That petitioner contends, as supported by the attached affidavits, that he was denied his right to ____ guaranteed by the ____ and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution; and that such denial is not reflected on the record of the appeal of his conviction:

(a) [State here how you were denied a fair trial]

(b) [Same as above]"

Defendant wrote the words "effective assistance of counsel" and "Sixth" respectively in the blank spaces provided in paragraph four. Defendant did not provide any elaboration in either subparagraphs (a) or (b). Defendant verified the petition by attaching an affidavit, but the affidavit contained nothing more than defendant's notarized signature attesting to the truthfulness of the allegations in the petition.

The circuit court summarily dismissed the petition as frivolous and patently without merit. In so ruling, the court specifically stated that the petition "completely failed to assert any claim at all, much less even the gist of a constitutional claim."

Defendant thereafter appealed, contending for the first time that the circuit court erroneously admonished him pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 605. Defendant argued that his case should be remanded for proper admonishments and for an opportunity to file a motion to withdraw his guilty plea. The appellate court rejected the claim, holding that defendant could not raise the improper admonishment issue on appeal because the claim was not raised in his petition. 341 Ill.App.3d at 106-07, 274 Ill.Dec. 707, 791 N.E.2d 1118. The court then affirmed the circuit court's summary dismissal, holding that defendant's petition failed to establish the gist of a constitutional claim. 341 Ill.App.3d at 107, 274 Ill.Dec. 707, 791 N.E.2d 1118. According to the appellate court, defendant failed to present "any detail whatsoever" in his petition — "[m]erely alleging he was denied his sixth amendment right to effective assistance of counsel, with nothing more, is insufficient." 341 Ill.App.3d at 107, 274 Ill.Dec. 707, 791 N.E.2d 1118. This appeal followed.

ANALYSIS

The issue in this case is whether defendant can raise the question of improper admonishments for the first time on appeal despite the fact he did not include the issue in his petition for postconviction relief. In his brief, defendant characterizes the improper admonishment issue in two distinct ways. He first argues that the trial judge incorrectly advised him regarding how to perfect his right to appeal. He then notes that the attorney appointed to represent him on his pro se motion to reconsider sentence filed a Rule 604(d) certificate indicating that he had made the necessary amendments to properly perfect defendant's right to appeal. In this manner, defendant asserts, both the trial judge and counsel gave erroneous advice and thus defendant's right to appeal was never perfected by a timely motion to withdraw the plea. Defendant acknowledges that he did not include these errors in his pro se postconviction petition, but he nevertheless insists that he is entitled to have them reviewed on appeal on the basis of fundamental fairness.

The Illinois Post-Conviction Hearing Act provides a mechanism by which those under criminal sentences in this state can assert that their convictions were the result of a substantial denial of their rights under the United States Constitution or the Illinois Constitution or both. See 725 ILCS 5/122-1 et seq. (West 2000). Proceedings under the Act are commenced by the filing of a petition in the circuit court in which the original proceeding took place. The Act contemplates a three-stage process for nondeath penalty cases. People v. Gaultney, 174 Ill.2d 410, 418, 221 Ill.Dec. 195, 675 N.E.2d 102 (1996). Section 122-2 of the Act provides that "[t]he petition shall * * * clearly set forth the respects in which petitioner's constitutional rights were violated." 725 ILCS 5/122-2 (West 2000). "Any claim of substantial denial of constitutional rights not raised in the original or an amended petition is waived." 725 ILCS 5/122-3 (West 2000). Section 122-2.1 provides that "[i]f the petitioner is sentenced to imprisonment and the court determines the petition is frivolous or is patently without merit, it shall dismiss the petition in a written order * * *. * * * If the petition is not dismissed pursuant to this Section, the court shall order the petition to be docketed for further consideration in accordance with Sections 122-4 through 122-6." 725 ILCS 5/122-2.1(a)(2), (b) (West 2000). A pro se litigant need only present the gist of a constitutional claim to survive...