People v. Land

In June 2005, defendant, William Duncan Land, an Illinois Department of Corrections inmate, filed a petition to vacate judgment under section 2 — 1401 of the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/2 — 1401 (West 2004)) and for habeas corpus relief. Later that month, the trial court sua sponte dismissed defendant’s petition, upon determining that (1) defendant’s sentence is not void and (2) defendant’s claims had previously been rejected on direct appeal and in petitions for post-conviction relief.

Defendant appeals, arguing that the trial court lacked the authority to summarily dismiss his habeas…