People v. Downey

Defendant, Connie Downey, appeals from an order of the circuit court dismissing his post-conviction petition in two separate cases. Pursuant to defendant’s motion, this court consolidated these cases for this appeal. Defendant raises the issue of whether the trial court abused its discretion in denying defendant an evidentiary hearing on the issues of the ineffective assistance of trial and appellate counsel.

Defendant was found guilty in a bench trial of armed robbery (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 38, par. 18—2), two counts of robbery (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 38, par. 18—1), and one count of…