Cooper v. State
| Decision Date | 31 January 2012 |
| Docket Number | No. SC 91695.,SC 91695. |
| Citation | 356 S.W.3d 148 |
| Parties | Willie E. COOPER, Appellant, v. STATE of Missouri, Respondent. |
| Court | Missouri Supreme Court |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Scott Thompson, Public Defender's Office, St. Louis, MO, for Appellant.
John W. Grantham, Jefferson City, MO, for Respondent.
Willie E. Cooper pleaded guilty to two counts of stealing property of a value of more than $500 in violation of § 570.030, RSMo Supp.2004. As part of the plea agreement, Cooper waived his right to file any future motion for post-conviction relief under Rule 24.035 in exchange for the State recommending a 15–year sentence on each count to run concurrently with a suspended execution of the sentences and a five-year probationary term. The circuit court rendered a judgment and sentences in accord with the plea agreement. Cooper subsequently violated the terms of his probation, his probation was revoked, and his 15–year sentences were ordered executed. Thereafter, Cooper filed a Rule 24.035 motion for post-conviction relief alleging that defense counsel was ineffective.
The motion court denied Cooper's request for an evidentiary hearing and entered written findings of fact, conclusions of law, and judgment overruling the amended motion on the merits. Cooper appeals. After opinion by the court of appeals, this Court ordered the case transferred and has jurisdiction. Mo. Const. art. V, § 10. This Court vacates the motion court's judgment and remands the case with instructions to dismiss Cooper's Rule 24.035 post-conviction motion.
Cooper was charged with two separate counts of stealing more than $500 worth of property in violation of § 570.030. Each count arose from a separate incident and, therefore, was given a separate case number. One count arose from Cooper stealing 49 Timberland brand men's shirts from a Dillard's department store. The other count arose from Cooper stealing 11 bottles of perfume from a Victoria's Secret store.
On October 24, 2008, Cooper pleaded guilty to both counts. During the plea hearing, the circuit court found that Cooper was a persistent offender pursuant to § 558.016.3, RSMo Supp.2004. Cooper's persistent offender status enhanced his potential sentence for each count from 7 years to 15 years. The court then described the underlying facts of each count separately and followed the description with substantially the same series of questions, to which Cooper gave the same responses:
Court: To that charge, sir, do you desire to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty?
Cooper: Guilty, sir.
Court: Is that plea made voluntarily by you of your own free will?
Cooper: Yes, sir.
Court: Has anyone forced you to enter to a plea of guilty to that charge?
Cooper: No, sir.
The Court then questioned Cooper regarding the effectiveness of his counsel:
Court: Are you satisfied with [your counsel's] representation of you?
Cooper: Yes, sir.
Court: Is there anything about her representation of you with which you're dissatisfied?
Cooper: Everything that she did, I asked her to.
Court: Is there anything you asked her to do that she did not do?
Cooper: No, sir. She did everything.
Court: Is there anything you asked her not to do that she did, even though you asked her not to do it?
Cooper: No, sir.
Court: Has she put any pressure on you or in any way forced you to enter a plea of guilty to either of these charges?
Cooper: No, sir.
Court: Has anyone else?
Cooper: No, sir.
Court: Whose decision is this, sir?
Cooper: Mine, sir.
Court: Is it your free and voluntary decision?
Cooper: Yes, sir.
After putting these questions and Cooper's responses on the record, the circuit court inquired of the State as to what the terms of Cooper's plea agreement were. The prosecuting attorney explained that
[i]n exchange for [Cooper's] pleas of guilty, as well as his waivers of his post conviction relief remedies, the State is recommending that the Court sentence [Cooper] to serve 15 years in Missouri Department of Corrections [on each count to run concurrently] and that the Court suspend execution of those sentences and place [Cooper] on five years supervised probation.
Before concluding the hearing, the circuit court also questioned Cooper regarding the waiver of his post-conviction rights:
Court: Now, as part of the plea agreement, it's my understanding that you are also waiving your right to post-conviction remedy under Rule 24.035; is that correct?
Cooper: Yes, sir.
Court: All right. Is that a free and voluntary decision by you, sir?
Cooper: Yes, sir.
Court: I want to go through those rights with you, just to make sure that you know what you're giving up.
Mr. Cooper, you have the—once you are sentenced, you have the right under Rule 24.035 to file within 180 days after your delivery to the custody of the Missouri Department of Corrections to file a motion to vacate, set aside or correct the judgment or conviction or sentence if you claim that, One, your conviction or the sentence imposed violates the Constitution or laws of the State of Missouri or the Constitution of the United States or [Two,] that the Court was without jurisdiction to impose the sentence or, Three, that the sentence imposed was in the excess of the maximum sentence authorized by law. Has your attorney explained this procedure to you, sir?
Cooper: Yes, sir.
Cooper also signed a waiver of his right to file a motion under Rule 24.035 for post-conviction relief. In the waiver, Cooper acknowledges that he was informed of his right to file a motion for post-conviction relief pursuant to Rule 24.035 including relief for “[i]neffective assistance of trial and appellate counsel.” The waiver provides that
having been so informed of [his] rights to post conviction relief as stated above, [Cooper] waives the right to file any such motion in return for the State's agreement to recommend a specific sentence to the Court, or for such other agreements on behalf of the State. By so agreeing to waive this right [Cooper] understands that [he] will be forever barred from raising any such claims as enumerated above [i.e. ineffective assistance of counsel]. [Cooper] also states to the Court that this waiver is made knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently, with a full understanding of the above rights.
At the bottom of the waiver appear the signatures of Cooper, his attorney, the assistant prosecuting attorney, and the trial judge.
At the conclusion of the hearing, the court found that Cooper
has freely, voluntarily and knowingly entered his pleas of guilty, has freely, voluntarily and knowingly waived all Constitutional rights attendant thereto. The Court accepts the pleas of guilty. The Court accepts the waiver of the Constitutional rights. And based upon his admissions to the contents of the information in lieu of indictment, the Court finds he is, in fact, guilty of the felony charge beyond a reasonable doubt. The Court further finds that he has freely, voluntarily and knowingly waived his right to proceed under Rule 24.035.
The circuit court sentenced Cooper as a persistent offender to a 15–year sentence on each count to run concurrently. It suspended execution of these sentences and placed Cooper on probation for a period of five years.
Cooper subsequently violated the terms of his probation, his probation was revoked, and the circuit court ordered executed both 15–year sentences to run concurrently. Thereafter, Cooper filed a pro se Rule 24.035 motion for post-conviction relief. The motion court appointed motion counsel, who filed an amended motion and requested an evidentiary hearing. The motion alleged that defense counsel was ineffective because she coerced Cooper into accepting the guilty plea by threatening to withdraw from the case if he did not plead guilty, by promising him that he would receive the maximum sentence under the law if the case was tried, and by falsely telling him that the circuit court would try the two cases together.
The motion court denied the request for an evidentiary hearing and overruled the motion on the merits. In its judgment, the motion court found that Cooper's “allegation of ineffective assistance of counsel by coercing [Cooper] to plead guilty is refuted by the records of [Cooper's] plea and sentencing hearings.” It further found that “[t]he transcript reveal[ed] that [Cooper] stated under oath that he was pleading guilty to the charges voluntarily of his own free will; that no one forced him to enter pleas of guilty to the charges; and that he was satisfied with [his counsel's] representation.”
This Court's review of the denial of a post-conviction motion under Rule 24.035 is limited to a determination of whether the motion court's findings of fact and conclusions of law are clearly erroneous. The motion court's findings and conclusions are clearly erroneous only if, after review of the record, the appellate court is left with the definite and firm impression that a mistake has been made. Movant has the burden to show by a preponderance of the evidence that the motion court clearly erred in its ruling.
To show he was entitled to an evidentiary hearing on his Rule 24.035 motion, Movant must show that (1) he alleged facts, not conclusions, warranting relief; (2) the facts alleged raise matters not refuted by the files and record of his case; and (3) the matters complained of resulted in prejudice to him. An evidentiary hearing may only be denied when the record conclusively shows that the movant is not entitled to relief. Roberts v. State, 276 S.W.3d 833, 835 (Mo. banc 2009) (internal citations omitted). “If conviction results from a guilty plea, any claim of ineffective assistance of counsel is immaterial except to the extent that it impinges the voluntariness and knowledge with which the plea was made.” State v. Roll, 942 S.W.2d 370, 375 (Mo. banc 1997) (internal citations omitted). ...
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