[Download] "People v. Goerger" by Supreme Court of Illinois ~ Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: People v. Goerger
- Author : Supreme Court of Illinois
- Release Date : January 02, 1972
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 58 KB
Description
On February 10, 1965, petitioner, Robert Goerger, was found guilty of aggravated battery by a jury in the circuit court of St. Clair County and sentenced to a term of from two years and six months to ten years in the penitentiary. He took no direct appeal. On December 1, 1968, he filed a pro se petition under the Post-Conviction Hearing Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1967, ch. 38, par. 122-1 et seq.) and shortly thereafter filed an amended petition. An attorney was appointed to represent him in those proceedings. On motion of the State's Attorney, an order was entered dismissing the petitions without an evidentiary hearing, and it is from this order that petitioner now appeals; he has not requested counsel here. In his amended petition, petitioner alleged denial of his constitutional rights in that: (1) the jury was given an improper instruction defining reasonable doubt; (2) admissions and confessions introduced into evidence against him were not voluntarily given, the trial court did not conduct a hearing to determine their voluntariness, and the jury was not instructed that in arriving at its verdict it could consider the question of voluntariness as affecting their weight and credibility; (3) the People did not furnish him with a copy of an arrest report prepared by a police officer who testified at the trial and furthermore did not produce on demand a written statement which he had signed following his arrest; (4) no warrant for his arrest was ever produced; (5) the prosecutor made improper remarks to the jury in his closing argument; (6) police officers conducted an illegal search of his residence to obtain a razor; and (7) the public defender appointed to represent him at the trial did not afford him competent representation. For the reasons hereafter stated we concur with the circuit court's determination that these allegations, even when liberally construed in favor of the petitioner and when considered with the supporting documents attached to the petitions, were insufficient to show a substantial denial of his rights under the Constitutions of the United States or of the State of Illinois as required by section 122-1 of the Post-Conviction Hearing Act. Ill. Rev. Stat. 1967, ch. 38, par. 122-1.