Whether a pre-Miller guilty plea bars a post-Miller sentencing challenge under the Eighth Amendment

QUESTIONS PRESENTED FOR REVIEW In 1994, Philip Johnson, then a minor, faced a mandatory life without parole sentence for killing two people: his father, James Johnson (James), and James’ girlfriend, Frances Buck. Philip avoided the mandatory life sentence by agreeing to plead guilty to one count of second degree murder and one count of first degree murder, and to receive consecutive sentences of 20 and 90 years, respectively, for a total sentence of 110 years, of which Illinois law requires him to serve at least 55 years. Philip later brought a collateral challenge to his sentence after this Court invalidated life without parole sentences for minors convicted of homicide in Miller v. Alabama, 132 S. Ct. 2455 (2012), and the Illinois Supreme Court in People v. Buffer, 2019 IL 122327, held that a sentence longer than 40 years is a de facto life sentence that may only be imposed on a minor if the judge first considers his youth and the socalled Miller factors. The Illinois Appellate Court originally found that the ordinary rule of law that a guilty plea waives all issues, including constitutional ones, did not apply in this case because it concerned a novel constitutional right that was not available to the defendant at the time he pled guilty. People v. Johnson, 2021 IL App (8d) 180357, § 20, vacated, 184 N.E. 2d 983 (I11.2022). The Appellate Court thus considered the merits of Philip’s Miller claim, and found that he was sentenced to a de facto life sentence and that the court failed to consider his youth and its attendant characteristics. Id. J 22. Pursuant to the Illinois Supreme Court’s supervisory order, Johnson, 184 N.E. 2d 983 (Ill. 2002), this opinion was vacated, and the Appellate Court was directed to consider the effect of the Illinois Supreme Court’s opinion in People v. Jones, 2021 IL 126432, which held that the defendant’s guilty plea barred his later Miller challenge to a de i facto life sentence, and that there was no Miller violation because the plea judge exercised discretion in accepting the plea agreement and sentencing the defendant to a de facto life sentence. People v. Jones, 2021 IL 126432, {J 14-28. Following the Supreme Court’s edict, the Appellate Court rejected the defendant’s Eighth Amendment argument as well as his argument related to the proportionate penalties clause of the Illinois Constitution, found that Johnson waived any Miller claim by pleading guilty, and further found that the circuit court had been able to exercise its discretion in determining whether to sentence Johnson to the sentence recommended by the State. People v. Johnson, 2022 IL App (3d) 180357-B. The questions presented for review are: (1) Whether a pre-Miller guilty plea bars a post-Miller sentencing challenge under the Eighth Amendment. (2) Whether the sentencing process mandated by Miller and Jones is satisfied where the judge accepts a negotiated plea agreement but fails to consider the attendant circumstances of youth. ii