Greene v. State , WD 71153.

• Decision Date: 28 December 2010
• Docket Number: No. WD 71153.,WD 71153.
• Citation: 332 S.W.3d 239
• Parties: Terry A. GREENE, Appellant,v.STATE of Missouri, Respondent.
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

332 S.W.3d 239

Terry A. GREENE, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Missouri, Respondent.

No. WD 71153.

Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District.

Dec. 28, 2010.Motion for Rehearing and/or Transfer to

Supreme Court Denied Feb. 1, 2011. Application for Transfer Denied March 29, 2011.

[332 S.W.3d 241]

Frederick J. Ernst, Kansas City, MO, for appellant.Shaun J. Mackelprang, Jefferson City, MO, for respondent.Before Division One: JAMES M. SMART, JR., P.J., MARK PFEIFFER, and CYNTHIA L. MARTIN, JJ.JAMES M. SMART, JR., Judge.

Terry Greene appeals the denial of his Rule 24.035 motion for post-conviction relief after an evidentiary hearing claiming the trial court lacked jurisdiction to accept his guilty plea. Greene pleaded guilty to the class C felony of burglary in the second degree and was sentenced to a three-year term of imprisonment. Greene argues that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to enter the judgment and sentence because he was not brought to trial within 180 days under sections 217.450–217.485, RSMo, the Uniform Mandatory Disposition of Detainers Law (“UMDDL”).¹ We affirm.

[332 S.W.3d 242]

Factual Background

In March 2005, Terry Greene was charged with the Class C felony of burglary in the second degree in Holt County. A warrant was issued for his arrest. At the time, Greene was being held in the Nodaway County jail on domestic assault charges and was on probation for burglary charges in a Livingston County case in which the execution of his ten-year sentence was suspended. In May 2005, Greene was sent to the Missouri Department of Corrections (“DOC”) on the Nodaway County sentence.

In September 2005, Greene sent a letter to the records office of the Department of Corrections requesting that the Holt County charges be disposed of within 180 days. The DOC returned Greene's request with a notation that the 180 days did not apply because there was no detainer lodged against him. On December 19, 2005, appointed counsel filed a request for speedy disposition of the Holt County charges. Greene filed a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction in April 2006. In his motion, Greene alleged that the trial court was without jurisdiction to accept his guilty plea because he was denied his right to a speedy trial within 180 days under the UMDDL.² The trial court held a hearing in June 2006. At the conclusion of the hearing, the court denied Greene's motion to dismiss.

On June 9, 2006, Terry Greene pleaded guilty in the Circuit Court of Holt County to one count of second-degree burglary. Pursuant to a plea agreement, he was sentenced to a term of three years imprisonment. That sentence was to be served consecutively to Greene's ten-year sentence on his burglary conviction in Livingston County and a six-year sentence on the domestic assault conviction out of Nodaway County.

Greene filed a Rule 24.035 motion for post-conviction relief. Appointed counsel filed an amended motion. In his motion, he alleged that his guilty plea was entered beyond the expiration of the 180–day time limit after he had requested disposition of the pending charges. After an evidentiary hearing, the trial court denied Greene's motion for post-conviction relief. He now appeals.

Standard of Review

Appellate review of the denial of a Rule 24.035 motion for post-conviction relief is limited to a determination of whether the motion court's findings and conclusions of law are clearly erroneous. Davis v. State, 320 S.W.3d 237, 239 (Mo.App.2010). We presume the motion court's findings and conclusions of law are correct. Tabor v. State, 161 S.W.3d 862, 865 (Mo.App.2005). The motion court's findings and conclusions are clearly erroneous only if, after reviewing the entire record, this court is left with the definite

[332 S.W.3d 243]

and firm impression that a mistake has been made. Soto v. State, 226 S.W.3d 164, 166 (Mo. banc 2007).

Analysis

In his sole point on appeal, Green argues that the motion court clearly erred in denying his Rule 24.035 motion for post-conviction relief in violation of his constitutional rights, because the court lacked jurisdiction to enter the guilty plea in the underlying criminal action under sections 217.450–217.485 (“UMDDL”). Green argues that a de facto detainer arose because the DOC had notice of a warrant on file. He claims he was prejudiced because the DOC altered the terms of his incarceration by denying him work release and placing him in administrative segregation.

The UMDDL provides for the prompt disposition of detainers based on untried charges pending against a prisoner held within the state's correctional system.

In this case, we must first determine whether Greene properly complied with the procedural requirements of section 217.450,³ which provides:

1. Any person confined in a department correctional facility may request a final disposition of any untried indictment, information or complaint pending in this state on the basis of which a detainer has been lodged against him while so imprisoned. The request shall be in writing addressed to the court in which the indictment, information or complaint is pending and to the prosecuting attorney charged with the duty of prosecuting it, and shall set forth the place of imprisonment.

2. The director shall promptly inform each offender in writing of the source and nature of any untried indictment, information or complaint for which a detainer has been lodged against him of which the director has knowledge, and of his right to make a request for final disposition of such indictment, information or complaint on which the detainer is based.

3. Failure of the director to inform an offender, as required by this section, within one year after a detainer has been filed at the facility shall entitle him to a final dismissal of the indictment, information, or complaint with prejudice.

(Emphasis added.)

In order to receive the benefit and protection of the UMDDL, a defendant must show a good faith effort to invoke the UMDDL and must substantially comply with the procedural requirements. Dillard v. State, 931 S.W.2d 157, 164–65 (Mo.App.1996); State v. Parker, 890 S.W.2d 312, 317–18 (Mo.App.1994). “A fundamental procedural requirement of Section 217.450 is a written demand for speedy disposition addressed to the court and prosecuting attorney where the charges are pending.” Dillard, 931 S.W.2d at 164–65.

The 180–day time limit begins to run only when both the prosecuting attorney and the circuit court receive a defendant's request for disposition of pending charges. Section 217.460. The defendant bears the burden to prove that requests under the UMDDL were submitted and received by both the circuit court and prosecuting attorney. Tabor, 161 S.W.3d at 867.

[332 S.W.3d 244]

At the evidentiary hearing in this case, four officials from the DOC testified regarding Greene's allegations. The record shows that Polley Henley, an assistant in the records office at the DOC, acknowledged that she had received the following written request from Greene regarding a 180–day writ in September 2005:

“180 Day Writ Request”

ATTN: Records personnel

I, Terry A. Greene # 3337750, have a warrant in Holt Co. Missouri for 2nd Degree Burglar (sic) and need to file a 180 day writ on said case. The warrant # is 009218373. Please advise me of next step.

Henley indicated that she returned Greene's September 2005 letter with a notation that the 180–day time limit did not apply because he had “no detainer on file.” There was no indication in the letter that the DOC would be forwarding a request to the prosecuting attorney or the Circuit Court of Holt County. The record shows that on December 13, 2005, Henley sent notification to Greene that there was a warrant, but not a detainer, from Holt County. No further action was taken until appointed counsel filed a request for speedy disposition on December 19, 2005.

In its findings of fact and conclusions of law, the trial court found that Greene had pleaded guilty to second-degree burglary, a class C felony, and he was sentenced to three years in prison. The court further found that Greene had discussed the effects of pleading guilty at the plea hearing and that he understood the effect his guilty plea would have on his motion to dismiss pursuant to the UMDDL.

The court found that Greene had sent a letter to the records office at the DOC requesting disposition of the pending charges in Holt County. The records office promptly notified Greene that he could not file a request for a 180–day writ because he did not have a detainer lodged against him. The court concluded that the UMDDL did not apply because no detainer was lodged against Greene. The existence of a warrant did not constitute proper notification to the prosecutor or circuit court. A trial date was set for June 9, 2006. Greene pleaded guilty on that date.

Greene claims that the 180–day time limit was triggered when he submitted his letter requesting resolution of the pending burglary charges to the records office at the DOC in September 2005. Greene claims that the DOC's knowledge of his warrant in Holt County discovered during a routine warrants check ⁴ was sufficient notice (coupled with the alleged prejudice sustained by his classification while incarcerated and denial of work release) to constitute a de facto detainer. We...