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Where can I find an Affidavit of Assets to file with motion to appoint counsel for my husband who is incarcerated?
Anonymous3 views3 answers
I filed a motion for appeal at the 3rd Appellate Court in Ottawa on behalf of my husband. I was told I could sign the motion if I had power of attorney which was incorrect as it was returned to him denied because he didn't sign it. I also included a motion to have counsel appointed. This was denied because I did not include an affidavit of assets. Where can I obtain this form? Do I fill it out for just him? Or for him and I?
Your husband should contact the attorney who represented him in the original Circuit Court case. Unless you are an attorney, you don't have the authority to prepare and file legal documents on his behalf. He can file/mail documents on his own case (pro se), and if he is an inmate in the Illlinois prison system, he should go to the law library where there is likely someone to inform him as to the process. Further, the first stage in an appeal is not the filing of a motion for appeal with the Appellate Court--the proper motions and notice of appeal would have had to been filed first in the Circuit Court (the "trial" court) where he was sentenced. That trial court makes the determination, based upon your husband filling out an Affidavit of Assets and Liabilities available there, as to whether the State Appellate Defender's Office could be appointed on an appeal. If your husband was initially represented by the Public Defender's Office, he should contact that office. Finally, if neither he nor his attorney filed a notice of appeal at the trial court level within 30 days of the date of conviction/sentencing, he may be barred from an appeal. Good luck.
It seems to me that if your husband is incarcerated and files pleadings in his case from the prison, then the judge will have to review the documents and appoint counsel if necessary.
A power of attorney does not make one an attorney. If your husband failed to file the proper motions and notices at the end of his case, then his options are limited. However, a Post Conviction Petition may be filed even if an appeal was not. He must allege a substantial denial of a constitutional right to even have a chance at this. If he prepares his own Post Conviction Petition and alleges a denial of his rights, then the judge will appoint a lawyer to review and amend the Petition if necessary and prepare the case for a hearing.
You are learning that you are just spinning your wheels and getting frustrated by the system. As the spouse, there isn't really very much that you can do if you aren't a lawyer. By the way, the jail or the clerk has these Affidavit of Assets at the courthouse. Maybe try the criminal counter at the clerk of the court's office to give you a fill in the blank form.
