Booker v. State

552 S.W.3d 522
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedJune 12, 2018
DocketNo. SC 96184
StatusPublished
Cited by33 cases

This text of 552 S.W.3d 522 (Booker v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Booker v. State, 552 S.W.3d 522 (Mo. 2018).

Opinion

Patricia Breckenridge, judge

Defendant Rwoeshan Booker appeals the motion court's order overruling, without an evidentiary hearing, his Rule 24.035 motion for postconviction relief from his conviction for assault in the first degree and 13-year sentence. Mr. Booker asserts the motion court clearly erred because the record does not conclusively refute his *525guilty plea for first degree assault was not knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently entered as there was an insufficient factual basis to accept his plea as required by Rule 24.02(e). He also contends the record does not refute his claim that plea counsel was ineffective for failing to advise him of the defense of acting under sudden passion arising out of adequate cause. Because the record conclusively refutes Mr. Booker's claims that his plea was not knowingly and voluntarily made and that his plea counsel was ineffective, the motion court's judgment is affirmed.

Factual and Procedural Background

Mr. Booker was indicted for assault in the first degree, section 565.050,1 along with Jasmine Jeffries, Ernest Carter, Johnnie Lane, and Shaquanta Moore. The indictment alleged defendants acted together in striking A.A. on June 20, 2010, and their conduct was "a substantial step toward the commission of the crime of attempting to kill or cause serious physical injury to A.A., and was done for the purpose of committing such assault." The indictment further alleged "in the course thereof [defendants] inflicted serious physical injury on A.A."

On January 28, 2013, Mr. Booker appeared in court for a plea hearing on this case and another case also pending in the circuit court of St. Louis County. In the other case, Mr. Booker was charged with the class B felony of robbery in the second degree and misdemeanor assault in the third degree. He was charged with acting with Mr. Carter in committing those offenses.

The court took up the two cases simultaneously. The transcript of the plea hearing shows Mr. Booker advised the court he intended to plead guilty in both cases. When questioned regarding his guilty plea in the other case, Mr. Booker stated he understood "what it means to be guilty if you're acting with another" and his counsel had explained that to him. Regarding his representation in this case, Mr. Booker stated he had been represented by defense counsel for 16 months and had met with his counsel in person, talked with counsel "a nice amount of times, and had enough time to talk to him." He stated his counsel had explained the charges to him, had gone over the state's evidence with him, and had discussed with him the range of punishment for the offenses. When asked by the plea court if he was pleading guilty voluntarily and because he was guilty, Mr. Booker's response to both questions was, "Yes."

During the plea colloquy regarding the charge in this case of assault in the first degree, the prosecutor stated the state's evidence would prove:

[T]he defendant acting with Ernest Carter, Jasmine Jeffries, Shaquanta Monroe, and Johnnie Lane struck [A.A.], and such conduct, was a substantial step toward the commission of the crime of attempting to kill or cause serious physical injury to [A.A.] and was done for the purpose of committing such assault, and in the course thereof inflicted serious physical injury on the person of [A.A.].

In giving details of the state's evidence, the prosecutor stated Mr. Booker was with the other four individuals in the parking lot of a fast food restaurant. When A.A. and his friend, Luther Jones, arrived in the parking lot, Mr. Jones started talking to Ms. Jeffries and an argument ensued. The prosecutor further stated:

Johnnie Lane got out of his vehicle, started arguing with Luther Jones, and started pushing each other. [A.A.] went up to the situation and Johnnie Lane swung on A.A. Rwoeshan Booker then *526struck [A.A.], and [A.A.] fell on the ground. Everyone in the group joined in and continue[d] to hit [A.A.] after he fell on the ground. Specifically, Jasmine Jeffries and Shaquanta Monroe kicked [A.A.] at least one time in the head. Mr. Booker continued to hit [A.A.] once he was on the ground. ...
As a result of this incident, [A.A.] suffer[ed] a traumatic brain injury. He is now unable to control his bodily functions on his own, including the fact he cannot walk on his own, he cannot feed himself, or do anything to care for himself and requires constant care as a result of these actions.

Defense counsel questioned the chronology of Mr. Booker's participation in the assault, and the parties agreed the state's evidence was that, while Mr. Booker hit A.A. after he was on the ground, his hitting occurred before A.A. was kicked in the head by Ms. Jeffries. The plea court confirmed that, subsequent to Mr. Booker hitting A.A. while he was on the ground, he was "kicked at least twice in the head and suffered head injuries." The prosecutor stated the evidence would be that, at some point, Mr. Booker fled the scene.

The plea court questioned Mr. Booker whether, based on the statements of the evidence, Mr. Booker was pleading guilty to assault in the first degree. Mr. Booker stated he was. After further questioning of Mr. Booker, including questions regarding the range of punishment and advising him the court was not bound by the state's recommendation, Mr. Booker again stated he was pleading guilty. The plea court accepted Mr. Booker's guilty plea. At his sentencing hearing, Mr. Booker was sentenced to 13 years in prison.

Mr. Booker timely filed a Rule 24.035 motion for postconviction relief. In his amended motion, he claimed there was an insufficient factual basis for his plea of guilty to assault in the first degree and his plea was not knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily entered. More specifically, he asserted the record failed to show he pleaded guilty with an awareness of the elements of the offense and it was unclear whether he pleaded guilty as an accomplice or as a principal. In a second claim, Mr. Booker contended he received ineffective assistance of counsel in that his plea counsel failed to advise him he had a viable defense to the crime of first degree assault on grounds he was acting under the influence of sudden passion arising out of adequate cause.

The motion court overruled Mr. Booker's Rule 24.035 motion for postconviction relief without an evidentiary hearing. Mr. Booker appealed. After opinion by the court of appeals, the case was transferred to this Court. Mo. Const. art. V, sec. 10.

Standard of Review

This Court reviews a motion court's judgment overruling a Rule 24.035 motion to determine if the court's findings of fact and conclusions of law are "clearly erroneous." Ross v. State , 335 S.W.3d 479, 480 (Mo. banc 2011). "The motion court's findings and conclusions are clearly erroneous only if," after review of the record, the appellate court is "left with a definite and firm impression that a mistake was made." Id.

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Bluebook (online)
552 S.W.3d 522, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/booker-v-state-mo-2018.