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Watkins v. Page

Case Date: 06/05/2001
Court: 3rd District Appellate
Docket No: 3-00-0415 Rel

June 5, 2001

No. 3--00--0415

IN THE

APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS

THIRD DISTRICT

A.D., 2001



KILROY WATKINS, 

          Petitioner-Appellant,

          v.

JAMES H. PAGE,

          Respondent-Appellee.

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)		 Appeal from the Circuit Court
of the 12th Judicial Circuit,
Will County, Illinois

No. 99--MR--593

Honorable
Edwin B. Grabiec,
Judge, Presiding

JUSTICE BRESLIN delivered the opinion of the court:

The petitioner, Kilroy Watkins, filed a pro se petition forhabeas corpus relief in the circuit court of Will County. Therespondent, James H. Page, moved to dismiss the petition becausethe court lacked jurisdiction and because the petition lackedmerit. The trial court dismissed the petition. We affirm. Inso doing, we hold that once an Illinois habeas corpus petition isproperly filed, the transfer of the petitioner to a correctionalfacility out of the trial court's jurisdiction does not deprivethat court of jurisdiction of the habeas proceeding.

The petitioner was convicted of first degree murder and twocounts of armed robbery. The circuit court of Cook Countysentenced him to a total of 55 years' imprisonment, 30 years forthe first degree murder, 15 years for one of the armed robberiesand 10 years for the other armed robbery. The petitioner filed adirect appeal, and during the pendency of that appeal he alsofiled a post-conviction petition. The post-conviction petitionwas summarily dismissed by the circuit court. The direct appealand the appeal from the denial of the post-conviction petitionwere consolidated on review. His convictions, sentences, and thedenial of his post-conviction petition were affirmed. People v.Watkins, 277 Ill. App. 3d 1108, 698 N.E.2d 721 (1995) (unpublished order under Supreme Court Rule 23). On December 8, 1999,the petitioner, who was then imprisoned at Stateville Correctional Center (Stateville) in Will County, filed a petition forhabeas corpus relief.

On December 22, 1999, the petitioner was transferred fromStateville to the Western Illinois Correctional Center (WesternIllinois) in Brown County. On February 23, 2000, the circuitcourt, apparently unaware that the petitioner had been transferred to a Department of Corrections facility in a differentcounty, issued due dates for the respondent's motion to dismissand the petitioner's answer to the respondent's motion. Thecourt also set the matter for a hearing on April 27, 2000. Itappears the petitioner never received notice of the hearing or acopy of the respondent's motion to dismiss. On April 27, 2000,the circuit court granted the respondent's motion to dismiss without specifying any basis for the dismissal. The petitioner,who as of November 22, 2000, was incarcerated at the Hill Correctional Center in Knox County, appealed.

Jurisdiction for a prisoner's habeas corpus petition isproper in either the circuit court in which the petitioner wasconvicted or the circuit court of the county in which the petitioner is incarcerated. 735 ILCS 5/10--103 (West 1998). At thetime the petitioner filed his petition, he was an inmate atStateville. Therefore, jurisdiction was proper in either CookCounty or Will County. Since the petition was filed in WillCounty, the circuit court of Will County had jurisdiction overthe matter. The State contends, however, that when the petitioner was moved to Western Illinois, the Will County circuitcourt was divested of jurisdiction.

Our research has revealed no Illinois case law on whethermoving a habeas petitioner would divest a circuit court ofjurisdiction. However, the federal courts have addressed thisissue. The jurisdictional portion of the federal habeas corpusstatute (28 U.S.C.