State v. Simpson

• Decision Date: 14 July 1992
• Docket Number: No. 15001,15001
• Citation: 836 S.W.2d 75
• Parties: STATE of Missouri, Respondent, v. Stacy Mechelle SIMPSON, Appellant.
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

Page 75

836 S.W.2d 75

STATE of Missouri, Respondent, v. Stacy Mechelle SIMPSON, Appellant.

No. 15001.

Missouri Court of Appeals,

Southern District,

Division Two.

July 14, 1992.

Curtis E. Woods, of Spencer, Fane, Britt & Browne, Kansas City, for appellant.

William L. Webster, Atty. Gen., Ronald L. Jurgeson, Asst. Atty. Gen., Jefferson City, for respondent.

PER CURIAM.

On September 3, 1985, Gail Janet Simpson died as a result of gunshot wounds to her head. She was the mother of defendant, Stacy Mechelle Simpson (Stacy), who was born June 23, 1971. This tragedy commenced an almost seven-year odyssey of Stacy's case which touched all levels of the Missouri court system, traveled through two federal courts and, finally, back here on direct appeal. That circuitous path will be briefly related for understanding of this tardy appeal.

Upon Stacy's "Alford" ¹ plea of guilty to a reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter, she was sentenced on November 3, 1986, to an eleven-year term of imprisonment. This appeal results from Stacy's complaints concerning the circumstances of her plea and objection to the jurisdiction of the Jasper County Circuit Court.

FACTS

On September 13, 1985, a Petition was filed in the Circuit Court of Bates County, Missouri, Juvenile Division, alleging that Stacy, at the time a child age fourteen years, had knowingly caused the death of her mother. Promptly, the court ordered a psychiatric evaluation of Stacy which was soon performed and a report made. The examining psychiatrist recommended Stacy be returned to the juvenile court for disposition of her case because of her "young age and relative emotional immaturity." Another report indicated Stacy's "psychosocial development is clearly not advanced beyond adolescence and in some respects, she is even more immature."

On March 11, 1986, the juvenile officer filed a motion to dismiss the Petition and to proceed against Stacy under the general law for commission of a felony. It alleged Stacy was not a proper subject to be dealt with under the Juvenile Code for the reason that the alleged offense "involved extreme viciousness and violence" and that Stacy "is beyond the rehabilitative care, treatment and services available to this court and cannot benefit further therefrom." On March 19, 1986, the juvenile court found those allegations to be true, ordered the Petition be dismissed and that Stacy may be prosecuted under the general law.

After a preliminary hearing, an Information was filed on May 7, 1986, charging Stacy with murder in the first degree under § 565.020.1, RSMo Supp.1984. On May 23, 1986, Stacy filed a motion to dismiss the Information and remand the case to juvenile court on the ground that the certification of the juvenile court was not supported by the evidence.

After Stacy's motion for change of venue, the Bates County Circuit Court on June 27, 1986, transferred the case to the Circuit Court of Jasper County, Missouri. Stacy's motion to dismiss the Information and remand to the juvenile division was denied on August 1, 1986.

On September 16, 1986, Stacy entered an Alford plea of guilty to an Amended Information charging her with voluntary manslaughter under § 565.023.1(1), RSMo Supp.1984. Under the terms of a prior plea agreement, the prosecutor agreed to reduce the charge from first degree murder to voluntary manslaughter, recommend five years' probation, supervised by a juvenile division of an appropriate circuit court,

and request a presentence investigation. After a hearing the court accepted Stacy's plea. At that time, the court informed Stacy it was not bound by the prosecutor's recommendation and the court could sentence her to any authorized term of punishment. Stacy indicated she understood this authority of the court

On October 3, 1986, Stacy informed the court she had discharged her attorney. On October 10, 1986, she filed a pro se pleading entitled "Request of My Attorney to Withdraw Guilty Plea," where she alleged, at the time she entered her guilty plea, "I did not understand the consequences of my guilty plea and, after having had time to think about it, I am hereby instructing [my attorney] to inform the Court that I do withdraw my guilty plea to voluntary manslaughter."

Prior to the sentencing hearing of November 3, 1986, Stacy retained new counsel who filed a motion to withdraw guilty plea on November 3, 1986. That same day new counsel requested the hearing on Stacy's motion be continued which the court denied. Immediately the court conducted an evidentiary hearing on the motion to withdraw guilty plea, and the motion was denied. The court found that Stacy "knowingly and voluntarily waived her rights to a jury trial and her rights pertaining to a trial by jury. Court further finds that neither the State nor the Court has violated the plea bargain [Stacy] entered into in this case." The court then proceeded to sentence Stacy, at the time fifteen years old, to eleven years in an adult state penitentiary. Prior to sentencing Stacy, the trial court did not inform her the plea bargain agreement was rejected nor afford her the opportunity to withdraw her plea.

On November 13, 1986, Stacy filed a Notice of Appeal in this Court. While her appeal was pending, Stacy filed, pro se, in the Supreme Court, a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus on March 26, 1987. That petition was dismissed by the Supreme Court on April 14, 1987.

Stacy's legal counsel failed to file the record on appeal in this Court, and we dismissed the appeal on May 1, 1987.

On December 9, 1988, Stacy filed a Rule 24.035 motion in Jasper County Circuit Court. Her motion was summarily denied on January 3, 1989.

On February 6, 1989, Stacy filed a federal habeas corpus petition pursuant to § 2254 of Title 28, United States Code, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri. After an evidentiary hearing on May 15, 1990, Judge Elmo B. Hunter granted the writ on the grounds that Stacy was unconstitutionally denied the right to withdraw her plea which was not made voluntarily and knowingly. See Simpson v. Camper, 743 F.Supp. 1342 (W.D.Mo.1990).

The State of Missouri appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. On March 4, 1991, that Court filed an opinion which determined that Stacy's challenge to the validity of her plea had never been presented to the Missouri courts and stated its uncertainty whether she had exhausted her state remedies. See Simpson v. Camper, 927 F.2d 392 (8th Cir.1991). The Eighth Circuit held that Stacy's avoidance of a procedural bar to her federal habeas corpus claims rested on her contention that she was denied effective assistance of counsel on her direct appeal to this Court in 1987. The State submitted that Stacy's remedy was a motion to this Court to recall the mandate. The Eighth Circuit held in abeyance its decision on Stacy's habeas corpus action pending the outcome of the motion to recall the mandate in this Court.

Such motion was filed here on May 3, 1991, which was later sustained. This appeal followed. Additional facts, necessary to our determination, will be set forth under each point.

APPLICATION OF THE ESCAPE RULE

Preliminarily, we address the State's contention that the escape rule should be applied here and the appeal dismissed. The State believes the escape rule applies because between the time of Stacy's guilty plea and sentencing, she absented herself from her juvenile services-appointed

foster home and failed to keep a court-ordered appointment with Dr. Gordon

The facts upon which the State relies to justify application of the escape rule are as follows: At Stacy's guilty plea the court ordered Stacy to undergo an evaluation by Dr. Gordon as soon as possible, with a report to be filed with the court before sentencing.

The only evidence in the record regarding Stacy's failure to keep the doctor's appointment came from her testimony at the sentencing hearing. She explained, "We called down here, sir, and tried to find out when that was scheduled, and they would not tell us."

Concerning leaving the foster home, Stacy testified as follows:

I didn't leave the Fitch [foster] home. I left early that morning, went to school, uh, went to a football game, came back to the Fitches' house, waited for the Fitches, nobody showed up, got a couple of my clothes, called the courts, told the courts where I was at, gave them the address, gave them the phone number, and waited for the Fitches, and nobody showed up, so we left.

From the meager record it appears Stacy left with her grandmother and resided with her until sentencing date. The State does not take issue with that fact.

In essence, the State argues that Stacy's failure to keep the court-ordered appointment with Dr. Gordon and her absence from the foster home is sufficient to invoke the escape rule. For the reasons which follow, we decline to expand the escape rule to the factual situation before us. However, our position should not be misconstrued because in no way do we condone such actions of Stacy nor are we so naive as to believe Stacy made a sincere effort to comply with directions of the court.

As noted by the State, the escape rule was first applied in State v. Carter, 98 Mo. 431, 11 S.W. 979 (1889), where the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal of a convicted murderer who escaped custody and remained at large pending appeal. Since this early application of the rule, it has been expanded by Missouri appellate courts to factual situations unlike Carter. For example, the escape rule was applied in State v. Thomas, 792 S.W.2d 66 (Mo.App.1990) (where the jury returned a guilty verdict but prior to sentencing defendant absented himself from the courtroom without permission); Rulo v. State, 804 S.W.2d 866 (Mo.App.1991) (where defendant entered a plea of guilty but fled the courtroom prior to sentencing); State v. Woods, 812 S.W.2d 267 (Mo.App.1991) (where after conviction defendant failed to appear...