People v. Wallace, 406 Ill. App. 3d 172

Defendant Wallace was charged in 2002 with multiple offenses, including home invasion, armed robbery, aggravated unlawful restraint, and residential burglary.
He pleaded guilty in 2002 to one count of home invasion and the remaining charges were nol-prossed; he received a 21-year sentence with a 15-year add-on under 12-11(c).
Wallace moved to withdraw the guilty plea; the trial court denied, and an appeal initially led to a 2004 decision that was vacated and then reinstated in 2006, affirming the 36-year sentence.
In October 2006 Wallace filed a late postconviction petition with a pro se filing asserting timeliness based on prison law library closures; the petition was deemed untimely by the trial court in December 2006, but reversed on appeal as to timeliness in the first stage, remanding to second stage.
On remand, counsel filed an amended postconviction petition in March 2009 arguing excusable lateness due to library closures; the State moved to dismiss as untimely, and the trial court granted the motion on July 10, 2009, which Wallace appealed.
The appellate court affirmed the dismissal, holding Wallace’s postconviction petition was untimely under §122-1(c) and that the 90-day certiorari window did not extend his deadline.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the petition was timely under §122-1(c).	Wallace contends petition filed within time.	State argues late due to statutory deadline.	Petition untimely; dismissal affirmed.

People v. Harris, 224 Ill.2d 115 (Ill. 2007) (de novo review of postconviction dismissal; time limits)
People v. Reed, 302 Ill.App.3d 1007 (Ill. App. 1999) (no presumptive PLA due date; 6-month rule tied to decision)
People v. Christopherson, 231 Ill.2d 449 (Ill. 2008) (certiorari timing interpreted; policy against absurd results)