People v. Moore

2020 IL App (4th) 190528
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided September 21, 2020·No. 4-19-0528·Published·Cited by 28 cases

Opinion

2020 IL App (4th) 190528

FILED

NO. 4-19-0528 September 21, 2020 Carla Bender

IN THE APPELLATE COURT 4th District Appellate Court, IL

OF ILLINOIS

FOURTH DISTRICT

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) Appeal from the Plaintiff-Appellee, ) Circuit Court of v. ) Macon County TORY S. MOORE, ) No. 97CF1660 Defendant-Appellant. )

) Honorable

) Thomas E. Griffith Jr., ) Judge Presiding.

JUSTICE KNECHT delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.

Justices Turner and Cavanagh concurred in the judgment and opinion.

OPINION

¶1 In July 2018, defendant, Tory S. Moore, filed pro se a motion for leave to file his second postconviction petition. The trial court later entered a written order finding “[d]efendant’s Petition for Successive Post-Conviction Relief is dismissed and stricken.” ¶2 Defendant appeals, contending the trial court erred by denying him leave to file a claim his natural life sentence is unconstitutional because the sentence violates the eighth amendment of the United States Constitution (U.S. Const., amend. VIII) and the proportionate penalties clause of the Illinois Constitution of 1970 (Ill. Const. 1970, art. I, § 11) as applied to him. We affirm. ¶3 I. BACKGROUND

¶4 In March 1999, defendant was convicted of first degree murder (720 ILCS 5/9- 1(a)(1) (West 1996)) after he and two codefendants kidnapped the victims at gunpoint. Defendant and the codefendants drove the victims around in a vehicle, taunting and threatening them before stopping near a cornfield. Defendant lined up the three victims in front of the vehicle and shot one in the head and shot him again after he had fallen to the ground. The other two victims fled. At the sentencing phase of the trial, the jury found the aggravated factor of felony murder beyond a reasonable doubt but declined to impose the death penalty. ¶5 In May 1999, the trial court sentenced defendant to natural life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. In doing so, the court found the offense “was accompanied by exceptionally brutal or heinous behavior indicative of wanton cruelty.” This court affirmed the trial court’s judgment on direct appeal. People v. Moore, No. 4-99-0451 (2001) (unpublished order under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 23). ¶6 In August 2006, defendant filed pro se a postconviction petition, which the trial court summarily dismissed. This court affirmed the trial court’s judgment. People v. Moore, No. 4-06-0899 (2008) (unpublished order under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 23). ¶7 In April 2013, defendant filed a petition for relief from judgment pursuant to section 2-1401 of the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/2-1401 (West 2012)). The trial court granted the State’s motion to dismiss defendant’s petition. This court affirmed the trial court’s judgment. People v. Moore, 2015 IL App (4th) 130779-U, ¶ 23. ¶8 On November 6, 2017, defendant filed another section 2-1401 petition, which the trial court dismissed, finding it untimely filed and the claim raised therein barred by the doctrine of res judicata. This court again affirmed the trial court’s judgment. People v. Moore, 2020 IL App (4th) 180132-U, ¶ 19.

¶9 On July 18, 2018, defendant filed pro se the instant motion captioned “Petition for Successive Post Conviction.” In his motion, defendant addressed the cause-and-prejudice test, asserting his issues were based on a new substantive rule of law, noting, inter alia, the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012), which was decided six years after the trial court dismissed defendant’s initial postconviction petition. Defendant argued his natural life sentence was unconstitutional because it violated the eighth amendment of the United States Constitution and the Illinois Constitution’s proportionate penalties clause. In support of his argument, defendant, who was 19 years old when he committed the crime, cited Miller regarding the developing brain of young adults. On July 25, 2018, the trial court entered a written order finding “[d]efendant’s Petition for Successive Post-Conviction Relief is dismissed and stricken.” ¶ 10 This appeal followed. ¶ 11 II. ANALYSIS ¶ 12 On appeal, defendant argues the trial court erred by denying him leave to raise an as-applied constitutional challenge to his natural life sentence based in part on Miller and its progeny in a successive postconviction petition. ¶ 13 A. The Post-Conviction Hearing Act ¶ 14 The Post-Conviction Hearing Act (Act) (725 ILCS 5/122-1 et seq. (West 2018)) contemplates the filing of only one postconviction petition. People v. Bailey, 2017 IL 121450, ¶ 15, 102 N.E.3d 114. Specifically, section 122-3 of the Act (725 ILCS 5/122-3 (West 2018)) declares “[a]ny claim of substantial denial of constitutional rights not raised in the original or an amended petition is waived.” Section 122-1(f) of the Act (id. § 122-1(f)) represents an exception to the waiver rule. See Bailey, 2017 IL 121450, ¶ 15. It provides the following:

“[O]nly one petition may be filed by a petitioner under this Article without leave of the court. Leave of court may be granted only if a petitioner demonstrates cause for his or her failure to bring the claim in his or her initial post-conviction proceedings and prejudice results from that failure. For purposes of this subsection (f): (1) a prisoner shows cause by identifying an objective factor that impeded his or her ability to raise a specific claim during his or her initial post-conviction proceedings; and (2) a prisoner shows prejudice by demonstrating that the claim not raised during his or her initial post-conviction proceedings so infected the trial that the resulting conviction or sentence violated due process.” 725 ILCS 5/122-1(f) (West 2018).

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