People v. Gray, 982 N.E.2d 227

Defendant DeMarco C. Gray was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon based on a prior felony conviction; he entered an open guilty plea on August 27, 2007 after a factual basis was provided.
The trial court found the guilty plea knowing and voluntary, and sentenced Gray to 11 years, with defense counsel later substituted.
Gray pro se sought to withdraw the guilty plea, alleging counsel failed to contact or interview witnesses; the court denied the motion.
Gray filed a May 2008 postconviction petition; initial clerk handling and later appellate remands involved first-stage review and exhibits from affidavits by Michael A. Peoples and Marie Glover.
The appellate court held there was no prejudice from counsel’s failure to interview the witnesses under Hill v. Lockhart, and affirmed dismissal of the postconviction petition with costs awarded to the People.
The ultimate holding affirmed the trial court’s judgment and denied relief on postconviction grounds.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether failure to interview potential witnesses constitutes ineffective assistance	Gray argues counsel failed to interview witnesses, coercing guilty plea (Hill framework)	Gray contends lack of witness contact undermined voluntariness and defense	No prejudice established; no reasonable probability of a different outcome
Whether lack of prejudice supports denial of postconviction relief under Hill/Strickland	People contend affidavits show no exculpatory impact that would change outcome	Gray contends any failure to investigate could have helped at trial	Prejudice not shown; not reasonably probable that trial would have differed
Whether the May 2008 postconviction petition was properly reviewed at first stage	State argues petition was frivolous/patently meritless	Gray asserts trial counsel’s conduct warrants first-stage relief	First-stage review upheld; petition dismissed as frivolous

Hill v. Lockhart, 474 U.S. 52 (1985) (two-part Strickland standard applies to pleas; prejudice shown by likelihood of trial success)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) (establishes deficient performance and prejudice prong for ineffective assistance)
McMann v. Richardson, 397 U.S. 759 (1970) (admits plea advice must be within competence standards)
Tollett v. Henderson, 411 U.S. 258 (1973) (plea validity hinges on advice within standards; no prejudice if guilty plea stands)
People v. Hall, 217 Ill. 2d 324 (2005) (applies Hill framework to determine prejudicial effect of counsel’s performance)
People v. Hodges, 234 Ill. 2d 1 (2009) (discusses prejudice assessment under Hill/Strickland in Illinois)
People v. Bailey, 364 Ill. App. 3d 404 (2006) (helps assess prejudice and likelihood of trial outcome)