Morissette v. Briley

Following a bench trial, Sherman Morissette was convicted of armed robbery on December 27, 1983. Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 38, par. 18 — 2. Because of prior felony convictions, he was sentenced to life imprisonment under the Habitual Criminal Act (Act) (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 38, par. 33B — 1 et seq.) on November 16, 1984. On November 25, 2000, he filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus, arguing that the Act was unconstitutional under Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 147 L. Ed. 2d 435, 120 S. Ct. 2348 (2000). The trial court granted the State’s section 2 — 615 motion to dismiss.…