People v. Lee

In his postconviction petition Demetrius Lee presented two grounds for relief from a conviction and sentence imposed on him in 1990. The trial court in a written order gave a reason for rejecting one of the grounds, but the court purported to dismiss the entire petition. We hold that the failure to give reasons for dismissing one of the claims does not require reversal. Because we find that the petition fails to state the gist of a meritorious constitutional claim for relief from the judgment, we affirm the summary dismissal of the petition.

In 1989 a jury found Lee guilty of murder and…