Find Legal Information

SIXTH DIVISION

December 20, 2002

JUSTICE O'MARA FROSSARD delivered the opinion of the court:

Following a bench trial, defendant Denise Payne was convicted of first degree murder. TheState sought the death penalty and defendant waived a jury for both phases of the capital sentencinghearing. After a death penalty hearing before the trial court, defendant was sentenced to an extendedterm of 80 years in prison. Defendant appealed and her counsel filed a motion to withdraw pursuantto Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 18 L. Ed. 2d 493, 87 S. Ct. 1396 (1967). Defendantresponded, contending that the State did not prove she had the intent to kill beyond a reasonabledoubt. Rejecting defendant's contention, this court granted defense counsel's motion to withdrawand affirmed the trial court's judgment. People v. Payne, No. 1-97-4467, slip order at 2-3 (August23, 1999) (unpublished order under Supreme Court Rule 23) ("the evidence was sufficient to showthat defendant possessed the requisite intent and committed the offense of first degree murder").

Defendant subsequently filed a pro se post-conviction petition, which the circuit courtsummarily dismissed as frivolous and patently without merit. In this appeal, defendant contends(1) that her pro se petition sufficiently raised the gist of a meritorious claim of ineffective assistanceof trial counsel; (2) that appellate counsel was ineffective; (3) that her extended-term sentence isunconstitutional under Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 147 L. Ed. 2d 435, 120 S. Ct. 2348(2000); and (4) that Public Act 83-942, effective November 23, 1983, violates the single subjectclause of the Illinois Constitution (Ill. Const. 1970, art. IV,