People v. Guise

2024 IL App (1st) 210569-U
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMarch 14, 2024
Docket1-21-0569
StatusUnpublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 2024 IL App (1st) 210569-U (People v. Guise) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Guise, 2024 IL App (1st) 210569-U (Ill. Ct. App. 2024).

Opinion

2024 IL App (1st) 210569-U No. 1-21-0569 Order filed March 14, 2024 Fourth Division

NOTICE: This order was filed under Supreme Court Rule 23 and is not precedent except in the limited circumstances allowed under Rule 23(e)(1). ______________________________________________________________________________ IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS FIRST DISTRICT ______________________________________________________________________________ THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) Appeal from the ) Circuit Court of Plaintiff-Appellee, ) Cook County. ) v. ) No. 03 CR 22647 ) CHRISTOPHER GUISE, ) Honorable ) Lawrence E. Flood, Defendant-Appellant. ) Judge, presiding.

JUSTICE MARTIN delivered the judgment of the court. Presiding Justice Rochford and Justice Hoffman concurred in the judgment.

ORDER

¶1 Held: The circuit court did not err in dismissing Guise’s petition at the second stage of postconviction proceedings where the petition was untimely filed and postconviction counsel provided reasonable assistance.

¶2 Defendant Christopher Guise appeals the circuit court’s order granting the State’s motion

to dismiss his pro se petition filed pursuant to the Post-Conviction Hearing Act (Act) (725 ILCS

5/122-1 et seq. (West 2018)) at the second stage of proceedings. Guise argues that appointed

postconviction counsel failed to provide reasonable assistance because he violated Illinois

Supreme Court Rule 651(c) (eff. July 1, 2017) by not amending the pro se petition “to show that No. 1-21-0569

its late filing was not due to [Guise]’s culpable negligence, or even to inquire as to a reason for a

delay.” For the following reasons, we affirm.1

¶3 I. BACKGROUND

¶4 Following a 2004 bench trial, Guise was found guilty of the first degree murder of Earl

McGinnis and was sentenced to 34 years’ imprisonment.

¶5 The evidence at trial showed that early on September 20, 2003, Guise left a party in an

apartment on Division Street in Chicago after drinking punch containing vodka and smoking five

cigars laced with marijuana. Feeling unwell and dizzy after drinking the punch, he went to the

first-floor lobby, where he encountered McGinnis and confronted him about a debt. After they

exchanged words, Guise “grabbed” McGinnis, who in turn “grabbed” Guise and displayed a closed

pocketknife. Guise responded by beating and kicking McGinnis until he lost consciousness. Guise

left McGinnis in the lobby.

¶6 Dominique Doyle, who had also been at the party and knew Guise, found McGinnis’s body

on the building’s first floor that morning. Shortly afterwards, Doyle saw Guise, who had blood on

his shirt and appeared to have been involved in a fight . Doyle told Guise a body was in the hallway;

Guise approached McGinnis’s body and kicked him in the head multiple times.

¶7 When police arrived, Guise hid on an upper floor of the building. He was apprehended and

admitted to killing McGinnis. In a videotaped confession, which the State published at trial, Guise

denied having been on any controlled substance when he killed McGinnis. The State also

1 In adherence with the requirements of Illinois Supreme Court Rule 352(a) (eff. July 1, 2018), this appeal has been resolved without oral argument upon the entry of a separate written order.

-2- No. 1-21-0569

introduced evidence that DNA collected from Guise’s person and clothing matched McGinnis’s

and that blood from the pocketknife was McGinnis’s and not Guise’s.

¶8 Guise testified he was not intoxicated when he gave his statement to the police.

¶9 During closing arguments, defense counsel argued that Guise had been involuntarily

intoxicated during the altercation. Counsel asked the trial court to find that Guise acted in

self-defense or, alternatively, to find him guilty of the lesser-included offense of second degree

murder.

¶ 10 On February 9, 2007, this court affirmed Guise’s conviction over his contention that trial

counsel failed to investigate and present evidence in support of a defense of involuntary

intoxication. People v. Guise, No. 1-05-0723 (2007) (unpublished order under Rule 23). On March

26, 2008, the supreme court denied Guise’s petition for leave to appeal. People v. Guise, 227 Ill.

2d 589 (2008).

¶ 11 On February 15, 2018, Guise filed a pro se postconviction petition pursuant to the Act. He

alleged that his conviction violates the sixth and fourteenth amendments of the federal constitution,

that the evidence was insufficient to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and that he received

ineffective assistance of trial and appellate counsel.

¶ 12 The circuit court took the matter under review on March 8, 2018, and again on April 10,

2018.

¶ 13 On or about April 24, 2018, the court docketed the petition, noting Guise raised ineffective

assistance of counsel claims, and appointed postconviction counsel. At subsequent hearings,

appointed postconviction counsel informed the court that he had been in contact with Guise, was

examining the record, and was investigating the matter.

-3- No. 1-21-0569

¶ 14 On January 24, 2020, counsel filed a certificate pursuant to Rule 651(c) and informed the

court, “We have talked to the client. We looked at the record, looked at the proceedings and we’re

not going to supplement.” The certificate states:

“1. I have consulted with the petitioner *** by phone and email to ascertain his contentions

of deprivation of constitutional rights.

2. I have examined the record of proceedings at his trial and sentencing, including the

common law record, report of proceedings and any exhibits in possession of the Clerk of

the Circuit Court.

3. As the pro se petition provides an adequate presentation of petitioner’s contentions, no

amendments have been made.”

¶ 15 The State filed a motion to dismiss the petition on untimeliness and other grounds, noting

Guise had not petitioned our supreme court for leave to appeal this court’s affirmance of his

conviction. Therefore, according to the State, Guise “had until September 16, 2007, to file his

[postconviction] claims.” The record on appeal does not indicate that Guise filed a response to the

State’s motion or amended the pro se petition.

¶ 16 A hearing on the State’s motion to dismiss the petition took place on March 23, 2021. The

record on appeal does not contain a report of those proceedings but rather the parties’ agreed

statement of facts regarding the hearing.2 See Ill. Sup. Ct. R. 323(d) (eff. July 1, 2017) (“The

parties by written stipulation may agree upon a statement of facts material to the controversy and

file it without certification in lieu of and within the time for filing a report of proceedings.”).

2 The record includes an affidavit of an official court reporter for the Circuit Court of Cook County, Criminal Division, stating that the reporter, after a diligent search, found no record of the relevant case having been called before the assigned judge on March 23, 2021.

-4- No. 1-21-0569

¶ 17 According to the statement, the State argued at the hearing that Guise’s petition was

untimely, that several of his claims were forfeited because they could have been raised on direct

appeal, that Guise had not received ineffective assistance of trial or appellate counsel, and that he

had not made the “substantial showing” of a violation of a constitutional right. Regarding defense

counsel’s participation, the statement solely recites, “[a]t the hearing the defense argued against

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