People v. Douglas, 356 Ill. Dec. 486

Douglas convicted of first-degree murder on February 1, 2006; postconviction petition alleging ineffective assistance of counsel filed October 5, 2009.
Attorney Organ originally represented Douglas; new counsel appointed approximately eight months before trial.
State presented two eyewitnesses (Butler and Brewer) and the defense presented one witness; extensive eyewitness identification.
Douglas claimed trial counsel failed to object to custodial statements allegedly obtained after he invoked right to counsel and failed to call Erin Wells to impeach Brewer.
Trial court dismissed the postconviction petition as frivolous and patently without merit; appellate court affirmed dismissal at first stage.
The court analyzed whether the petition stated an arguable basis for relief under 725 ILCS 5/122-1 et seq., concluding no such basis existed based on record and affidavits.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether trial counsel was ineffective for not discovering invocation of right to counsel.	Douglas	Douglas	No arguable basis; claim fanciful; no factual support in record.
Whether trial counsel was ineffective for not calling Erin Wells to impeach Brewer.	People	Douglas	No prejudicial ineffective-assistance merit; impeachment would not undermine substantial evidence.

Hodges v. People, 234 Ill.2d 1 (Ill. 2009) (frivolous postconviction allegations rejected; standard for frivolous petitions)
Delton v. Ramer, 227 Ill.2d 247 (Ill. 2008) (requires objective corroboration for factual allegations in postconviction petitions)
People v. Coleman, 206 Ill.2d 261 (Ill. 2002) (postconviction is collateral attack, not direct appeal; burden on defendant)
People v. Williams, 186 Ill.2d 55 (Ill. 1999) (impeachment and witnesses; not sufficient for relief when other evidence supports guilt)