No. 20-8430

Samuel Gayden v. Illinois

Lower Court: Illinois
Docketed: 2021-06-24
Status: Denied
Type: IFP
IFP
Tags: chain-of-custody criminal-procedure dna-evidence evidence-admissibility fair-trial ineffective-assistance jury-instructions lay-opinion prosecutorial-misconduct trial-procedure witness-identification
Latest Conference: 2021-09-27
Question Presented (from Petition)

I
Whether the State misused DNA evidence to link Petitioner to the weapon used in the offense, and
to alleged threatening letters sent from the Cook County Jail, where that DNA evidence could not
be scientifically matched to Petitioner, should have been barred, and was instead used to mislead
the Jury.

II
Whether the admission of multiple lay opinions of identification, from non-eyewitnesses to the
offenses, was error depriving Petitioner of a fair trial, particularly given the Circuit Court 's
demonstrated pre-judgment of the issue.

III
Whether the admission of Brian Murdock 's prior oral and written statements into evidence, the
latter substantively, was error where the admission of those statements did not comply with
prevailing law, either as impeachment evidence or for substantive use, and the admission played
on the Jury's improper tendency to credit evidence that simply is repeated.

IV
Whether trial counsel was ineffective where she repeatedly failed to protect Petitioner 's rights,
allowing improper evidence before the Jury, and failing to place other evidence in context, thus
depriving Petitioner of a fair Jury trial.

Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether the State misused DNA evidence to link Petitioner to the weapon used in the offense, and to alleged threatening letters sent from the Cook County Jail, where that DNA evidence could not be scientifically matched to Petitioner, should have been barred, and was instead used to mislead the Jury

Docket Entries

2021-10-04
Petition DENIED.
2021-08-05
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/27/2021.
2021-04-16
Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due July 26, 2021)

Attorneys

Samuel Gayden
Samuel Gayden — Petitioner