In People v. Rivera, 198 Ill. 2d 364, 370-73, 763 N.E.2d 306, 261 Ill. Dec. 336 (2001), defendant's petition alleged six violations of his constitutional rights. Rivera, 198 Ill. 2d at 366, 763 N.E.2d at 307. The circuit court dismissed four claims as frivolous and patently without merit, but held that defendant's two remaining allegations stated the gist of a meritorious claim. Rivera, 198 Ill. 2d at 366, 763 N.E.2d at 308. As a result, the trial court advanced only two claims to the second stage of the postconviction proceedings. Rivera, 198 Ill. 2d at 366, 763 N.E.2d at 308. The appellate court disagreed with the circuit court and held that the Act does not provide the circuit court with a right to partially select out a specific contention for second-stage review, while summarily adjudicating the remaining contentions at the first stage, but instead requires that the entire petition be either summarily dismissed or alternatively be advanced in its entirety to the second stage of postconviction proceedings. People v. Rivera, 315 Ill. App. 3d 454, 458, 734 N.E.2d 26, 28, 248 Ill. Dec. 318 (2000). Relying on the legislative history of the Act and the specific terms of the Act, our supreme court affirmed that portion of the appellate court's judgment as follows: "Clearly, the Act does not speak in terms of dismissing individual claims that are either frivolous or patently without merit; the statute speaks solely in terms of the petition itself being frivolous or patently without merit, and the Act mandates that if the petition is not dismissed under section 122-2.1, then the trial court shall order the petition docketed. Under the plain language of the Act, in cases such as this, the circuit court must docket the entire petition, appoint counsel, if the petitioner is so entitled, and continue the matter for further proceedings in accordance with sections 122-4 through 122-6. The State is then given the opportunity to answer or otherwise plead." Rivera, 198 Ill. 2d at 371, 763 N.E.2d at 310.