People v. Whitford

Larry Whitford (defendant) appeals from the trial court’s summary dismissal of his postconviction petition pursuant to section 122— 2.1(a)(2) of the Post-Conviction Hearing Act (Act) (725 ILCS 5/122— 2.1(a)(2) (West 1998)). Within the initial-review period, the trial court dismissed the petition as untimely without making any determination as to the merit of the petition. On appeal, defendant argues that the trial court improperly dismissed his petition as untimely and that he is entitled to an evidentiary hearing because he alleged the gist of a meritorious claim of a constitutional…