Background
Frank Drew obtained postconviction relief on an actual-innocence claim following an evidentiary hearing, after which the State dismissed all charges against him. Drew then sought a certificate of innocence under 735 ILCS 5/2-702, which provides a pathway to compensation for individuals who have been wrongfully convicted. The circuit court certified the following question for interlocutory appeal under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 308:
“Whether the Circuit Court must grant a certificate of innocence — or has no discretion to deny a certificate of innocence — in circumstances where a petitioner obtained relief on an actual innocence claim following an evidentiary hearing pursuant to the Post-Conviction Hearing Act, and the State subsequently dismissed all charges.”
The case was litigated by The Exoneration Project on behalf of Drew, who had spent decades in prison for the underlying conviction in case No. 98 CR 07558.
The Court’s Holding
The First District answered the certified question in the affirmative: when a petitioner has obtained relief on an actual-innocence claim through a postconviction evidentiary hearing and the State has dismissed all charges, the circuit court must grant the certificate of innocence. The court lacks discretion to deny it under these circumstances.
The court’s interpretation of section 2-702 (the certificate-of-innocence statute, also known as section 5-5-4(c)) was the only reading faithful to both the statutory text and the legislature’s objective of making it easier — not harder — to obtain relief from the ongoing effects of wrongful conviction. Justice Ocasio specially concurred to emphasize that alternative interpretations would effectively punish innocent petitioners and create barriers inconsistent with the legislature’s intent.
Key Takeaways
- A circuit court has no discretion to deny a certificate of innocence where the petitioner has already prevailed on an actual-innocence postconviction claim at an evidentiary hearing and the State has dismissed all charges.
- The certificate-of-innocence statute must be read in light of its purpose: facilitating compensation for the wrongfully convicted, not creating additional barriers after innocence has been judicially established.
- This decision provides a clear pathway for exonerees who have obtained postconviction relief on actual-innocence grounds to proceed directly to certificate of innocence without relitigating their claims.
Why It Matters
This is a significant decision for Illinois wrongful-conviction litigation. It eliminates a procedural bottleneck that some courts had used to deny or delay certificates of innocence even after actual innocence had been established through adversarial proceedings. For organizations like The Exoneration Project and other innocence clinics, the ruling means their clients who have already won postconviction relief on innocence grounds can proceed directly to the compensation framework without additional litigation. The decision also clarifies the statutory interpretation for courts across the state, resolving conflicting approaches to the certificate-of-innocence standard.