The Illinois Appellate Roundup, Episode 1 — Forfeiture's Limits, a Fact That Ends a Case, and Three Ways a Post-Conviction Claim Fails
Three recent published Illinois decisions — what each court held, and what it means for your practice.
Educational and informational only — not legal advice.
People v. Carroll (2026 IL 131360) — ineffective assistance and the limits of forfeiture. The Illinois Supreme Court held that the appellate court was wrong to treat Carroll's post-conviction ineffective-assistance claims as forfeited; claims that rest on matters outside the trial record belong in post-conviction. But Carroll still lost — none of his claims made a substantial showing under Strickland, and the dismissal was affirmed. The takeaway: don't accept "forfeited" for claims that depend on facts outside the record, but surviving forfeiture is worthless without a substantial showing on both Strickland prongs.
People v. Collins (2026 IL 131300) — issue preclusion after a partial acquittal. A jury acquitted Collins on a severed felon-in-possession count, necessarily finding he did not possess the gun. A unanimous Supreme Court held that issue preclusion bars the remaining counts that also require proving possession, and that Currier v. Virginia (the federal double-jeopardy floor) does not narrow Illinois's broader common-law and statutory protection. The takeaway: in Illinois, a single acquitted fact can close the door on later charges that turn on it — and how you sever and sequence counts can decide the whole case.
People v. Campbell (2026 IL App (1st) 240705) — three post-conviction lessons in one opinion. The First District affirmed on all three claims: an as-applied proportionate-penalties challenge to mandatory life fails on age alone without a unique distinguishing circumstance; an actual-innocence claim turns on the conclusive-character element and hard-to-overturn credibility findings; and a decision not to use a prior statement is almost always trial strategy. The takeaway: a clinic in why post-conviction claims fail — specificity, not slogans.
Every case is sourced and verified against the published Illinois opinions.
If you are facing an appeal or a post-conviction matter, call me directly at 312-517-3877.
