State v. Morton

426 S.W.2d 19, 1968 Mo. LEXIS 978
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedApril 11, 1968
DocketNo. 47984
StatusPublished

This text of 426 S.W.2d 19 (State v. Morton) 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
State v. Morton, 426 S.W.2d 19, 1968 Mo. LEXIS 978 (Mo. 1968).

Opinion

G. DERK GREEN, Special Judge.

On October 8, 1959, in the Circuit Court of Jackson County, the defendant was convicted by jury trial of Robbery in the First Degree. The Information also charged two prior felony convictions. The trial court, as provided in § 556.280, RSMo 1959, V.A. M.S. as amended by Laws of 1959, SB 117, held a hearing prior to the submission of the issues to the jury and having found against the defendant as to the previous convictions, following the jury’s verdict proceeded to determine defendant’s punishment and fixed his punishment at imprisonment in the penitentiary for a term of 20 years. This is the third time that the defendant has been before this Court in an effort to set aside the judgment and sentence then imposed. After the overruling of defendant’s Motion for a New Trial, [20]*20allocution, sentence and judgment, the defendant filed Notice of Appeal and was granted leave to appeal as a poor person. His appeal was heard in this Court, decided on October 10, 1960, and reported in 338 S.W.2d 858. The judgment was there affirmed.

Later, the exact date not being shown in this record, the defendant filed a motion in the Circuit Court of Jackson County pursuant to S.Ct. Rule 27.26, V.A.M.R. asking that the sentence and judgment be vacated. The trial court overruled his motion, and he again appeáled to this Court. This appeal was decided on October 9, 1961, and is reported in Mo., 349 S.W.2d 914. The judgment of the trial court was again affirmed.

The defendant was represented by able counsel in the trial court in his trial before the jury, in presentation of his Motion for New Trial and in the preparation and approval of the transcript filed in appeal in that case. However, counsel did not appear for the defendant in this Court in presenting the appeal in either the first or second time that it was presented to this Court. For this reason, and following the decision in Swenson v. Donnell, 8 Cir., 382 F.2d 248, it was ordered that the judgment of this Court affirming the conviction of the defendant be set aside and the cause reinstated on the docket of this Court for hearing. It was ordered that counsel be appointed to represent the defendant on appeal in accordance with S.Ct. Rule 29.01 (c). Counsel was appointed, prepared and filed brief for appellant and appeared in this Court to orally argue this appeal.

Both appellant and respondent, in their written briefs, accepted and adopted the statement of facts as recited in the case reported in Mo., 338 S.W.2d 858, and that statement of facts is here adopted without repetition, except as may be necessary in considering the questions raised. The appellant candidly states in brief and oral argument that upon review of the record in this case, he “considers, after due and careful deliberation that the trial court and Supreme Court on the first appeal, exercised all care with respect to watchful preservation of defendant’s rights, and further, that the authorities relied upon by said courts in the support of their respective decisions are current and proper in application of this appeal, and that no substantive changes have occurred sufficient to alter these authorities.” Appellant’s only contention here made is that he was denied due process of law under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States “by the State’s failure to give appellant and counsel timely and sufficient notice of the Habitual Criminal Act charges pending, and filed on the day of the trial, October 7, 1959 by Amended Information.” It is that point that will be here considered.

For this purpose some additional statement of facts may be helpful. The offense for which the defendant was charged and convicted was alleged to have occurred on March 23, 1959. The transcript indicates that the defendant was taken into custody on that date and after preliminary proceedings in the Magistrate Court, the case was lodged in the Circuit Court and Information was filed on July 2, 1959. Defendant was arraigned and entered a plea of not guilty on July 16. The case was then passed to the next term beginning on September 14 and set for trial on that date. On September 14, the case was reset for trial on October 5. Defendant was represented by counsel apparently of his own choosing. On October 7, the Prosecuting Attorney filed an Amended Information. This Information was in substantially the same language, if not exactly the same, as the Information filed on July 2, with the exception that two prior convictions were alleged. No objection was made by the defendant or his counsel at that time to the filing of the Amended Information, and the record does not show that any request was made for additional time to prepare for trial. The parties answered ready for trial, the jury was impaneled, the evidence was adduced, and the [21]*21trial was concluded on the following day, October 8, with the rendering of the verdict. The Motion for New Trial referred to the Amended Information and contended that it was error to permit its filing on the ground that it permitted the habitual criminal charge in conjunction with the robbery, that it increased the penalty and changed the proceeding in the presentation of the said cause, that the defendant was denied the right of a preliminary hearing on said new charges and that he was not granted time to meet the same. The Motion also attacked the constitutionality of the Amended Habitual Criminal Act, § 556.-280, Revised Statutes, Amended, referred to above. These points were ruled against defendant in the original appeal, and defendant has conceded the correctness of the ruling then. Reliance is now made solely upon the contention that defendant was denied his substantive, fundamental constitutional rights under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States by the failure of the State to give appellant “timely and sufficient notice” of the Habitual Criminal Act charge.

In dealing with the filing of the Amended Information on the previous appeal, the Court noted that no objection was made to the filing of the Amended Information, there was no request for a preliminary hearing or for additional time to prepare for trial and that “by failing to object and proceeding to trial defendant waived the right to complain of the matters mentioned in said assignment.” In State v. Casteel, Mo., 64 S.W.2d 286, reference was also made there to previous cases in which it had been held that it was not error for the Court to deny a request for a preliminary hearing based upon the fact that an Amended Information had been filed, which, in addition to the originally charged crime, alleged a former conviction under the Habitual Criminal Act. State v. Long, 324 Mo. 205, 22 S.W.2d 809.

Defendant also recites as supporting this position In re Oliver, 333 U.S. 257, 68 S.Ct. 499, 92 L.Ed. 683. This case is not at all similar to the one at bar. There the defendant was summarily sentenced for contempt by a judge sitting as a one-man grand jury, the hearing was in secret, and defendant was committed because the judge found that his testimony was inconsistent with the testimony given by other witnesses.

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Related

In Re Oliver
333 U.S. 257 (Supreme Court, 1948)
State v. Ninemires
306 S.W.2d 527 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1957)
State v. Morton
338 S.W.2d 858 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1960)
State v. Crow
388 S.W.2d 817 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1965)
State v. Hutchin
353 S.W.2d 701 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1962)
State v. Withers
347 S.W.2d 146 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1961)
State v. Long
22 S.W.2d 809 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1929)
State v. Morton
349 S.W.2d 914 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1961)
State v. Stumph
349 S.W.2d 954 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1961)

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Bluebook (online)
426 S.W.2d 19, 1968 Mo. LEXIS 978, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-morton-mo-1968.