Background
Anthony D. Barlow was convicted in Peoria County of felony murder and armed robbery arising from the 2011 shooting death of Yahya Mahmoud during a robbery. He received a 35-year prison sentence. His convictions survived direct appeal, and his initial postconviction petition was dismissed.
In 2023, Barlow sought leave to file a successive postconviction petition. He alleged that trial counsel should have sought dismissal on speedy-trial grounds. He later added claims concerning the jury instructions, including an argument invoking a separate felony-murder instruction case. Appointed postconviction counsel moved to withdraw, and the circuit court ultimately dismissed the petition at the second stage.
The Court’s Holding
The appellate court affirmed and granted the Office of the State Appellate Defender’s motion to withdraw under People v. Greer. It held that no arguably meritorious issue supported an appeal from the second-stage dismissal.
Barlow’s statutory speedy-trial claim failed because the defense sought a continuance from September 6 to October 15, 2013. Excluding that defense-attributable period, only 106 days elapsed between his arrest and trial, below Illinois’s 120-day limit. The court also rejected the jury-instruction arguments: they were waived or not constitutional postconviction claims, the record showed the jury received armed-robbery and IPI Criminal No. 2.01 instructions, and an instruction concerning second-degree murder was inapplicable to his felony-murder conviction. His reliance on People v. Avdic was barred by res judicata because his initial postconviction petition had already raised the omitted felony-murder proximate-cause instruction.
Key Takeaways
- A continuance requested by the defense tolls Illinois’s 120-day speedy-trial calculation.
- Successive postconviction claims based on omitted jury instructions must assert a constitutional violation and cannot relitigate claims previously raised.
- Postconviction counsel substantially complied with Rule 651(c), and Barlow had notice and an opportunity to contest counsel’s withdrawal.
Why It Matters
The decision illustrates the procedural barriers facing successive Illinois postconviction petitions. A petitioner cannot revive an unraised direct-appeal issue or repackage a previously litigated instruction claim without establishing a cognizable constitutional basis and overcoming waiver or res judicata.