101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
SB3502

 

Introduced 2/14/2020, by Sen. Bill Cunningham

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
735 ILCS 5/2-702

    Amends the Code of Civil Procedure. Allows any party to intervene and present evidence and argument in opposition to a person seeking a certificate of innocence.


LRB101 19792 LNS 69303 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB3502LRB101 19792 LNS 69303 b

1    AN ACT concerning civil law.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by
5changing Section 2-702 as follows:
 
6    (735 ILCS 5/2-702)
7    Sec. 2-702. Petition for a certificate of innocence that
8the petitioner was innocent of all offenses for which he or she
9was incarcerated.
10    (a) The General Assembly finds and declares that innocent
11persons who have been wrongly convicted of crimes in Illinois
12and subsequently imprisoned have been frustrated in seeking
13legal redress due to a variety of substantive and technical
14obstacles in the law and that such persons should have an
15available avenue to obtain a finding of innocence so that they
16may obtain relief through a petition in the Court of Claims.
17The General Assembly further finds misleading the current legal
18nomenclature which compels an innocent person to seek a pardon
19for being wrongfully incarcerated. It is the intent of the
20General Assembly that the court, in exercising its discretion
21as permitted by law regarding the weight and admissibility of
22evidence submitted pursuant to this Section, shall, in the
23interest of justice, give due consideration to difficulties of

 

 

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1proof caused by the passage of time, the death or
2unavailability of witnesses, the destruction of evidence or
3other factors not caused by such persons or those acting on
4their behalf.
5    (b) Any person convicted and subsequently imprisoned for
6one or more felonies by the State of Illinois which he or she
7did not commit may, under the conditions hereinafter provided,
8file a petition for certificate of innocence in the circuit
9court of the county in which the person was convicted. The
10petition shall request a certificate of innocence finding that
11the petitioner was innocent of all offenses for which he or she
12was incarcerated.
13    (c) In order to present the claim for certificate of
14innocence of an unjust conviction and imprisonment, the
15petitioner must attach to his or her petition documentation
16demonstrating that:
17        (1) he or she has been convicted of one or more
18    felonies by the State of Illinois and subsequently
19    sentenced to a term of imprisonment, and has served all or
20    any part of the sentence; and
21        (2) his or her judgment of conviction was reversed or
22    vacated, and the indictment or information dismissed or, if
23    a new trial was ordered, either he or she was found not
24    guilty at the new trial or he or she was not retried and
25    the indictment or information dismissed; or the statute, or
26    application thereof, on which the indictment or

 

 

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1    information was based violated the Constitution of the
2    United States or the State of Illinois; and
3        (3) his or her claim is not time barred by the
4    provisions of subsection (i) of this Section.
5    (d) The petition shall state facts in sufficient detail to
6permit the court to find that the petitioner is likely to
7succeed at trial in proving that the petitioner is innocent of
8the offenses charged in the indictment or information or his or
9her acts or omissions charged in the indictment or information
10did not constitute a felony or misdemeanor against the State of
11Illinois, and the petitioner did not by his or her own conduct
12voluntarily cause or bring about his or her conviction. The
13petition shall be verified by the petitioner.
14    (e) A copy of the petition shall be served on the Attorney
15General and the State's Attorney of the county where the
16conviction was had. The Attorney General and the State's
17Attorney of the county where the conviction was had shall have
18the right to intervene as parties.
19    (f) In any hearing seeking a certificate of innocence, the
20court may take judicial notice of prior sworn testimony or
21evidence admitted in the criminal proceedings related to the
22convictions which resulted in the alleged wrongful
23incarceration, if the petitioner was either represented by
24counsel at such prior proceedings or the right to counsel was
25knowingly waived.
26    (g) In order to obtain a certificate of innocence the

 

 

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1petitioner must prove by a preponderance of evidence that:
2        (1) the petitioner was convicted of one or more
3    felonies by the State of Illinois and subsequently
4    sentenced to a term of imprisonment, and has served all or
5    any part of the sentence;
6        (2)(A) the judgment of conviction was reversed or
7    vacated, and the indictment or information dismissed or, if
8    a new trial was ordered, either the petitioner was found
9    not guilty at the new trial or the petitioner was not
10    retried and the indictment or information dismissed; or (B)
11    the statute, or application thereof, on which the
12    indictment or information was based violated the
13    Constitution of the United States or the State of Illinois;
14        (3) the petitioner is innocent of the offenses charged
15    in the indictment or information or his or her acts or
16    omissions charged in the indictment or information did not
17    constitute a felony or misdemeanor against the State; and
18        (4) the petitioner did not by his or her own conduct
19    voluntarily cause or bring about his or her conviction.
20    (h) If the court finds that the petitioner is entitled to a
21judgment, it shall enter a certificate of innocence finding
22that the petitioner was innocent of all offenses for which he
23or she was incarcerated. Upon entry of the certificate of
24innocence or pardon from the Governor stating that such pardon
25was issued on the ground of innocence of the crime for which he
26or she was imprisoned, (1) the clerk of the court shall

 

 

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1transmit a copy of the certificate of innocence to the clerk of
2the Court of Claims, together with the claimant's current
3address; and (2) the court shall enter an order expunging the
4record of arrest from the official records of the arresting
5authority and order that the records of the clerk of the
6circuit court and Department of State Police be sealed until
7further order of the court upon good cause shown or as
8otherwise provided herein, and the name of the defendant
9obliterated from the official index requested to be kept by the
10circuit court clerk under Section 16 of the Clerks of Courts
11Act in connection with the arrest and conviction for the
12offense but the order shall not affect any index issued by the
13circuit court clerk before the entry of the order. The court
14shall enter the expungement order regardless of whether the
15petitioner has prior criminal convictions.
16    All records sealed by the Department of State Police may be
17disseminated by the Department only as required by law or to
18the arresting authority, the State's Attorney, the court upon a
19later arrest for the same or similar offense, or for the
20purpose of sentencing for any subsequent felony. Upon
21conviction for any subsequent offense, the Department of
22Corrections shall have access to all sealed records of the
23Department pertaining to that individual.
24    Upon entry of the order of expungement, the clerk of the
25circuit court shall promptly mail a copy of the order to the
26person whose records were expunged and sealed.

 

 

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1    (i) Any person seeking a certificate of innocence under
2this Section based on the dismissal of an indictment or
3information or acquittal that occurred before the effective
4date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly shall
5file his or her petition within 2 years after the effective
6date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly. Any
7person seeking a certificate of innocence under this Section
8based on the dismissal of an indictment or information or
9acquittal that occurred on or after the effective date of this
10amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly shall file his or
11her petition within 2 years after the dismissal.
12    (j) The decision to grant or deny a certificate of
13innocence shall be binding only with respect to claims filed in
14the Court of Claims and shall not have a res judicata effect on
15any other proceedings. Any party, including, but not limited
16to, the State's Attorney of the county with jurisdiction and
17the municipality, county, or agency of arrest, may intervene
18and present evidence and argument in opposition to the person
19seeking a certificate of innocence under this Section.
20(Source: P.A. 98-133, eff. 1-1-14.)