Poole v. State, No. 45806

CourtCourt of Appeal of Missouri (US)
Writing for the CourtARTHUR LITZ; SATZ, P.J., and NORWIN D. HOUSER
Citation671 S.W.2d 787
PartiesCharles POOLE, Appellant, v. STATE of Missouri, Respondent.
Decision Date25 October 1983
Docket NumberNo. 45806

Page 787

671 S.W.2d 787
Charles POOLE, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Missouri, Respondent.
No. 45806.
Missouri Court of Appeals,
Eastern District,
Division Five.
Oct. 25, 1983.
Motion for Rehearing and/or Transfer to
Supreme Court Denied June 19, 1984.
Application to Transfer Denied
July 17, 1984.

Devereaux, Stokes, & Luehrman by Daniel R. Devereaux and Frances M. Luehrman, St. Louis, for appellant.

John Ashcroft, Atty. Gen. by John M. Morris, Asst. Atty. Gen., Jefferson City, for respondent.

ARTHUR LITZ, Special Judge.

Appellant Charles Poole after a hearing appeals from the trial Court's decision overruling his Rule 27.26 Motion to correct, vacate or set aside his conviction and sentence. The grounds are based on ineffective assistance of counsel at his trial. We reverse and remand.

Poole was convicted of assault with intent to kill with malice in 1976, from an altercation in a melee involving many people, and sentenced to twenty years in the Missouri Department of Corrections. The

Page 788

conviction was affirmed in 1977. State v. Poole, 556 S.W.2d 493.

The Public Defender who conducted the trial had the case for approximately six months. An initial Public Defender interview sheet listed the names of the witnesses, Johnnie Davis and Jerome Lewis. Counsel's handwritten note in his file requested his investigator find the names and addresses of Poole's five witnesses, which was his normal procedure. In the file were listed the names of Jerome Lewis, Jimmie Lewis, Sherman Hernton, Gregory Johnson and Jerome Stephenson. In addition there was the name of Wayne Martin with addresses for Jerome Lewis, Hernton and Martin. At the 27.26 hearing the Public Defender who tried Poole's case admitted that his file did not reveal that any investigator had ever gone out to investigate these persons or talked to any of them.

Each time the case would appear on a docket Poole was sent a letter asking that he appear for a conference (appellant being on bond) and Poole would always appear and at times would talk on the telephone. Appellant was requested to bring witnesses for each conference but the lawyer recalled that only once did witnesses actually appear. He admitted he may have spoken with some of Poole's witnesses on the telephone before trial but not in person. He also stated that Poole may have brought witnesses to his office when he was unavailable. He further recalled that Poole brought two witnesses to Court after the trial began but could not...

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11 practice notes
  • State ex rel. O'Blennis v. Adolf, No. 49752
    • United States
    • Court of Appeal of Missouri (US)
    • May 21, 1985
    ...by the trial court. In October, 1983, we reversed the action of the trial court and remanded for further proceedings. Poole v. State, 671 S.W.2d 787 (Mo.App.1983). Poole's suit against O'Blennis was filed in January, On November 7, 1984, Poole pleaded guilty to the original charge of assaul......
  • Goodman v. Wampler, No. SD 31611.
    • United States
    • Court of Appeal of Missouri (US)
    • October 1, 2013
    ...conviction was set aside in his Rule 27.26 proceeding because O'Blennis provided ineffective assistance at the trial. See Poole v. State, 671 S.W.2d 787, 789 (Mo.App.1983). Poole then brought a legal malpractice action against O'Blennis. While that civil action was pending, Poole pled guilt......
  • Thomas v. State, No. 15448
    • United States
    • Missouri Court of Appeals
    • November 29, 1988
    ...because investigation demonstrated to the attorney that their testimony would not help nor was it an error in judgment. Poole v. State, 671 S.W.2d 787, 788 (Mo.App.1983). Counsel's failure to investigate the landlord as a witness cannot be excused as trial strategy. Cf. Fingers v. State, 68......
  • State v. Tubbs, Nos. 16415
    • United States
    • Court of Appeal of Missouri (US)
    • March 11, 1991
    ...witnesses named by his client who might aid in the latter's defense. Childress v. State, 778 S.W.2d 3, 6 (Mo.App.1989); Poole v. State, 671 S.W.2d 787, 788 (Mo.App.1983). To establish ineffective assistance of counsel for failure to interview a potential witness, a prisoner must prove the w......
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11 cases
  • State ex rel. O'Blennis v. Adolf, No. 49752
    • United States
    • Court of Appeal of Missouri (US)
    • May 21, 1985
    ...by the trial court. In October, 1983, we reversed the action of the trial court and remanded for further proceedings. Poole v. State, 671 S.W.2d 787 (Mo.App.1983). Poole's suit against O'Blennis was filed in January, On November 7, 1984, Poole pleaded guilty to the original charge of assaul......
  • Goodman v. Wampler, No. SD 31611.
    • United States
    • Court of Appeal of Missouri (US)
    • October 1, 2013
    ...conviction was set aside in his Rule 27.26 proceeding because O'Blennis provided ineffective assistance at the trial. See Poole v. State, 671 S.W.2d 787, 789 (Mo.App.1983). Poole then brought a legal malpractice action against O'Blennis. While that civil action was pending, Poole pled guilt......
  • Thomas v. State, No. 15448
    • United States
    • Missouri Court of Appeals
    • November 29, 1988
    ...because investigation demonstrated to the attorney that their testimony would not help nor was it an error in judgment. Poole v. State, 671 S.W.2d 787, 788 (Mo.App.1983). Counsel's failure to investigate the landlord as a witness cannot be excused as trial strategy. Cf. Fingers v. State, 68......
  • State v. Tubbs, Nos. 16415
    • United States
    • Court of Appeal of Missouri (US)
    • March 11, 1991
    ...witnesses named by his client who might aid in the latter's defense. Childress v. State, 778 S.W.2d 3, 6 (Mo.App.1989); Poole v. State, 671 S.W.2d 787, 788 (Mo.App.1983). To establish ineffective assistance of counsel for failure to interview a potential witness, a prisoner must prove the w......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

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