People v. Hill, 2011 IL 110928

Hill was charged with first degree murder, home invasion, residential burglary, and robbery after Tamara Miller died from head injuries in November 2001.
State filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty on September 4, 2002, more than 120 days after arraignment.
Hill moved to strike the notice as untimely under Rule 416(c); the trial court denied the motion.
At trial, Hill was found guilty; the court sentenced him to 60 years, citing aggravation/mitigation with no indication the sentence was influenced by death-eligibility.
The appellate court affirmed; this court granted leave to appeal.
This court held the appeal moot because Hill did not receive a capital sentence and a death-penalty mootness issue became superseded by legislative abolition of the death penalty.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Hill's appeal is moot due to intervening events.	People contends no live controversy remains.	Hill argues the Rule 416(c) issue could yield relief if capital consequences were involved.	Moot; no effectual relief possible.
Whether the public-interest mootness exception applies.	Public importance could warrant review if recurrence were likely.	Exception does not apply since death penalty abolition eliminates recurrence.	Exception does not apply; mootness stands.

In re Andrea F., 208 Ill. 2d 148 (2003) (settled mootness principles in juvenile/parental contexts)
People ex rel. Black v. Dukes, 96 Ill. 2d 273 (1983) (requirement of concrete dispute for jurisdiction)
Steinbrecher v. Steinbrecher, 197 Ill. 2d 514 (2001) (mootness doctrine application to divorce matters)
In re A Minor, 127 Ill. 2d 247 (1989) (mootness when intervening events render relief impossible)
People v. Jackson, 231 Ill. 2d 223 (2008) (public-interest exception to mootness not applicable in this context)