Watkins v. Page

The petitioner, Kilroy Watkins, filed a pro se petition for habeas corpus relief in the circuit court of Will County. The respondent, James H. Page, moved to dismiss the petition because the court lacked jurisdiction and because the petition lacked merit. The trial court dismissed the petition. We affirm. In so doing, we hold that once an Illinois habeas corpus petition is properly filed, the transfer of the petitioner to a correctional facility out of the trial court’s jurisdiction does not deprive that court of jurisdiction of the habeas proceeding.

The petitioner was convicted of first…