People v. Miller

Following a bench trial, the defendant Flynard Miller was convicted of the shooting death of Charles Fowler and the wounding of Michael Casiel. He was sentenced to 47 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections on his first degree murder conviction. After his unsuccessful direct appeal, the defendant filed an action pursuant to the Post-Conviction Hearing Act, arguing that trial and appellate counsel rendered ineffective assistance. 725 ILCS 5/122 — 1 et seq. (West 2008). Only his claim as to counsel that represented him prior to trial is before us on appeal. As to his “pretrial counsel,”…