State of Missouri v. Edward v. Lawrence

477 S.W.3d 170, 2015 Mo. App. LEXIS 1225

Opinion

ROBERT G. DOWD, JR., Presiding Judge

Edward Lawrence was convicted of a double homicide in 1984 and sentenced to life imprisonment -without parole for capital murder and to a consecutive term of life imprisonment for first-degree murder. Our court affirmed his conviction and sentence in State v. Lawrence, 700 S.W.2d 111 (Mo.App.E.D. 1985), denied him post-conviction relief in Lawrence v. State, 750 S.W.2d 505 (Mo.App.E.D. 1988), affirmed the denial of his first motion for a nunc pro tunc order in State v. Lawrence, 33 S.W.3d 587 (Mo.App.E.D. 2000) and dismissed his untimely appeal from the denial of his second motion for a nunc pro tunc order in State v, Lawrence, 139 S.W.3d 573 (Mo.App.E.D. 2004). He now appeals from the denial of a motion he filed to set aside the judgment-under Rule 29.12(b) for manifest injustice relating to alleged discovery violations at his 1984 trial.

Rule 29.12(b) does not provide an independent basis under which a person convicted of a crime can subsequently challenge his conviction or sentence. See Vernor v. State, 30 S.W.3d 196, 197 (Mo.App.E.D. 2000) and progeny. Without an independent basis for Lawrence’s motion, there is not an appealable judgment. See State v. McGee, 417 S.W.3d 260, 261 (Mo.App.E.D. 2013). Therefore, we must dismiss the appeal. See id.

The appeal is dismissed. '

Mary K. Hoff, J. and Roy Li Richter, J., concur.