People v. Petty

In September 2004, defendant, Stephen Petty, filed an amended postconviction petition. In March 2005, following an evidentiary hearing, the trial court denied the petition. On appeal, defendant argues the trial court’s denial of his postconviction petition was manifestly erroneous because his counsel failed to file a Rule 604(d) certificate (188 Ill. 2d R. 604(d)) prior to the hearing on his first motion to withdraw his guilty plea. We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

In August 1999, a grand jury indicted defendant on two counts of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance (cocaine) in an amount more…