101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB4281

 

Introduced 1/28/2020, by Rep. Lindsay Parkhurst

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
735 ILCS 5/2-1401  from Ch. 110, par. 2-1401

    Amends the Post-Judgment Article of the Code of Civil Procedure. Provides that a movant may present a meritorious claim for relief from a final order or judgment if the allegations in the petition establish, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the law under which the movant was convicted has been held by the Supreme Court of the State or the United States Supreme Court to be facially unconstitutional.


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A BILL FOR

 

HB4281LRB101 16894 LNS 66293 b

1    AN ACT concerning civil law.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by
5changing Section 2-1401 as follows:
 
6    (735 ILCS 5/2-1401)  (from Ch. 110, par. 2-1401)
7    Sec. 2-1401. Relief from judgments.
8    (a) Relief from final orders and judgments, after 30 days
9from the entry thereof, may be had upon petition as provided in
10this Section. Writs of error coram nobis and coram vobis, bills
11of review and bills in the nature of bills of review are
12abolished. All relief heretofore obtainable and the grounds for
13such relief heretofore available, whether by any of the
14foregoing remedies or otherwise, shall be available in every
15case, by proceedings hereunder, regardless of the nature of the
16order or judgment from which relief is sought or of the
17proceedings in which it was entered. Except as provided in the
18Illinois Parentage Act of 2015, there shall be no distinction
19between actions and other proceedings, statutory or otherwise,
20as to availability of relief, grounds for relief or the relief
21obtainable.
22    (b) The petition must be filed in the same proceeding in
23which the order or judgment was entered but is not a

 

 

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1continuation thereof. The petition must be supported by
2affidavit or other appropriate showing as to matters not of
3record. A petition to reopen a foreclosure proceeding must
4include as parties to the petition, but is not limited to, all
5parties in the original action in addition to the current
6record title holders of the property, current occupants, and
7any individual or entity that had a recorded interest in the
8property before the filing of the petition. All parties to the
9petition shall be notified as provided by rule.
10    (b-5) A movant may present a meritorious claim under this
11Section if the allegations in the petition establish each of
12the following by a preponderance of the evidence:
13        (1) the movant was convicted of a forcible felony;
14        (2) the movant's participation in the offense was
15    related to him or her previously having been a victim of
16    domestic violence as perpetrated by an intimate partner;
17        (3) no evidence of domestic violence against the movant
18    was presented at the movant's sentencing hearing;
19        (4) the movant was unaware of the mitigating nature of
20    the evidence of the domestic violence at the time of
21    sentencing and could not have learned of its significance
22    sooner through diligence; and
23        (5) the new evidence of domestic violence against the
24    movant is material and noncumulative to other evidence
25    offered at the sentencing hearing, and is of such a
26    conclusive character that it would likely change the

 

 

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1    sentence imposed by the original trial court.
2    Nothing in this subsection (b-5) shall prevent a movant
3from applying for any other relief under this Section or any
4other law otherwise available to him or her.
5    As used in this subsection (b-5):
6        "Domestic violence" means abuse as defined in Section
7    103 of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986.
8        "Forcible felony" has the meaning ascribed to the term
9    in Section 2-8 of the Criminal Code of 2012.
10        "Intimate partner" means a spouse or former spouse,
11    persons who have or allegedly have had a child in common,
12    or persons who have or have had a dating or engagement
13    relationship.
14    (b-10) A movant may present a meritorious claim under this
15Section if the allegations in the petition establish each of
16the following by a preponderance of the evidence:
17        (A) she was convicted of a forcible felony;
18        (B) her participation in the offense was a direct
19    result of her suffering from post-partum depression or
20    post-partum psychosis;
21        (C) no evidence of post-partum depression or
22    post-partum psychosis was presented by a qualified medical
23    person at trial or sentencing, or both;
24        (D) she was unaware of the mitigating nature of the
25    evidence or, if aware, was at the time unable to present
26    this defense due to suffering from post-partum depression

 

 

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1    or post-partum psychosis, or, at the time of trial or
2    sentencing, neither was a recognized mental illness and as
3    such, she was unable to receive proper treatment; and
4        (E) evidence of post-partum depression or post-partum
5    psychosis as suffered by the person is material and
6    noncumulative to other evidence offered at the time of
7    trial or sentencing, and it is of such a conclusive
8    character that it would likely change the sentence imposed
9    by the original court.
10    Nothing in this subsection (b-10) prevents a person from
11applying for any other relief under this Article or any other
12law otherwise available to her.
13    As used in this subsection (b-10):
14        "Post-partum depression" means a mood disorder which
15    strikes many women during and after pregnancy and usually
16    occurs during pregnancy and up to 12 months after delivery.
17    This depression can include anxiety disorders.
18        "Post-partum psychosis" means an extreme form of
19    post-partum depression which can occur during pregnancy
20    and up to 12 months after delivery. This can include losing
21    touch with reality, distorted thinking, delusions,
22    auditory and visual hallucinations, paranoia,
23    hyperactivity and rapid speech, or mania.
24    (b-15) A movant may present a meritorious claim under this
25Section if the allegations in the petition establish, by a
26preponderance of the evidence, that the law under which the

 

 

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1movant was convicted has been held by the Supreme Court of this
2State or the United States Supreme Court to be facially
3unconstitutional.
4    (c) Except as provided in Section 20b of the Adoption Act
5and Section 2-32 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 or in a
6petition based upon Section 116-3 of the Code of Criminal
7Procedure of 1963 or subsection (b-10) of this Section, or in a
8motion to vacate and expunge convictions under the Cannabis
9Control Act as provided by subsection (i) of Section 5.2 of the
10Criminal Identification Act, the petition must be filed not
11later than 2 years after the entry of the order or judgment.
12Time during which the person seeking relief is under legal
13disability or duress or the ground for relief is fraudulently
14concealed shall be excluded in computing the period of 2 years.
15    (d) The filing of a petition under this Section does not
16affect the order or judgment, or suspend its operation.
17    (e) Unless lack of jurisdiction affirmatively appears from
18the record proper, the vacation or modification of an order or
19judgment pursuant to the provisions of this Section does not
20affect the right, title or interest in or to any real or
21personal property of any person, not a party to the original
22action, acquired for value after the entry of the order or
23judgment but before the filing of the petition, nor affect any
24right of any person not a party to the original action under
25any certificate of sale issued before the filing of the
26petition, pursuant to a sale based on the order or judgment.

 

 

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1When a petition is filed pursuant to this Section to reopen a
2foreclosure proceeding, notwithstanding the provisions of
3Section 15-1701 of this Code, the purchaser or successor
4purchaser of real property subject to a foreclosure sale who
5was not a party to the mortgage foreclosure proceedings is
6entitled to remain in possession of the property until the
7foreclosure action is defeated or the previously foreclosed
8defendant redeems from the foreclosure sale if the purchaser
9has been in possession of the property for more than 6 months.
10    (f) Nothing contained in this Section affects any existing
11right to relief from a void order or judgment, or to employ any
12existing method to procure that relief.
13(Source: P.A. 100-1048, eff. 8-23-18; 101-27, eff. 6-25-19;
14101-411, eff. 8-16-19; revised 9-17-19.)