State v. Martin, 63737
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of Missouri |
| Writing for the Court | PER CURIAM |
| Citation | 644 S.W.2d 359 |
| Parties | STATE of Missouri, Respondent, v. Robert Scott MARTIN, Appellant. |
| Docket Number | No. 63737,63737 |
| Decision Date | 25 January 1983 |
Page 359
v.
Robert Scott MARTIN, Appellant.
En Banc.
Loren R. Honecker, Springfield, Floyd Holder, Jr., Lubbock, Tex., Gary C. Riley, Odessa, Tex., for appellant.
John Ashcroft, Atty. Gen., John Morris, III, Asst. Atty. Gen., Jefferson City, for respondent.
PER CURIAM.
The notice of appeal in this cause was filed in this Court on January 18, 1982. On December 2, 1982, an amendment to Mo. Const. art. V, § 3 became effective. Pursuant to this amendment, which removed this Court's appellate jurisdiction in cases in which the punishment imposed is imprisonment for life, this cause was transferred to the Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District. That court has retransferred the case to this Court by an opinion in which it concluded that this Court has jurisdiction of those cases in which the notice of appeal is filed before December 3, 1982. Since we conclude the amendment to Mo. Const. art. V, § 3, divested this Court of jurisdiction of this and similar cases, the cause is ordered transferred to the Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District.
As noted in Boone County Court v. State, 631 S.W.2d 321 (Mo. banc 1982), rules applicable to constitutional construction are the same as those applied to statutory construction, except that the former are given a broader construction. Furthermore, the fundamental purpose of constitutional construction is to give effect to the intent of the voters who adopted the amendment. In examining the intent of the voters in adopting the amendment to this Court's jurisdiction, it is helpful to review previous changes that have occurred.
By amendment adopted August 4, 1970, and effective January 1, 1972, Mo. Const. art. V, § 3 was amended to eliminate this Court's jurisdiction with regard to several classes of cases. Also included in the amendment however, was art. V, § 31. Subsection 4 of § 31 provided that "[a]ll causes, matters, and proceedings pending in any appellate court on the effective date of this amendment [to art. V] shall be handled to final conclusion by the court wherein they are pending, without regard to the
Page 360
provisions of this amendment, as if this amendment had not been adopted." This language resulted in this Court retaining and deciding those cases pending in this Court on the effective date of the amendment to art. V. See State v. Bascue, 485 S.W.2d 35 (Mo.1972); Papin v. Papin, ...To continue reading
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State v. Harvey, 61836
...we will "retain those life imprisonment cases under submission to this Court on the effective date of the amendment." State v. Martin, 644 S.W.2d 359, 360 (Mo. banc 1983). We Appellant does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence. It suffices to say that the complainant, whom we shall......
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State v. Coleman, WD
...is vested in this court by an amendment to the Missouri Constitution, Article V, § 3, effective December 1982. State v. Martin, 644 S.W.2d 359 (Mo.banc Prior to setting forth the pertinent facts and considering the alleged errors, it is noted that the file on appeal contains no less than th......
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State v. Davis, 63475
...we will "retain those life imprisonment cases under submission to this Court on the effective date of the amendment." State v. Martin, 644 S.W.2d 359, 360 (Mo. banc 1983). We At approximately 11:20 p.m. on October 24, 1977, St. Charles Police Officer Leslie Simpson was dispatched to the 905......
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State v. Lee, 63296
...of Appeals, this Court has retained jurisdiction in those cases under submission on the effective date of the amendment. State v. Martin, 644 S.W.2d 359, 360 (Mo. banc 1983). That is the situation in this Defendant relies on three points of alleged error in his appeal: 1) failure to instruc......
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State v. Harvey, No. 61836
...we will "retain those life imprisonment cases under submission to this Court on the effective date of the amendment." State v. Martin, 644 S.W.2d 359, 360 (Mo. banc 1983). We Appellant does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence. It suffices to say that the complainant, whom we shall......
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State v. Coleman, No. WD
...is vested in this court by an amendment to the Missouri Constitution, Article V, § 3, effective December 1982. State v. Martin, 644 S.W.2d 359 (Mo.banc Prior to setting forth the pertinent facts and considering the alleged errors, it is noted that the file on appeal contains no less than th......
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State v. Davis, No. 63475
...we will "retain those life imprisonment cases under submission to this Court on the effective date of the amendment." State v. Martin, 644 S.W.2d 359, 360 (Mo. banc 1983). We At approximately 11:20 p.m. on October 24, 1977, St. Charles Police Officer Leslie Simpson was dispatched to the 905......
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State v. Brown, No. 13152
...be served consecutive to the sentence he was presently serving. Defendant appealed. We have jurisdiction of the appeal. State v. Martin, 644 S.W.2d 359 (Mo. banc This homicide was committed in front (on the north side) of Housing Unit No. 3 at the Missouri State Penitentiary. A corrections ......