Supreme Court of Illinois

Dismissal of a pro se petition seeking collateral relief under section 2-1401 of the Code of Civil Procedure is reversed and remanded where: 1) the circuit court chose to treat the petition as a postconviction petition; and 2) if a pro se pleading is going to be re-characterized as a postconviction petition, the litigant should be notified of this, warned of the restrictions on successive postconviction petitions, and allowed to amend his pleading in light of those requirements or to withdraw it.

Appellate Information

• Decided 07/21/2005
• Published 07/21/2005

Judges

• Justice FREEMAN delivered the opinion of the court:

Court

• Supreme Court of Illinois

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Lisa M. Madigan, Attorney General, Springfield, Paul A. Logli, State's Attorney, Rockford (Gary Feinerman, Solicitor General, Linda D. Woloshin, Gary K. Chan and Michael M. Glick, Assistant Attorneys General, Chicago, Norbert J. Goetten, Martin P. Moltz, Diane L. Campbell, Office of the State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor, Elgin, of counsel), for the People.


• For Appellees:
  
• G. Joseph Weller, Deputy Defender, Paul J. Glaser, Paul Alexander Rogers, Assistant Defenders, Office of the State Appellate Defender, Elgin, for appellee.