People v. Fair

Summary

The Illinois Supreme Court held that judicial review of a torture claim referred under the Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission Act requires the petitioner to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that torture occurred, caused a confession, and that the confession was used to obtain the conviction. The court further held that the circuit court must consider the totality of the circumstances, including constitutional violations that would not independently constitute torture, but affirmed because the circuit court's finding that Fair's evidence was not credible was not manifestly erroneous. The court expressly overruled the contrary burden-shifting approach previously applied in this context.