People v. Pearson

Defendant, Deon L. Pearson, filed a petition in the circuit court of Winnebago County for relief from judgment, pursuant to section 2 — 1401 of the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/2 — 1401 (West 2000)). The circuit court summarily dismissed the petition, finding that it was a successive petition for postconviction relief (725 ILCS 5/122 — 1 et seq. (West 2000)). The appellate court reversed and remanded for further proceedings. 345 Ill. App. 3d 191. We granted the State’s petition for leave to appeal (177 Ill. 2d R. 315(a)). For the reasons that follow, we affirm the judgment of the…