People v. Perez

2014 IL 115927

IN THE
SUPREME COURT
OF
THE STATE OF ILLINOIS

(Docket No. 115927)

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Appellant, v. IVAN PEREZ,
Appellee.

Opinion filed September 18, 2014.

JUSTICE THOMAS delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.

Chief Justice Garman and Justices Freeman, Kilbride, Karmeier, Burke, and Theis
concurred in the judgment and opinion.

OPINION

¶1 At issue is whether the circuit court complies with the 90-day requirement of
section 122-2.1(a) of the Post-Conviction Hearing Act (725 ILCS 5/122-2.1(a) (West
2012)) when it signs and dates an order of dismissal on the ninetieth day after the
petition is filed and docketed, but the order is not filed by the clerk until the ninety-first
day. We hold that, because section 122-2.1(a) specifically requires the “entry” of an
order, an order that is signed by the judge during the 90-day period, but not
file-stamped until the ninety-first day, is not timely for purposes of section 122-2.1(a).

¶2 BACKGROUND

¶3 A jury convicted defendant, Ivan Perez, of first degree murder. The Appellate
Court, Second District, affirmed his conviction and sentence (People v. Perez, No.
2-07-0347 (2009) (unpublished order under Supreme Court Rule 23)), and this court
 denied defendant’s petition for leave to appeal (People v. Perez, 235 Ill. 2d 600 (2010)
(table)).

¶4 On November 9, 2010, defendant filed a pro se petition for postconviction relief.
On February 7, 2011, a circuit court judge signed and dated an order dismissing the
petition as frivolous and patently without merit. February 7 was the ninetieth day after
the petition was filed. The clerk stamped the order filed on February 8.

¶5 Defendant appealed, and the appellate court reversed and remanded for second
stage proceedings. 2013 IL App (2d) 110306. The appellate court held that the
dismissal order was untimely because it was not entered until it was filed by the clerk,
which occurred on the ninety-first day after the postconviction petition was filed and
docketed. The appellate court relied on authority from this court that holds that, for a
judgment to be effective, it must be publicly expressed in some manner, at the situs of
the proceeding. See Granite City Lodge No. 272, Loyal Order of the Moose v. City of
Granite City, 141 Ill. 2d 122 (1990); People ex rel. Schwartz v. Fagerholm, 17 Ill. 2d
131 (1959). The court noted that the record did not reflect the presence of any party,
any party’s counsel, or any other court personnel on February 7, 2011, the date that the
trial court signed the order, and therefore the first public expression of the court’s order
was on February 8 when it was file-stamped by the clerk. 2013 IL App (2d) 110306,
¶¶ 13-14.

¶6 Justice Hudson dissented. The dissent did not find the Fagerholm line of cases
relevant because the Post-Conviction Hearing Act mandates a specific form of
procedure. The dissent found the relevant question to be what it means to “enter” an
order pursuant to section 122-2.1(a). Id. ¶ 41 (Hudson, J., dissenting). The dissent
believed that, because section 122-2.1(a) uses the terms “filing” and “docketing” with
respect to the petition, but “enter” with respect to the dismissal order, “enter” cannot be
synonymous with filing. According to the dissent, the legislature’s use of these
different terms signified that it intended the entry of the order to be when the court
signed and dated it. Id. ¶ 35. The dissent acknowledged that the definition of “enter”
means “[t]o put formally before a court or on the record” (Black’s Law Dictionary 552
(7th ed. 1999)), but claimed that the trial court formally placed its decision on the
record on February 7, 2011, when it signed the dismissal order. 2013 IL App (2d)
110306, ¶ 36 (Hudson, J., dissenting).

¶7 We allowed the State’s petition for leave to appeal. Ill. S. Ct. R. 315 (eff. July 1,
2013).

-2-
¶8 ANALYSIS

¶9 The issue requires us to construe section 122-2.1(a) of the Post-Conviction Hearing
Act. 725 ILCS 5/122-2.1(a) (West 2012), and the principles guiding our review are
familiar. When construing a statute, this court’s primary objective is to ascertain and
give effect to the legislature’s intent, keeping in mind that the best and most reliable
indicator of that intent is the statutory language itself, given its plain and ordinary
meaning. People v. Lloyd, 2013 IL 113510, ¶ 25. A court must view the statute as a
whole, construing words and phrases in light of other relevant statutory provisions and
not in isolation. People v. Brown, 2013 IL 114196, ¶ 36. Each word, clause, and
sentence of a statute must be given a reasonable meaning, if possible, and should not be
rendered superfluous. Id. Where a term has a settled legal meaning, this court will
normally infer that the legislature intended to incorporate that settled meaning. People
v. Smith, 236 Ill. 2d 162, 167 (2010). The court may consider the reason for the law, the
problems sought to be remedied, the purposes to be achieved, and the consequences of
construing the statute one way or another. Brown, 2013 IL 114196, ¶ 36. Also, a court
presumes that the General Assembly, in its enactment of legislation, did not intend
absurdity, inconvenience, or injustice. Because the construction of a statute is a
question of law, our review is de novo. People v. Elliott, 2014 IL 115308, ¶ 11.

¶ 10 Neither the appellate court majority nor the dissent analyzed the issue correctly.
Although it reached the correct result, the appellate court majority relied on the public
expression doctrine, which, as we will see, could lead one to an erroneous conclusion
about what the statute requires. By contrast, the dissent correctly identified the issue as
what it means to “enter” an order for purposes of section 122-2.1(a) of the Act.
However, the dissent incorrectly concluded that a judge enters an order the moment he
or she signs it.

¶ 11 We begin our analysis by considering the plain language of the statute. Section
122-2.1(a) provides as follows:

“Within 90 days after the filing and docketing of each petition, the court shall
examine such petition and enter an order thereon pursuant to this Section.

(1) If the petitioner is under sentence of death and is without counsel
and alleges that he is without means to procure counsel, he shall state
whether or not he wishes counsel to be appointed to represent him. If
appointment of counsel is so requested, the court shall appoint counsel if
satisfied that the petitioner has no means to procure counsel.
-3-
 (2) If the petitioner is sentenced to imprisonment and the court
determines the petition is frivolous or is patently without merit, it shall
dismiss the petition in a written order, specifying the findings of fact and
conclusions of law it made in reaching its decision. Such order of dismissal
is a final judgment and shall be served upon the petitioner by certified mail
within 10 days of its entry.” 725 ILCS 5/122-2.1(a) (West 2012).

¶ 12 Section 122-2.1(a) is very clear about what the court must do within 90 days if it is
dismissing a petition pursuant to this section. The court must “enter an order” on the
petition within 90 days. If the court is dismissing the petition, the order must be a
“written order” that contains “findings of fact and conclusions of law,” and this written
order is a “final judgment” that must be served on the petitioner within 10 days of its
entry. The date the final judgment order is entered commences the 30-day period
during which the petitioner may file a notice of appeal. See Illinois Supreme Court
Rule 606(b) (eff. Feb. 6, 2013).

¶ 13 The question we must answer, then, is when did the trial court “enter an order”
pursuant to this section. The State contends that this happened when the trial court
signed the order dismissing the petition, while defendant claims that the order was
entered when it was file-stamped by the circuit clerk. We begin by looking at the plain
meaning of the word “enter.”

¶ 14 When used in a legal sense, “enter” clearly connotes some sort of formalizing of the
decision. Webster’s defines “enter” in this sense as “to place in regular form before a
law court usu. in writing : put upon record in proper form and order <~ a writ> <~ a
judgment>.” Webster’s Third New International Dictionary 756 (1993). It has also
been explained that, “Courts have traditionally distinguished between rendition of
judgment ( = the oral or written ruling containing the judgment entered) and entry of
judgment ( = the formal recordation of a judgment by the court).” (Emphases in
original.) A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage 755 (2d ed. 1987); see also Freeport
Motor Casualty Co. v. Tharp, 406 Ill. 295, 299 (1950) (noting same distinction
between rendering and entering judgment). Black’s Law Dictionary defines “entry” as
“[t]he placement of something before the court or on the record,” and “entry of
judgment” as “[t]he ministerial recording of a court’s final decision, usu. by noting it in
a judgment book or civil docket.” Black’s Law Dictionary 613 (9th ed. 2009). Against
this backdrop, the State goes back 35 years to the fifth edition of Black’s for the
explanation that the word “enter” is “nearly equivalent to setting down formally in
writing, in either a full or abridged form.” Black’s Law Dictionary 476 (5th ed. 1979).
-4-
 However, that phrase (which the current edition of Black’s has eliminated) follows the
statement that “enter” means to “place anything before a court, or upon or among the
records, in a formal and regular manner,” and the fifth edition of Black’s further
defines “entering judgments” as “[t]he formal entry of the judgment on the rolls or
records (e.g., civil docket) of the court, which is necessary before bringing an appeal or
an action on the judgment.” Id. See also 49 C.J.S. Judgments § 143 (2009) (“a
judgment is entered when it is spread at large on the record”).

¶ 15 We next consider Illinois Supreme Court Rule 272 (eff. Nov. 1, 1990), which is
entitled, “When Judgment is Entered”:

“If at the time of announcing final judgment the judge requires the
submission of a form of written judgment to be signed by the judge or if a
circuit court rule requires the prevailing party to submit a draft order, the clerk
shall make a notation to that effect and the judgment becomes final only when
the signed judgment is filed. If no such signed written judgment is to be filed,
the judge or clerk shall forthwith make a notation of judgment and enter the
judgment of record promptly, and the judgment is entered at the time it is
entered of record.”

¶ 16 The State’s only mention of Rule 272 is to echo the appellate court dissent’s
position that the Rule addresses only which order takes precedence when the trial court
issues an oral ruling with a written ruling to follow. See 2013 IL App (2d) 110306, ¶ 42
(Hudson, J., dissenting). It is difficult to square that position with the Committee
Comments, which provide as follows:

“The purpose of this rule is to remove any doubt as to the date a judgment is
entered. It applies to both law and equity, and the distinction stated in Freeport
Motor Casualty Co. v. Tharp, 406 Ill. 295, 94 N.E.2d 139 (1950), as to the
effective dates of a judgment at law and a decree in equity is abolished. In 1990
the rule was amended to provide that in those cases in which, by circuit court
rule, the prevailing party is required to submit a draft order, a judgment
becomes final only after the signed judgment is filed. The 1990 amendment was
intended to negate the ruling in Davis v. Carbondale Elementary School
District No. 95, 170 Ill. App. 3d 687, 525 N.E.2d 135.” (Emphasis added.) Ill.
S. Ct. R. 272 (eff. Nov. 1, 1990), Committee Comments.

¶ 17 According to the Committee Comments, the whole purpose of Rule 272 was to
establish a uniform date for determining when judgments are considered entered.
-5-
 Moreover, the courts have interpreted the Rule as meaning that the record date is the
controlling date for the entry of all judgments. As the appellate court explained in Ahn
Brothers, Inc. v. Buttitta, 143 Ill. App. 3d 688, 689-90 (1986):

“Prior to the enactment of Rule 272, the oral pronouncement of judgment in
open court constituted the entry of judgment in law cases, whereas in equity
cases a judgment was deemed to be entered when the written document was
filed or recorded. (Freeport Motor Casualty Co. v. Tharp (1950), 406 Ill. 295,
overruled on other grounds in People ex rel. Schwartz v. Fagerholm (1959), 17
Ill. 2d 131; Drulard v. Country Companies (1981), 99 Ill. App. 3d 1031, 1033;
Berzana v. Mezy (1980), 86 Ill. App. 3d 824, 825.) The purpose of Rule 272 is
to remove all doubt regarding the date a judgment is entered or becomes final.
(See Horvath v. Loesch (1980), 87 Ill. App. 3d 615, 620; Ill. Ann. Stat., ch.
110A, par. 272, Committee Comments, at 542 (Smith-Hurd 1985).) Designed
to make uniform the entry of judgments in both legal and equitable actions (see
Robertson v. Robertson (1984), 123 Ill. App. 3d 323, 327), the rule makes the
record-entry date controlling for all judgments (Scott v. Dreis & Krump
Manufacturing Co. (1975), 26 Ill. App. 3d 971, 982-93).”

¶ 18 Accepting the State’s position would mean that Rule 272 means that: (1) if the
court makes an oral ruling with a written judgment to follow, the judgment is entered
when the signed judgment is filed; (2) if only an oral ruling is made, then judgment is
entered when a notation of such is made of record; but (3) if only a written judgment is
made, then entry is on some other date, such as when the judge signs the order. Surely
the State cannot believe this to be the meaning of the rule. Such an interpretation would
run directly counter to the Committee Comments and would once again introduce great
doubt as to the date upon which judgment is considered entered.

¶ 19 Moreover, even before the enactment of Rule 272, this court had soundly rejected
the notion that a judgment is entered the moment a judge signs and dates a piece of
paper in chambers. In Freeport Motor Casualty Co., the trial judge signed and dated a
declaratory judgment order on June 15, 1948, and mailed it to the circuit clerk with a
letter that read as follows: “ ‘Herewith a declaratory judgment order which you may
file in the above entitled cause and next day there is court in Louisville the appropriate
docket entries can be made.’ ” Freeport Motor Casualty Co., 406 Ill. at 297. The order
was received by the clerk and placed in the court file on June 16, but no docket entry
was made on that date. On June 24, which was the next court day, a different judge of
the circuit made the following entry: “ ‘Now on the 24th day of June, 1948. Declaratory
-6-
 Judgment Order signed and approved by Judge F.R. Dove. This is filed. Hon. Ward P.
Holt, Judge presiding.’ ” Id. This notation and the judgment order were entered in the
court record on that date. The defendants’ notice of appeal was timely if the entry date
of the judgment was June 24, but not if it was June 15 or 16. This court noted the
distinction that existed between judgments at law and decrees in chancery. A decree in
chancery was entered when it was filed or recorded. However, a judgment existed from
the time it was rendered, even if it was not formally entered of record by the clerk. 1 Id.
at 298-99. Thus, at that time, a judgment at law was considered effective when it was
“rendered.” Id. at 300. However, the court explained further that a judgment could be
“rendered” only when it was pronounced in open court, and that “a judgment should
not be made or rendered by the judge at chambers; it is not valid unless passed in open
court.” (Emphasis added.) Id. at 300-01. Thus, until such pronouncement, the
“judgment order” was not the court’s judgment. “It was simply evidence of his
conclusion as to the final disposition of the case.” Id. at 301. This court therefore
concluded that judgment was rendered, and thus entered, on June 24, when the
presiding judge ordered the judgment order filed. Accordingly, even before the
enactment of Rule 272, which equates entry with the date the judgment is placed of
record, an order was not considered “rendered”—let alone “entered”—when a judge
signed and dated it in chambers.

¶ 20 Similarly, in Commonwealth Loan Co. v. Baker, 67 Ill. App. 2d 359 (1966), the trial
court purported to enter a judgment order in chambers on July 22, 1964. However, both
the file and the docket sheet were inadvertently kept in the Judge’s chambers until
either November 5 or 6, 1964. Counsel for the appellant had contacted the clerk’s
office several times between July 22 and November 5 to see if there had been a ruling
in his case, and each time he was told that neither the file nor the docket sheet had been
returned. Id. at 362. On November 6, he was notified by the clerk that the ruling had
been made on July 22. When appellant petitioned the appellate court for leave to
appeal, the appellee moved to dismiss on the basis that the petition was not timely. The
appellate court rejected this argument, noting that the July 22 order had never been
pronounced:

“In the present case, on the uncontradicted facts, there was no judgment until
early in November 1964, and appellee-garnishee cannot be heard to urge that
his payment to Baker in early September was pursuant to any authority. To hold

1
It was this distinction between law and equity that Rule 272 was designed to abolish. See Ill. S. Ct.
R. 272 (eff. Nov. 1, 1990), Committee Comments.
-7-
 otherwise would render ineffectual the statutory requirement for the clerk to
spread the judgment upon the record as soon after the rendition or making
thereof as practicable, Ill Rev Stats ch 25, sec 14, and providing for a fine for
failure to do so within thirty days after the judgment is made and rendered, Ill
Rev Stats ch. 25, sec 15. A clerk has no more license or duty to invade the
privacy of the Judge’s Chambers to determine if judgment has been rendered,
than have counsel for the litigants. We can conceive of no situation or
circumstance which justifies the removal of the docket sheet from the clerk’s
office or courtroom, by the Judge or any other party. The rendering of a
judgment is not and must not be a secret process, it must be a public act. To
hold otherwise would destroy public confidence in the entire judicial system.”
(Emphasis added.) Id. at 367.

¶ 21 At oral argument, the State conceded that, under its interpretation, the 10-day
period for providing notice of the decision and the 30-day period for filing a notice of
appeal would begin to run on the date that the judge signs the order. In other words, if
the judge signed the order, placed it in his outbox, locked his office door, and went on
vacation for a week, the clock would be ticking on defendant’s appeal rights, even
though no one but the judge would have any idea that an order had been entered. Given
the wording of the statute, however, the State had no choice but to make this
concession. Again, the statute explains that, “Such order of dismissal is a final
judgment and shall be served upon the petitioner by certified mail within 10 days of its
entry.” 725 ILCS 5/122-2.1(a)(2) (West 2012).

¶ 22 The State cannot be right, because its position is directly contrary to Rule 272. In
Granite City Lodge, 141 Ill. 2d at 126, this court stated that:

“Under Rule 272, a written judgment order is final when signed and filed with
the clerk of court. (107 Ill. 2d R. 272.) Under Rule 303(a) a party has 30 days
from the date the judgment is entered to file a notice of appeal, and an
additional 30 days to file a motion for extension of time to file a notice of appeal
under Rule 303(e).”

As this court has clearly held that, under Rule 272, the 30-day period for filing a notice
of appeal begins to run when the written judgment order is “filed with the clerk of
court” we must reject the State’s position that the order was entered and the clock
began to run on defendant’s appeal rights the moment the judge signed the order. The

-8-
 State’s position would reintroduce to the law the very confusion that Rule 272 was
designed to eliminate.

¶ 23 In this same vein, defendant and the appellate court majority are simply wrong
when they argue that, had the trial judge, within the 90-day time limit, announced in
open court that he was dismissing the petition, that would have satisfied section
122-2.1(a). The appellate court and defendant rely on the public expression doctrine,
which holds that some sort of public expression is required for a judgment to become
effective. The judgment must either be (1) announced in open court; or (2) reduced to
writing, approved by the judge, and filed for record. Fagerholm, 17 Ill. 2d at 137.
Although the trial court would have complied with the public expression doctrine had it
announced in open court that it was dismissing the petition, the statute requires
something more than public expression. Section 122-2.1(a) specifically requires that,
when a trial court is summarily dismissing a postconviction petition, the court must
enter its final written judgment order, specifying findings of facts and conclusions of
law, within 90 days. The 10-day notice period and the 30-day appeal period run from
the date the order is entered. Thus, the appellate court and defendant cannot be correct
when they assert that the trial judge could have complied with the statute by orally
announcing his decision within 90 days. Such a position is directly contrary to the plain
language of section 122-2.1(a).

¶ 24 In its petition for leave to appeal, the State relied on such cases as Cirro Wrecking
Co. v. Roppolo, 153 Ill. 2d 6 (1992), In re Marriage of Garlinski, 99 Ill. App. 3d 107
(1981), and People v. Ortega, 106 Ill. App. 3d 1018 (1982). These cases were also
discussed by the appellate court. Although the State has abandoned its reliance on these
cases, we discuss them briefly to avoid any confusion with our holding. In each of these
cases, the courts said that a properly rendered court judgment did not depend on the
ministerial recording by the clerk to become valid. Cirro Wrecking Co., 153 Ill. 2d at
16; Ortega, 106 Ill. App. 3d at 1021; Garlinski, 99 Ill. App. 3d at 109. The reason this is
so is that “the judicial authority reposed in a trial judge in the proper functioning of his
office in rendering judgment cannot be dependent upon the ministerial function of the
court’s clerk in recording that fact.” Cirro Wrecking Co., 153 Ill. 2d at 16. Thus, this
court in Cirro Wrecking Co. concluded a judgment properly rendered while the judge
was in office is valid even though it is entered by the clerk following the trial judge’s
vacation of office. Id.

¶ 25 Nevertheless, Cirro also acknowledged that under Rule 272, “judgments are,
generally, effective as of the date of filing” (Cirro Wrecking Co., 153 Ill. 2d at 14), and
-9-
 Ortega explained that Rule 272 is needed for timeliness questions related to notices of
appeal. Ortega, 106 Ill. App. 3d at 1021; see also Robertson v. Robertson, 123 Ill. App.
3d 323, 326-27 (1984) (Rule 272 addresses only time and manner of entry of final
judgments.). Here, we are faced with a timing question. The 90-day period in section
122-2.1(a) is intimately tied together with the notice of appeal period. The order that
the court must enter within 90 days is the court’s final written judgment order, and the
State concedes that this order commences the 30-day notice of appeal period. Thus,
under section 122-2.1(a) and Rule 272, the court’s decision is “entered,” and the appeal
period commences, when the judgment is placed of record.

¶ 26 The State makes two other arguments in support of its position, but they may be
easily dismissed. First, echoing the appellate court dissent, the State contends that,
because section 122-2.1(a) uses the terms “filing and docketing” with respect to the
petition, but “enter” and “entry” with respect to the final judgment order, then “enter”
must refer to something other than filing and docketing the final judgment order. For
two reasons, this argument is not well-taken. First, the legislature is simply using the
terms in the sense that they are typically used. Litigants do not “enter” petitions. They
file them. Second, where a term has a settled legal meaning, this court will normally
infer that the legislature intended to incorporate that settled meaning (Smith, 236 Ill. 2d
at 167), and courts presume that, in enacting legislation, the legislature envisions a
consistent body of law (Lily Lake Road Defenders v. County of McHenry, 156 Ill. 2d 1,
9 (1993)). Illinois law is clear that “entering” a judgment means entering it of record,
and there is no support in this court’s case law for the proposition that merely signing a
piece of paper is “entering” a judgment. We also see no evidence in section 122-2.1(a)
that the legislature intended to upend Illinois law and have the notice of appeal period
run from the date the judge signs the order.

¶ 27 The State’s final argument is that the judge signed his name on a line next to the
word “enter.” The State, however, cites no authority indicating that Illinois case law
and Supreme Court Rules are subordinate to the drafters of forms. The law is clear as to
when a final judgment order is “entered,” and this law is not overridden by the fact that
the word “enter” appears next to the judge’s signature.

¶ 28 CONCLUSION

¶ 29 When a trial court summarily dismisses a postconviction petition at the first stage,
section 122-2.1(a) requires that the court enter its final written judgment order,
- 10 -
 specifying findings of fact and conclusions of law, within 90 days after the petition is
filed and docketed. Under Illinois law, a written judgment order is “entered” when it is
entered of record. Here, the court’s judgment was entered 91 days after the petition was
filed and docketed. Accordingly, the appellate court correctly reversed the dismissal
and remanded for second stage proceedings.

¶ 30 Affirmed.

- 11 -