State v. McKeller

256 S.W.3d 125, 2008 Mo. App. LEXIS 316, 2008 WL 643105
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 11, 2008
Docket27657
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 256 S.W.3d 125 (State v. McKeller) 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 v. McKeller, 256 S.W.3d 125, 2008 Mo. App. LEXIS 316, 2008 WL 643105 (Mo. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinions

JOHN E. PARRISH, Presiding Judge.

Randy McKeller (defendant) appeals convictions for murder in the first degree, § 565.020,1 and armed criminal action, § 571.015. Defendant was charged as, found to be, and sentenced as a prior offender. See § 558.016. This court affirms.

Some time prior to May 2003, Trevor Neal, Kevin Weakley,2 defendant, and a fourth person identified as “Antwon from Memphis” were shooting dice at a basketball court. Antwon, Trevor, and Kevin were cousins. There was testimony that someone lost money; that Antwon robbed defendant; that defendant later said “he was going to get all three of them because they was [sic] cousins, but Antwon ended up getting killed in a ear accident.”

On May 24, 2003, Trevor Neal was a passenger in a van. Justin Robinson stopped the van. Robinson looked inside then grabbed the keys from the ignition. Robinson pulled a gun from his pocket and told the occupants of the van to get lost. Trevor Neal remained in the van until Robinson forced him outside. Defendant was present when Robinson got Neal out of the van.

Once Neal was outside the van, Robinson started chasing him. Robinson put the gun he was carrying down in the middle of the road. Defendant grabbed the gun and ran to where Robinson had pushed Neal to the ground. A shot was fired after which defendant and Robinson took off running.

Trevor Neal had blood on his shirt. He was taken to a hospital where, following two surgeries, he died. The cause of death was loss of blood as a result of a single gunshot wound to the chest and abdomen.

Defendant raises three points on appeal. Each is directed to evidentiary rulings at trial. Point I argues that the trial court erred in permitting witness Justin Robinson, who was also charged with having murdered Trevor Neal, to “invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination and in allowing Officer Bobby Sullivan to read into evidence Mr. Robinson’s prior trial testimony.” Defendant contends this prevented him from presenting a complete defense and from confronting the witness; that Robinson previously “waived his privilege against self-incrimination” by having testified (1) at a pretrial deposition, (2) at Robinson’s own trial, and (3) at defendant’s “first trial.”3

At the start of defendant’s trial, following opening statements, the jury was removed from the courtroom. The state called Justin Robinson and conducted the following inquiry.

Q. [by the prosecuting attorney] Mr. Robinson, it’s my understanding, I got a letter, which is State’s Exhibit 20, indicating that your attorney indicating that you were going to take the 5th Amendment today; is that correct?
A. Yeah.
Q. And that you do not wish to testify in this case at all?
[127]*127A. Right.
Q. And part of the reason is, because you’ve got a pending appeal at this time?[4]
A. She just thinks it’s in my best interest.
Q. And with that, you’re going to refuse to testify here today?
A. Yeah.

After brief inquiries by defense counsel and by the trial judge, the judge found that “Mr. Robinson ha[d], upon advise of counsel, exercised his rights under the 5th Amendment to not incriminate himself,” and discharged him as a witness. The jury was returned to the courtroom and trial resumed.

Near the end of the state’s case Detective Bobby Sullivan was called as a witness. He read the testimony Justin Robinson had given from a transcript of defendant’s previous trial. See n. 2, supra. Robinson’s testimony included what defendant told Robinson about being robbed. The testimony also described what occurred on May 24, 2003, when Trevor Neal was killed.

As this court understands defendant’s argument, he contends the trial court erred in finding Robinson was entitled to exercise his 5th Amendment privilege (1) because Robinson had waived that privilege by previously testifying in other proceedings, and (2) because Robinson had previously been convicted for his participation in the offense. Defendant argues that the trial court committed error in not requiring Robinson to testify; that, therefore, Robinson was not unavailable as a witness so as to permit the reading of the transcript of his prior testimony.

The privilege against self-incrimination is guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, section 19 of the Missouri Constitution. The privilege protects an individual from being an involuntary witness against himself in any proceeding, criminal or civil, formal or informal, where his answers might incriminate him in future criminal proceedings. State ex rel. Munn v. McKelvey, 733 S.W.2d 765, 768 (Mo.banc 1987). The privilege extends not only to answers that would completely reveal guilt of a crime, but also to questions whose answers might reveal facts which could be a link in a chain of evidence connecting him to a crime. Id.; State ex rel. Flynn v. Schroeder, 660 S.W.2d 435, 437[4] (Mo.App.1983).

State v. Carey, 808 S.W.2d 861, 865 (Mo.App.1991). In order to receive 5th Amendment protection, one desiring to avail himself of the privilege it affords must claim that protection. Rogers v. U.S., 340 U.S. 367, 370-71, 71 S.Ct. 438, 95 L.Ed. 344 (1951).

Robinson had testified in other proceedings concerning facts relative to the subject about which inquiry was made in this case. However, the 5th Amendment privilege applies to the particular proceeding in which it is claimed. The fact that a witness who claims its protection had previously testified in a different trial or another hearing is not a waiver in a subsequent trial.5 See 8 Wigmore, Evidence, § 2276, p. 136 (1991 Supp.). See also, [128]*128Galloway v. Commonwealth, 374 S.W.2d 835, 836 (Ky.1964).

Defendant’s argument that Robinson was not entitled to claim 5th Amendment protection because Robinson had already been convicted of the offense for which he sought protection also fails in that the case in which Robinson was found guilty was still on appeal at the time his testimony was sought in this case. See n. 3, supra. Albeit there is no unanimous agreement that the right to claim 5th Amendment protection continues following conviction until any appeal is resolved, the 8th Circuit, in U.S. v. Duchi, 944 F.2d 391 (8th Cir.1991), suggests:

The better rule, however, appears to be that the Fifth Amendment right not to testify concerning transactions for which one has been convicted continues until the time for appeal has expired or until the conviction has been affirmed on appeal. See, e.g., Frank v. United States,

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Related

Spencer v. State
334 S.W.3d 559 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2010)
State v. Page
309 S.W.3d 368 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2010)
State v. McKeller
256 S.W.3d 125 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2008)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
256 S.W.3d 125, 2008 Mo. App. LEXIS 316, 2008 WL 643105, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-mckeller-moctapp-2008.