People v. Bean

I respectfully dissent. In my view, the circuit court abused its discretion by failing to recharacterize the defendant’s pro se petition as a postconviction petition. Accordingly, I would reverse the order of the circuit court dismissing the defendant’s petition and remand this cause with directions that the court recharacterize the petition, appoint counsel, and otherwise proceed with this matter under the Post-Conviction Hearing Act.

Prior to the adoption of the Post-Conviction Hearing Act (the Act), an Illinois petitioner could attack his conviction by a writ of error, habeas corpus, and…