People ex rel. Palmer v. Twomey

The Illinois Supreme Court, in People ex rel. Palmer v. Twomey, 53 Ill. 2d 479, 292 N.E.2d 379 (1973), held that because a lack of legal knowledge might cause a prisoner to draft an inadequate postconviction petition and might cause him to select the wrong method of attacking his conviction, the circuit court, consistent with the intent of the Act, should recharacterize pro se petitions that allege rights cognizable under the Act, no matter how inartfully drafted or incorrectly labeled. Palmer, 53 Ill. 2d at 484, 292 N.E.2d at 382.