People v. Joseph

The defendant, John Michael Joseph, asks this court to determine whether the circuit court of Knox County erred in ruling that section 122 — 8 of the Post-Conviction Hearing Act (Ill. Rev. Stat., 1984 Supp., ch. 38, par. 122 — 1 et seq.) violates the separation-of-powers clause of the 1970 Constitution (Ill. Const. 1970, art. II, sec. 1). The statute requires that all post-conviction proceedings “shall be conducted and all petitions shall be considered by a judge who was not involved in the original proceeding which resulted in conviction.” (Ill. Rev. Stat., 1984 Supp., ch. 38, par. 122 — 8.)…