Lee v. Pavkovic

Petitioner, Howard Lee, appeals from the judgment of the circuit court which denied his petition for a writ of habeas corpus by which he had sought his release from the custody of the Illinois Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities (hereinafter the Department). The Department has maintained custody of petitioner since 1977, pursuant to a court order which committed him following a finding that he was not guilty of murder by reason of insanity. Petitioner raises three issues for review. First, he contends that the trial court erred in retroactively applying the amended…