The People of the State of Illinois, Appellee v. Richard Hodges, Appellant

Summary

The Illinois Supreme Court held that a pro se postconviction petition may be summarily dismissed as frivolous or patently without merit under section 122-2.1(a)(2) of the Post-Conviction Hearing Act only if it has no arguable basis either in law or in fact, and that Hodges's petition — alleging trial counsel was ineffective for failing to investigate three witnesses whose attached affidavits stated the victim was armed — cleared that threshold. Although the witnesses' testimony could not have supported complete self-defense because the record showed Hodges was the aggressor, it was at least arguable that it supported 'unreasonable belief' second degree murder, and pro se petitions receive a liberal construction encompassing imperfect self-defense. The court reversed the summary dismissal and remanded for appointment of counsel and second-stage proceedings, expressing no opinion on the ultimate merits. Justice Garman, concurring in part and dissenting in part, joined by Justices Thomas and Karmeier, would have affirmed the dismissal because Hodges's own testimony showed he could not satisfy either section 7-4 aggressor exception, making the second degree murder theory completely contradicted by the record.