People v. Houston

In People v. Houston, 226 Ill. 2d 135, 874 N.E.2d 23, 314 Ill. Dec. 113 (2007), the defendant claimed that his trial counsel was ineffective for waiving a court reporter during voir dire. The supreme court found that counsel's waiver constituted deficient performance because it violated Supreme Court Rule 608(a)(9), a rule that provides that voir dire 'shall' be recorded. Although the court specifically noted that the supreme court rules must be obeyed and enforced, it remanded the case with directions to conduct a hearing to reconstruct the voir dire record so that the defendant's claim of prejudice could be further examined. The court did not find that the failure to comply with Rule 608(a)(9) resulted in automatic reversal; but rather, the court held that the prejudice prong of Strickland analysis needed to be further examined.