Postconviction Relief

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//May 2, 2023//

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: James Evans v. Anthony Wills

Case No.: 21-1704

Officials: Ripple, Scudder, and St. Eve, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Postconviction Relief

Following two criminal convictions under Illinois law, James Evans sought postconviction relief in an Illinois trial court. He did so in 2003. Yet twenty years later, his petition is still pending. In 2019, and fed up with the delay, Evans invoked 28 U.S.C. § 2254 and turned to federal court for relief. As he saw it, Illinois’s postconviction relief process had proven “ineffective,” thereby allowing him under the terms of § 2254(b)(1) to seek federal habeas relief without waiting further for relief in the Illinois courts. The Seventh Circuit agrees with Evans and vacated the denial of relief. The delay Evans has experienced of twenty years and counting is beyond the pale and indefensible.

Vacated and Remanded.

Decided 04/27/23

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