2023 IL 128077 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS (Docket No. 128077) THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Appellee, v. JOHNNY ENGLISH, Appellant. Opinion filed June 15, 2023. JUSTICE NEVILLE delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. Chief Justice Theis and Justices Overstreet, Holder White, Cunningham, and Rochford concurred in the judgment and opinion. Justice O’Brien dissented, with opinion. OPINION ¶1 Petitioner Johnny English filed a motion for leave to file a successive postconviction petition under the Post-Conviction Hearing Act (Act) (725 ILCS 5/122-1 et seq. (West 2018)). The trial court denied petitioner’s motion on August 3, 2020, which made his notice of appeal due in the circuit court by September 2, 2020. Petitioner filed a notice of appeal in the circuit court that was file-stamped on September 10, 2020. The envelope containing the notice of appeal had a postage meter stamp dated September 1, 2020. Under this court’s version of the mailbox rule (Ill. S. Ct. R. 373 (eff. July 1, 2017)), the notice of appeal was timely if the postage meter stamp is accepted to prove the “time of mailing.” The appellate court dismissed petitioner’s appeal for lack of jurisdiction, holding that the postage meter stamp was insufficient to prove that petitioner mailed his notice of appeal before the due date. 2021 IL App (1st) 201016-U, ¶¶ 38-41. ¶2 We allowed petitioner’s petition for leave to appeal pursuant to Illinois Supreme Court Rule 315 (eff. Oct. 1, 2021). For the following reasons, we agree with the appellate court and hold that the sole means of establishing “time of mailing” under Rule 373 in the case of a pro se incarcerated litigant is by certification as described in Rule 12(b)(6) (Ill. S. Ct. R. 12(b)(6) (eff. July 1, 2017)). Thus, we affirm the appellate court’s judgment. ¶3 I. BACKGROUND ¶4 Because this case involves only a question of the appellate court’s jurisdiction to hear petitioner’s appeal, we recite only those facts relevant to our disposition. The facts of the offense and sentencing are fully set out in the appellate court’s decision affirming petitioner’s conviction and sentence on direct appeal (People v. English, 302 Ill. App. 3d 1090 (table) (unpublished order under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 23)). ¶5 In 1995, then-18-year-old petitioner was charged with, among other things, armed robbery, first degree murder, and attempted first degree murder for his involvement in the death of Frank Klepacki and the shooting of Casey Klepacki. After a bench trial, petitioner was found guilty of the offenses. Petitioner was sentenced to an extended term of 70 years in prison for first degree murder, to be served concurrently with 30-year sentences for attempted first degree murder and armed robbery. Defendant filed a direct appeal, an initial postconviction petition (People v. English, 346 Ill. App. 3d 1174 (table) (unpublished order under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 23)), and a successive postconviction petition (People v. English, 403 Ill. App. 3d 121 (2010)), all to no avail. -2- ¶6 On July 10, 2020, …
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