A divided appellate court agreed and reversed and remanded for appointment of counsel and new second-stage postconviction proceedings. 2017 IL App (3d) 140793, ¶ 28, 412 Ill.Dec. 602, 76 N.E.3d 42.¶ 3 This court allowed the State's petition for leave to appeal. Ill. S.Ct. R. 315 (eff. Mar. 5, 2016).

However, a defendant can expressly waive his right to counsel and proceed pro se during the proceedings. People v. Lesley, 2017 IL App (3d) 140793, ¶ 17, 76 N.E.3d 42, overruled on other grounds, Lesley, 2018 IL 122100. A defendant may also relinquish his right by (1) forfeiture or (2) waiver by misconduct.

However, a defendant can expressly waive his right to counsel and proceed pro se during these proceedings. People v. Lesley, 2017 IL App (3d) 140793, ¶ 17. A defendant may also relinquish his right by forfeiture or waiver by conduct. Id. (citing People v. Ames, 2012 IL App (4th) 110513, ¶ 26).

¶ 19 We previously reversed and remanded on the first issue defendant raised on appeal, namely, whether the circuit court erred in forcing defendant to represent himself during the evidentiary hearing. People v. Lesley, 2017 IL App (3d) 140793, ¶¶ 25-26. We did not reach the second issue raised by defendant, which concerned whether the circuit court applied an incorrect standard at the evidentiary hearing.

¶ 13 Defendant recognizes Faretta involved the waiver of a defendant's sixth amendment right to counsel at trial rather than the statutory right to counsel at issue here. Nonetheless, he cites this court's decision in People v. Lesley , 2017 IL App (3d) 140793, 412 Ill.Dec. 602, 76 N.E.3d 42, appeal allowed , 417 Ill.Dec. 841, 89 N.E.3d 760 (Ill. 2017), for the proposition that there is "no distinction between waivers of a statutory right to counsel and a constitutional right to counsel." The issue in Lesley concerned a defendant's waiver of postconviction counsel due to misconduct.