State ex rel. Hawley v. Chapman

567 S.W.3d 197
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 23, 2018
DocketWD 81589
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 567 S.W.3d 197 (State ex rel. Hawley v. Chapman) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State ex rel. Hawley v. Chapman, 567 S.W.3d 197 (Mo. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

Victor C. Howard, Presiding Judge

This is an original proceeding in certiorari to review the record in the case of Stalnacker v. McBee , Circuit Court of Livingston County, Missouri, Case No. 17LV-CC00179. In that case, the Honorable Thomas Chapman issued a writ of habeas corpus to Doris Stalnacker on March 5, 2018.1 Following the issuance of the writ of habeas corpus, the Attorney General of the State of Missouri (Attorney General) filed a petition for writ of certiorari in this Court, which we granted as a matter of right.

*200State ex rel. Nixon v. Kelly , 58 S.W.3d 513, 516 (Mo. banc 2001). Because we conclude that the habeas court had the authority to act and did not abuse its discretion in granting the writ of habeas corpus, we refuse to quash the record of the habeas court.

Factual and Procedural History

On April 8, 2008, Stalnacker entered a guilty plea to one count of the class B felony of Possession of a Controlled Substance with the Intent to Distribute, section 195.211.2 The Circuit Court of Mississippi County sentenced Stalnacker to fifteen years' imprisonment, suspended execution of sentence with five-years' supervised probation. On June 8, 2010, Stalnacker's probation was ordered revoked and the fifteen-year sentence ordered executed, with the court retaining jurisdiction to place Stalnacker on probation after attending the Missouri Department of Corrections (MDOC) 120-day Institutional Treatment Program pursuant to 559.115.3 After successfully completing the 120-day program, Stalnacker was ordered released on October 8, 2010, and placed on five years' probation.

Stalnacker's probation continued without incident until a Notice of Citation was filed with the probation court in August 2013. The citation was for failure to pay court costs. Stalnacker's probation was suspended until March 2014 when she appeared in the probation court. At that hearing, the trial court stated that "no earned compliance credit in this case will be allowed." Subsequent documents from the Board of Probation and Parole reflected that Stalnacker's earned compliance credit had been removed by the court, and her probation was scheduled to expire on her original discharge date of October 7, 2015.

Stalnacker's probation continued without incident until a Violation Report was filed in March 2015. The sentencing court issued a "Show Cause Summons Probation Violation" ordering Stalnacker to appear, and a probation revocation hearing was scheduled. After several delays, a hearing was held on January 12, 2016. Following the hearing, Stalnacker's probation was revoked and her fifteen-year sentence was ordered executed. Stalnacker was remanded to the custody of the MDOC.

On August 4, 2016, Stalnacker filed a pro se Motion for Habeas Corpus. The court appointed counsel and an Amended Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus was filed on December 13, 2017. Neither party requested argument. The habeas court granted the petition, issuing a Judgment and Order on March 5, 2018. The habeas court found that based on the Earned Compliance Credits (ECCs) Stalnacker had accumulated while on probation, Stalnacker's term of probation expired on August 13, 2014, over seven months prior to the sentencing court issuing its show cause order. Further, the habeas court found that even excluding all ECCs, Stalnacker's probation term expired on October 7, 2015, prior to the probation revocation hearing. The habeas court found the sentencing court failed to make every reasonable effort to conduct the probation revocation hearing on or before October 7, 2015, as required by law.

The Attorney General filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in this Court seeking review of the habeas record. We issued a writ of certiorari and ordered the Livingston County Circuit Court to return the record of the habeas proceedings to this Court for review.

*201Standard of Review

Rule 91.01(b) provides that "[a]ny person restrained of liberty within this state may petition for a writ of habeas corpus to inquire into the cause of such restraint." "In general, a habeas corpus proceeding is limited to determining the facial validity of confinement." State ex rel. Beaird v. Del Muro , 98 S.W.3d 902, 906 (Mo. App. W.D. 2003) (internal quotation omitted). There is no appeal from the grant of a writ of habeas corpus. State ex rel. White v. Davis , 174 S.W.3d 543, 547 (Mo. App. W.D. 2005). "[T]he State may obtain review by filing a petition for writ of certiorari in the appropriate appellate court." Id. "We grant review in such matters as a matter of course and of right." Id. "Following review, we may either quash the writ of habeas corpus, or uphold the actions of the habeas court." Id.

"Certiorari is available to correct judgments that are in excess or an abuse of jurisdiction, and that are not otherwise reviewable [on] appeal." State ex rel. Koster v. Green , 388 S.W.3d 603, 606 (Mo. App. W.D. 2012) (internal quotation omitted). "Our review is limited to whether the habeas court exceeded the bounds of its authority to grant habeas relief or abused its discretion in issuing the writ of habeas corpus." Id. "In applying this standard of review, we do not review findings of fact." Id. "We limit our review to questions of law presented by the record before the habeas court." Id.

"The habeas court will have exceeded the bounds of its authority if the evidence as a whole does not support the grant of a writ of habeas corpus in light of the applicable law." Id. "[E]very lawful intendment will be made in favor of the determination and the regularity of the proceedings below."

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Bluebook (online)
567 S.W.3d 197, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-hawley-v-chapman-moctapp-2018.