Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB1015
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Full Text of HB1015  103rd General Assembly

HB1015ham001 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Mary E. Flowers

Filed: 3/3/2023

 

 


 

 


 
10300HB1015ham001LRB103 04736 LNS 58571 a

1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 1015

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 1015 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The Court of Claims Act is amended by changing
5Section 11 as follows:
 
6    (705 ILCS 505/11)  (from Ch. 37, par. 439.11)
7    Sec. 11. Filing claims.
8    (a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this
9Section and subsection (4) of Section 24, the claimant shall
10in all cases set forth fully in his petition the claim, the
11action thereon, if any, on behalf of the State, what persons
12are owners thereof or interested therein, when and upon what
13consideration such persons became so interested; that no
14assignment or transfer of the claim or any part thereof or
15interest therein has been made, except as stated in the
16petition; that the claimant is justly entitled to the amount

 

 

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1therein claimed from the State of Illinois, after allowing all
2just credits; and that claimant believes the facts stated in
3the petition to be true. The petition shall be verified, as to
4statements of facts, by the affidavit of the claimant, his
5agent, or attorney.
6    (b) Whenever a person has served a term of imprisonment
7and has received a pardon by the Governor stating that such
8pardon was issued on the ground of innocence of the crime for
9which he or she was imprisoned, the Prisoner Review Board
10shall transmit this information to the clerk of the Court of
11Claims, together with the claimant's current address. Whenever
12a person has served a term of imprisonment or has been
13incarcerated as a pretrial detainee and has received a
14certificate of innocence from the Circuit Court as provided in
15Section 2-702 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the clerk of the
16issuing Circuit Court shall transmit this information to the
17clerk of the Court of Claims, together with the claimant's
18current address. The clerk of the Court of Claims shall
19immediately docket the case for consideration by the Court of
20Claims, and shall provide notice to the claimant of such
21docketing together with all hearing dates and applicable
22deadlines. The Court of Claims shall hear the case and render a
23decision within 90 days after its docketing.
24(Source: P.A. 95-970, eff. 9-22-08; 96-328, eff. 8-11-09.)
 
25    Section 10. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by

 

 

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1changing Section 2-702 as follows:
 
2    (735 ILCS 5/2-702)
3    Sec. 2-702. Petition for a certificate of innocence that
4the petitioner was innocent of all offenses for which he or she
5was incarcerated.
6    (a) The General Assembly finds and declares that innocent
7persons who have been wrongly charged with or convicted of
8crimes in Illinois and subsequently have been incarcerated
9prior to trial or imprisoned have been frustrated in seeking
10legal redress due to a variety of substantive and technical
11obstacles in the law and that such persons should have an
12available avenue to obtain a finding of innocence so that they
13may obtain relief through a petition in the Court of Claims.
14The General Assembly further finds misleading the current
15legal nomenclature which compels an innocent person to seek a
16pardon for being wrongfully incarcerated. It is the intent of
17the General Assembly that the court, in exercising its
18discretion as permitted by law regarding the weight and
19admissibility of evidence submitted pursuant to this Section,
20shall, in the interest of justice, give due consideration to
21difficulties of proof caused by the passage of time, the death
22or unavailability of witnesses, the destruction of evidence or
23other factors not caused by such persons or those acting on
24their behalf.
25    (b) Any person criminally prosecuted and incarcerated

 

 

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1prior to trial or convicted and subsequently imprisoned for
2one or more felonies by the State of Illinois which he or she
3did not commit may, under the conditions hereinafter provided,
4file a petition for certificate of innocence in the circuit
5court of the county in which the person was convicted or
6incarcerated prior to trial. The petition shall request a
7certificate of innocence finding that the petitioner was
8innocent of all offenses for which he or she was incarcerated.
9    (c) In order to present the claim for certificate of
10innocence of an unjust conviction and imprisonment or pretrial
11incarceration, the petitioner must attach to his or her
12petition documentation demonstrating that:
13        (1) he or she has been convicted of one or more
14    felonies by the State of Illinois and subsequently
15    sentenced to a term of imprisonment, and has served all or
16    any part of the sentence, or he or she was incarcerated
17    prior to trial for 30 days or longer and the case resulted
18    in a dismissal or acquittal of the charge or charges, but
19    did not result in a conviction for a lesser included
20    offense; and
21        (2) if convicted, his or her judgment of conviction
22    was reversed or vacated, and the indictment or information
23    dismissed or, if a new trial was ordered, either he or she
24    was found not guilty at the new trial or he or she was not
25    retried and the indictment or information dismissed; or
26    the statute, or application thereof, on which the

 

 

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

 

 

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1    (g) In order to obtain a certificate of innocence the
2petitioner must prove by a preponderance of evidence that:
3        (1) the petitioner was convicted of one or more
4    felonies by the State of Illinois and subsequently
5    sentenced to a term of imprisonment, and has served all or
6    any part of the sentence;
7        (2)(A) the judgment of conviction was reversed or
8    vacated, and the indictment or information dismissed or,
9    if a new trial was ordered, either the petitioner was
10    found not guilty at the new trial or the petitioner was not
11    retried and the indictment or information dismissed; or
12    (B) the statute, or application thereof, on which the
13    indictment or information was based violated the
14    Constitution of the United States or the State of
15    Illinois;
16        (3) the petitioner is innocent of the offenses charged
17    in the indictment or information or his or her acts or
18    omissions charged in the indictment or information did not
19    constitute a felony or misdemeanor against the State; and
20        (4) the petitioner did not by his or her own conduct
21    voluntarily cause or bring about his or her conviction.
22    (g-1) If the petitioner was incarcerated prior to trial
23for 30 days or longer but not convicted of any of the charged
24offenses or a lesser included offense, in order to obtain a
25certificate of innocence, the petitioner must prove by a
26preponderance of evidence that:

 

 

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1        (1) the petitioner was incarcerated prior to trial for
2    30 days or longer in a prosecution that resulted in an
3    acquittal or dismissal;
4        (2) the prosecution did not result in a conviction of
5    a lesser included offense;
6        (3) the petitioner is innocent of the charges on which
7    the petitioner's pretrial detention was based, or the
8    charges did not constitute a felony or misdemeanor; and
9        (4) the petitioner did not by his or her own conduct
10    voluntarily cause or bring about the charges that resulted
11    in his or her pretrial incarceration.
12    (h) If the court finds that the petitioner is entitled to a
13judgment, it shall enter a certificate of innocence finding
14that the petitioner was innocent of all offenses for which he
15or she was incarcerated. Upon entry of the certificate of
16innocence or pardon from the Governor stating that such pardon
17was issued on the ground of innocence of the crime for which he
18or she was incarcerated prior to trial or imprisoned, (1) the
19clerk of the court shall transmit a copy of the certificate of
20innocence to the clerk of the Court of Claims, together with
21the claimant's current address; and (2) the court shall enter
22an order expunging the record of arrest from the official
23records of the arresting authority and order that the records
24of the clerk of the circuit court and the Illinois State Police
25be sealed until further order of the court upon good cause
26shown or as otherwise provided herein, and the name of the

 

 

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1defendant obliterated from the official index requested to be
2kept by the circuit court clerk under Section 16 of the Clerks
3of Courts Act in connection with the arrest and conviction for
4the offense but the order shall not affect any index issued by
5the circuit court clerk before the entry of the order. The
6court shall enter the expungement order regardless of whether
7the petitioner has prior criminal convictions.
8    All records sealed by the Illinois State Police may be
9disseminated by the Department only as required by law or to
10the arresting authority, the State's Attorney, the court upon
11a later arrest for the same or similar offense, or for the
12purpose of sentencing for any subsequent felony. Upon
13conviction for any subsequent offense, the Department of
14Corrections shall have access to all sealed records of the
15Department pertaining to that individual.
16    Upon entry of the order of expungement, the clerk of the
17circuit court shall promptly mail a copy of the order to the
18person whose records were expunged and sealed.
19    (i) Any person seeking a certificate of innocence under
20this Section based on the dismissal of an indictment or
21information or acquittal that occurred before the effective
22date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly shall
23file his or her petition within 2 years after the effective
24date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly. Any
25person seeking a certificate of innocence under this Section
26based on the dismissal of an indictment or information or

 

 

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1acquittal that occurred on or after the effective date of this
2amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly shall file his or
3her petition within 2 years after the dismissal.
4    (j) The decision to grant or deny a certificate of
5innocence shall be binding only with respect to claims filed
6in the Court of Claims and shall not have a res judicata effect
7on any other proceedings.
8(Source: P.A. 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)
 
9    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
10becoming law.".