State ex rel. Koster v. Suter
| Decision Date | 29 July 2014 |
| Docket Number | Nos. WD 77163,WD 77188.,s. WD 77163 |
| Citation | 447 S.W.3d 673 |
| Parties | STATE of Missouri ex rel Chris KOSTER, Relator, v. The Honorable Cynthia SUTER, Associate Circuit Judge of Randolph County and Peggy Boots, Circuit Clerk Randolph County Circuit Court, Respondents. |
| Court | Missouri Court of Appeals |
Martha E. Ravenhill and Gregory M. Goodwin, Jefferson City, MO, for relator.
Chelsea R. Mitchell, Columbia, MO, for Respondents.
Before Writ Division: GARY D. WITT, Presiding Judge, THOMAS H. NEWTON, Judge and CYNTHIA L. MARTIN, Judge.
This cause arises from a petition for writ of certiorari filed by Relator State of Missouri (“State”) to review Respondent Honorable Cynthia Suter's (“Judge Suter”) entry of a writ of habeas corpus to Joseph Thomas Bowen (“Bowen”), and a petition for writ of prohibition to review Judge Suter's accompanying dismissal of the State's petition to commit Bowen as a sexually violent predator (“SVP”). We issued a writ of certiorari and a preliminary writ of prohibition and consolidated the writs for consideration. For the reasons set forth below, we quash the writ of habeas corpus and make our preliminary writ of prohibition absolute.
This action arises in the midst of proceedings to civilly commit Joseph Thomas Bowen (“Bowen”) as a sexually violent predator pursuant to Section 632.486.1 On October 1, 2008, Bowen pleaded guilty to supplying liquor to a minor and to first-degree child molestation in the Circuit Court of Randolph County, case number 08RACR00592–01. At that time he admitted to supplying a twelve-year-old girl alcohol and then engaging in oral and vaginal intercourse with her. For the child molestation conviction, Bowen was sentenced on November 19, 2008 to five years' imprisonment under Section 559.115 (RSMo 2006 ), which included a 120–day assessment in the Sex Offender Assessment Unit (“SOAU”).
Bowen participated in the SOAU program. The record includes a signed statement by Bowen agreeing to the terms of the program. The record also contains a “Court Report Investigation,” dated March 5, 2009 that was generated by the Department of Corrections (“DOC”) and filed March 12, 2009. That Court Report Investigation includes comments from a counselor with the Missouri Sexual Offender Services at the Farmington Correctional Center indicating that Bowen had “general life instability, a history of substance abuse, being intoxicated at the time of the offense[,] not seeing himself as a risk to sexually offend ... no protective factors.” That counselor concluded:
While he appears to be a somewhat high risk to reoffend, it also appears that much of his risk is dependent on his ability to stay sober. If he is not using drugs or alcohol, his risk may be lower. It appears that, in spite of this risk, that Mr. Bowen is a good candidate for community-based supervision and treatment.
After the counselor's statements, the same March 5, 2009 report then includes additional evaluative information as well as recommendations from a probation and parole officer with the SOAU. That portion of the report is titled “SOAU EVALUATION.” The SOAU officer considered Bowen's record and recommended that probation be denied, with the following comments:
The SOAU clinician notes he scored within the medium high risk category on the Static–99.2 Other test, file and interview data suggest this may be an underestimate of his risk.... This officer is concerned with public safety regarding Bowen's ability to not reoffend provided he remain substance free.
On March 18, 2009, following receipt of the DOC's Court Report Investigation, the court denied Bowen probation, concluding that it would be “an abuse of discretion to release” and ordered the execution of the five-year sentence pursuant to Section 559.115 (RSMo 2006 ), set out below. Bowen had never challenged this determination.
The record also contains a report written after Bowen was denied probation and almost seven months after he was originally sentenced. That report was dated June 4, 2009 and also was generated by the DOC. In the June 4, 2009 report, the DOC recommended that Bowen be granted probation effective September 22, 2010, stating that Bowen:
was admitted to the Sex Offender Assessment Unit on 12–22–08 and successfully completed Phase I of the MOSOP3 on 1–27–09. He did not incur any violations while in the program. According to the Court Report submitted on 03/05/09, he scored within the Medium–High Risk Category (Risk score=4) on the risks of sexual offending recidivism.
The record does not indicate what, if any, action occurred as a result of the June 4, 2009 report because it was generated after the plea court denied probation on March 18, 2009, the only probation determination relevant to the proceedings at bar.
On June 11, 2013, the State filed a petition to civilly commit Bowen as a SVP pursuant to Section 632.486, in case number 13RA–PR0005. In that petition, the State alleged that Bowen (1) had a prior conviction of a sexually violent offense, as defined by law, (2) is currently suffering from a mental abnormality that makes him more likely than not to engage in predatory acts of sexual violence if released, and (3) is anticipated to be released from confinement on June 13, 2013, and that sufficient evidence exists to determine whether he suffers from a mental abnormality that makes him more likely to engage in predatory acts of sexual violence. Attached to the State's petition was an End of Confinement Report. In that report, Bowen was described as admitting to “11 plus” additional victims and at one point informed a mental health professional that he would be a danger to the community and young girls if released.
Judge Suter made an initial determination that there was probable cause to believe that Bowen was an SVP pursuant to Section 632.489.1. Bowen was then provided notice of that determination and given the opportunity to challenge that determination at a later hearing. On June 17, 2013, Judge Suter determined that there was probable cause to believe that Bowen was an SVP pursuant to Section 632.489.2.
Roughly six months later, on December 13, 2013, Bowen filed a motion to dismiss the petition to commit him civilly on the ground that the court lacked jurisdiction and statutory authority. The crux of Bowen's argument was that the State lacked authority under the SVP Act to file a petition because the DOC did not have jurisdiction over Bowen pursuant to Section 632.483. Bowen claimed in the motion that he was not lawfully in the custody of the DOC because the trial court in the underlying conviction did not conduct a hearing before exercising its discretion to deny him release on probation and executing his sentence. Specifically, Bowen alleged “successful completion” of a SOAU program and error in the plea court because he was not granted a hearing pursuant to Section 559.115.3. Bowen argued that such a hearing should have been conducted under Section 559.115.3 (RSMo 2006 ), which, as noted below, provides that “[i]f the court determines that probation is not appropriate, the court may order the execution of the offender's sentence only after conducting a hearing on the matter....”
On December 18, 2013, the probate court heard arguments on the motion to dismiss. Judge Suter noted that “if a court that has jurisdiction over Mr. Bowen's conviction in Case No. 08RA–CR00592 says this—his incarceration was invalid, I would find—I would overturn my ruling in the probable cause statement, I would immediately release him.”4
The next day, December 19, 2013, Bowen filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the Circuit Court of Randolph County, which Judge Suter also presided over. Bowen collaterally contested confinement based on the same ground he raised in the motion to dismiss in the probate court, which was that he “was never under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections following his conviction in the criminal case because the criminal trial court acted in excess of statutory authority, and without jurisdiction, in denying Mr. Bowen's probation and in executing his sentence in the criminal case.”
On January 14, 2013, the habeas court granted the writ of habeas corpus and ordered Bowen released from custody. In granting relief, the habeas court determined that Bowen's detention was “illegal” because the State did not have “statutory authority to file its petition seeking civil commitment.” The habeas court thus concluded there was “no legal cause shown for the restraint” of Bowen and accordingly directed his release.
The State filed its petition for writ of certiorari in this Court, WD 77163. We granted the preliminary writ of certiorari and ordered a stay of Bowen's release pending a review of the issues raised in the habeas action. Shortly after we granted the preliminary writ on January 14, 2014, the probate court, apparently not in receipt of our preliminary writ, dismissed the SVP case based on the motion to dismiss and ordered Bowen released. The State filed a writ of mandamus or prohibition related to the motion to dismiss in this Court, WD 77188. We issued a second stay, staying the release of Bowen pursuant to the order of the probate court. Notwithstanding the issuance of our stay orders, Bowen was released.
Soon thereafter, in an attempt to comply with our stay orders, the probate court issued a warrant to return Bowen to the custody of the Randolph County sheriff. On January 16, 2014, this warrant was executed in Greene County, and Bowen was taken into custody by the Greene County Sheriff. On January 16, 2014, Bowen filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the Circuit Court of Greene County challenging the lawfulness of his confinement. The Circuit Court of Greene County granted the writ and ordered Bowen released on January 17, 2014. That same day, the State...
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