Gilmore v. State

741 S.W.2d 704, 1987 Mo. App. LEXIS 4744, 1987 WL 959
Missouri Court of Appeals·Decided October 13, 1987·No. 52683·Published·Cited by 8 cases

Opinion

SIMON, Judge.

Movant appeals the denial of his Rule 27.26 motion without an evidentiary hearing. We affirm in part and reverse and remand in part.

Movant was convicted by a jury of two counts of capital murder and was sentenced to death on each count. The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction in State v. Gilmore, 697 S.W.2d 172 (Mo. banc 1985), cert. denied, 476 U.S. 1178, 106 S.Ct. 2906, 90 L.Ed.2d 992 (1986). Movant filed a pro se Rule 27.26 motion. His appointed counsel filed an amended motion on movant’s behalf. Any reference to the motion herein refers to the amended motion.

The facts of this case have been well-documented by our courts. See: State v. Gilmore, 650 S.W.2d 627 (Mo. banc 1985); State v. Gilmore, 697 S.W.2d 172 (Mo. banc 1985), cert. denied, 476 U.S. 1178, 106 S.Ct. 2906, 90 L.Ed.2d 992 (1986); State v. Laws, 661 S.W.2d 526 (Mo. banc 1983), cert. denied, 467 U.S. 1210, 104 S.Ct. 2401, 81 L.Ed.2d 357 (1984); and, Laws v. State, 708 S.W.2d 182 (Mo.App.1986). In fact, movant and Leonard Laws have made full use of the court system. See: State v. Gilmore, 661 S.W.2d 519 (Mo. banc 1983), cert, denied, 466 U.S. 945, 104 S.Ct. 1931, 80 L.Ed.2d 476 (1984); Gilmore v. State, 712 S.W.2d 438 (Mo.App.1986); State v. Gilmore, 681 S.W.2d 934 (Mo. banc 1984); Gilmore v. Missouri, 464 U.S. 1306, 104 S.Ct. 567, 78 L.Ed.2d 538 (Blackmun, Circuit Justice 1984) (granting stay of execution); State v. Laws, 668 S.W.2d 234 (Mo. App.1984); State v. Laws, 699 S.W.2d 102 (Mo.App.1985); Laws v. Missouri, 464 U.S. 1306, 104 S.Ct. 567, 78 L.Ed.2d 538 (Blackmun, Circuit Justice 1984) (granting stay of execution); Laws v. O’Brien, 718 S.W.2d 615 (Mo.App.1986) (legal malpractice case). As such, we will discuss the facts as the need arises in the course of the opinion.

Movant raises two points on appeal: (1) the motion court failed to make findings of fact and conclusions of law on all of the issues presented in his Rule 27.26 motion as required by Rule 27.26(i); and, (2) the motion court erred in denying movant an evidentiary hearing pursuant to Rule 27.-26(e) because the allegations raised in his Rule 27.26 motion were not conclusively refuted by the record.

We note at the outset that our review is limited to determining whether the conclusions and the judgment of the motion court are clearly erroneous. Rule 27.26(j); Richardsonv. State, 719 S.W.2d 912, 915 (Mo. App.1986). Furthermore, the motion court’s conclusions are clearly erroneous if a review of the entire record leaves us with a definite and firm impression that a mis *706 take has been made. Richardson, 719 S.W.2d at 915.

Rule 27.26(i) provides that the motion court shall make findings of fact and conclusions of law on all issues presented. Fields v. State, 572 S.W.2d 477, 483 (Mo. banc 1978). Where the findings of fact and conclusions of law sufficiently cover all points as to permit meaningful appellate review of the motion court’s judgment, they are sufficiently specific. Leigh v. State, 673 S.W.2d 788, 790 (Mo.App.1984).

Further, to be entitled to an eviden-tiary hearing on a Rule 27.26 motion, the movant must: (1) allege facts, not conclusions, warranting relief; (2) the facts must raise matters which are not refuted by the record; and, (3) the matters complained of must have resulted in prejudice to the mov-ant. Chapman v. State, 720 S.W.2d 17, 18 (Mo.App.1986).

Movant’s Rule 27.26 motion consists of eight (8) parts. Part 1 sets forth eight (a to h) allegations of ineffective assistance of counsel. Part 2 sets forth four (a to d) allegations of essentially trial court error. Parts 3 and 4 contain allegations regarding the imposition of the death penalty. The allegation contained in Part 5 contends that Rule 30.30 is unconstitutional in that the execution date of July 22, 1986, was allowed to pass and a second date was later set. Part 6 contains allegations of trial court error and ineffective assistance of counsel surrounding the refusal to give an instruction. The allegation contained in Part 7 involves the trial court’s refusal to allow a psychiatrist to aid movant. Part 8 incorporates by reference all of the allegations raised in movant’s pro se motion. We will proceed allegation by allegation and address the following: (1) whether the motion court made sufficient findings of fact and conclusions of law to enable meaningful appellate review; and (2) whether such allegation is refuted by the record.

Movant’s first allegation, number 1(a), is specifically addressed in the motion court’s Finding of Fact number 14. The motion court properly cites to a portion of the trial transcript which clearly refutes the allegation. We find the motion court's conclusion is not clearly erroneous in regards to allegation number 1(a). See: Richardson, supra.

Allegation number 1(b) is not specifically mentioned anywhere in the Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law of the motion court. Findings and conclusions cannot be supplied by implication from the motion court’s ruling. Fields v. State, 572 S.W.2d at 483. The motion court should make specific findings and conclusions as to allegation number 1(b).

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Gilmore v. State, 741 S.W.2d 704, 1987 Mo. App. LEXIS 4744, 1987 WL 959 (Mo. Ct. App. 1987).

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