People v. Cortez

Following a jury trial, the petitioner, Jesse Cortez, was convicted of one count of first degree murder and one count of attempted murder. On December 9, 1993, petitioner was sentenced to concurrent terms of 35 and 15 years.

On June 15, 1998, petitioner filed a pro se postconviction petition. On February 9, 1999, the State filed a motion to dismiss the petition as untimely. Petitioner filed a response and supporting affidavit alleging that his petition was filed late because he was held in continuous segregation from April 3, 1994, through May 31, 1998. On October 12, 2000, the trial court…