Motion to Quash Subpoenas Because They Are ''overly Broad''

In People v. Kitchen, 189 Ill. 2d 424, 1999 Ill. (1999), opinion modified on denial of rehearing, People v. Kitchen, (April 3, 2000), defendant filed a postconviction petition and issued several subpoenas on the Chicago police department. Both the State and the police department moved in court to quash the subpoenas because they were overly broad. Defendant agreed that the subpoenas were too broad and stated he would narrow his request. Defendant then filed a motion for discovery and requested the court to issue five subpoenas. The State objected to the motion, and the court set a date to rule on the discovery motion. On that date, the court did not rule on the discovery motion but dismissed defendant's postconviction petition even though the State never filed a motion to dismiss. On direct appeal, defendant challenged the procedure the trial court employed to dismiss the petition for postconviction relief and argued a violation of his procedural due process rights. Kitchen, 1999 Ill. Agreeing with defendant, the supreme court found that the trial court's failure to give defendant notice that it intended to make a substantive ruling on the petition and its failure to hear arguments on the petition denied defendant procedural due process and required the vacatur of the dismissal order. Kitchen, 1999 Ill.