2022 IL App (1st) 210027 FIFTH DIVISION June 10, 2022 Nos. 1-21-0027, 1-21-0028 cons. ______________________________________________________________________________ IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS FIRST DISTRICT ______________________________________________________________________________ THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) Appeals from the Circuit Court ) of Cook County Plaintiff-Appellee, ) ) No. 92 CR 19775 ) (Appeal no. 1-21-0028) v. ) ) No. 93 CR 6700 ) (Appeal no. 1-21-0027) JOSEPH SOSANI, ) ) Honorable Alfredo Maldonado, Defendant-Appellant. ) Judge, presiding. PRESIDING JUSTICE DELORT delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. Justices Hoffman and Cunningham concurred in the judgment and opinion. OPINION ¶1 BACKGROUND ¶2 Defendant-appellant Joseph Sosani appeals orders of the circuit court of Cook County dismissing petitions he filed pursuant to section 2-1401 of the Code of Civil Procedure (Code) (735 ILCS 5/2-1401 (West 2018)). The petitions sought to vacate guilty pleas he made in 1993 and 1995 in the course of two separate criminal prosecutions. We affirm. 1-21-0027, 1-21-0028 (cons.) ¶3 FACTS ¶4 These consolidated appeals involve two separate sets of criminal charges that were filed a year apart. We begin with the case with the lower appellate court docket number, although it involved acts occurring after those alleged in the other case. ¶5 Circuit Court Case No. 93-CR-6700 (Appellate Court Docket No. 1-21-0027) ¶6 Sosani was indicted in case No. 93-CR-6700 for possession of a controlled substance (cocaine) with intent to deliver (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 56½, ¶ 1401(a)(2)(B)) and possession of cannabis with intent to deliver (id. ¶ 705(e)), relating to acts that allegedly occurred on or about March 6, 1993. ¶7 After the circuit court set Sosani’s bond pending trial, he filed a motion seeking reduction of the bond, stating, inter alia, “defendant is a legal alien with no passport.” (Emphasis added.) On May 23, 1995, he pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment on the cocaine charge and 3 years’ imprisonment on the cannabis charge, to run concurrently. On June 23, 1995, he filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea, but the circuit court denied that motion. He appealed, and on May 10, 1996, this court granted his motion for summary reversal based on noncompliance with Illinois Supreme Court Rule 604(d) (eff. Aug. 1, 1992), with respect to his guilty plea. People v. Sosani, No. 1-95-2907 (1996) (unpublished summary order under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 23(c)). This court remanded the case with instructions to allow defendant “to file an amended motion to withdraw his guilty plea and/or a motion to reconsider his sentence and for a hearing on the motion filed.” Id. ¶8 After the remand, Sosani’s lawyer filed an amended motion to withdraw his guilty plea, reciting that Sosani “was born in the country of Iran and he is subject to deportation” and that he “was unaware of the consequences at the time of the tender of the plea of guilty.” The motion -2- 1-21-0027, 1-21-0028 (cons.) included an affidavit from Sosani stating that at no time did his original lawyer …
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