People v. Spears

PRESIDING JUSTICE THEIS

delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant Sherman Spears appeals from the trial court’s order denying him leave to file his second petition for relief under the Post-Conviction Hearing Act (Act) (725 ILCS 5/122 — 1 et seq. (West 2004)) because he failed to establish cause for his failure to raise his claims in his initial postconviction proceeding and prejudice resulting from that failure. On appeal, defendant makes two new arguments: (1) that the trial court erred in deeming his petition successive where his previous collateral motion was improperly recharacterized…