People v. Berry

── People v. Berry ── Court: Appellate Court of Illinois Date: April 13, 2026 Category: General 2026 IL App (1st) 241478-UB FIRST DIVISION April 13, 2026 No. 1-24-1478 NOTICE: This order was filed under Supreme Court Rule 23 and is not precedent except in the limited circumstances allowed under Rule 23(e)(1). IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) Appeal from the Circuit Court of ) Cook County. Plaintiff-Appellee, ) ) v. ) No. 02 CR 2590 ) GERALD BERRY JR., ) ) Honorable Geraldine D’Souza, Defendant-Appellant. ) Judge Presiding. JUSTICE HOWSE delivered the judgment of the court. Presiding Justice Fitzgerald Smith and Justice Cobbs concurred in the judgment. ORDER ¶1 Held: We affirm the trial court’s order denying defendant leave to file a successive postconviction petition. Defendant failed to raise, in his initial postconviction petition, the claim that his mandatory life sentence violates the Proportionate Penalties Clause of the Illinois Constitution. Defendant now fails to make a showing of cause for failing to raise the issue in his initial petition. As defendant has not demonstrated cause for failing to raise his claim at an earlier stage, the trial court correctly denied him leave to file a successive petition. 1 1 Justice Terrence J. Lavin, originally assigned to this appeal as a panel member, retired from this court on March 31, 2026. Justice Cynthia Y. Cobbs, has taken his part as a panel member, and has reviewed the record and briefs filed by the parties. 1-24-1478 ¶2 Defendant Gerald Berry, Jr. appeals from an order of the circuit court denying him leave to file a successive postconviction petition. Defendant argues that he should have been granted leave to file his successive petition because he met the cause and prejudice requirements for raising such a claim in a second petition. For the following reasons, we affirm. ¶3 BACKGROUND ¶4 In this appeal, defendant is challenging the trial court’s order denying him leave to file a successive postconviction petition. This case has previously been before us twice: on direct appeal, People v. Berry, 378 Ill. App. 3d 1119 (Feb. 29, 2008) (Unpublished order under Supreme Court Rule 23), and on an appeal from the dismissal of the initial postconviction petition, People v. Berry, 2011 IL App (1st) 093362-U. Therefore, we set forth just a summary of the facts and those facts that are pertinent to our review of the challenged order. ¶5 On December 27, 2001, four men in a vehicle went to the home of Ricca James in Country Club Hills, Illinois to steal money from Ms. James’s son. Two individuals who were in the vehicle, Lorree Scott Young and Trumane McClure, entered the home while defendant and John McGowan remained outside. Defendant claimed he was simply waiting in the vehicle watching television. Defendant was 20 years old at that time. ¶6 When Young and McClure entered the home, Ms. James was watching television with her infant grandson. M