State v. Smith

154 S.W.3d 461, 2005 Mo. App. LEXIS 169, 2005 WL 221493
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedFebruary 1, 2005
DocketWD 63409
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 154 S.W.3d 461 (State v. Smith) 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. Smith, 154 S.W.3d 461, 2005 Mo. App. LEXIS 169, 2005 WL 221493 (Mo. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

EDWIN H. SMITH, Chief Judge.

Derrick R. Smith appeals the judgment of his convictions, after a jury trial in the Circuit Court of Lafayette County, of first-degree robbery, § 569.020, 1 and armed criminal action (ACA), § 571.015. As a result of his convictions, he was sentenced, as a prior and persistent offender, § 558.016, to concurrent terms, in the Missouri Department of Corrections, of life imprisonment for first-degree robbery and fifty years for ACA.

The appellant raises two points on appeal. In Point I, he claims that the trial court erred in overruling his Batson objection to the State’s peremptory strike of the only remaining African-American member of the venire because: (1) as to one of the State’s two explanations for the strike, the only conclusion that could be drawn from the record was that it was pretextual; and, (2) as to the State’s other explanation for the strike, it was not race-neutral on its face. In Point II, he claims that the trial court plainly erred in the reading and giving of Instruction No. 1, which was patterned after MAI-CR 3d 302.01, the mandatory instruction concerning the duties of the judge and jury in a criminal trial, because it did not include the material in parentheses, as set forth in MAI-CR 3d 302.01, instructing the jurors concerning their note-taking during the trial, which, in accordance with Note on Use 4 for MAI-CR 3d 302.01, is required to be included in Instruction No. 1 if juror note-taking is authorized by the trial court, as it was in this case.

We reverse and remand.

Facts

On September 30, 2002, the appellant was indicted, as a prior and persistent offender, § 558.016, by a Lafayette County grand jury for first-degree robbery, § 569.020, and ACA, § 571.015. He was charged with robbing, at gunpoint, Harold’s Supermarket in Lexington, Missouri, on August 21, 2002.

The appellant’s case proceeded to a jury trial on August 27, 2003. During voir dire, the State exercised one of its peremptory strikes on Wayne Bass, the only remaining African-American member of the venire. The appellant objected, citing Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986). The trial court overruled the appellant’s objection.

The jury was empanelled and sworn. It was then read MAI-CR 3d 300.06; Instruction No. 1, MAI CR-3d 302.01, concerning the duties of the judge and jury; and, Instruction No. 2, MAI-CR 3d 302.02, concerning evidence and the rulings of the trial court. Instruction No. 1 did not contain any language concerning juror note-taking. The parties then made their opening statements, after which the record indicates that the trial court, sua sponte, raised the issue of note-taking with counsel. Note-taking was eventually approved by the trial court.

*450 On August 28, 2003, the jury found the appellant guilty of the charged offenses. On September 19, 2003, he filed a motion for judgment of acquittal or in the alternative, for a new trial, alleging, inter alia, that the trial court erred in overruling his Batson objection to the State’s striking of Bass. The court denied the motion on October 6, 2003, and, on that same date sentenced the appellant, as a prior and persistent offender, to concurrent terms of life imprisonment for first-degree robbery and fifty years for ACA.

This appeal followed.

I.

Because we find that the claim of error in Point II is dispositive of this appeal, we address it alone.

In Point II, the appellant claims that the trial court plainly erred in the reading and giving of Instruction No. 1, which was patterned after MAI-CR 3d 302.01, the mandatory instruction concerning the duties of the judge and jury in a criminal trial. He claims that the trial court erred because Instruction No. 1 did not include the material in parentheses, as set forth in MAI-CR 3d 302.01, instructing the jurors concerning their note-taking during the trial, which, in accordance with Note on Use 4 for MAI-CR 3d 302.01, is required to be included in Instruction No. 1 if juror note-taking is authorized by the trial court, as it was in this case.

The appellant concedes that he did not properly preserve his claim of instructional error for appellate review in that he failed to object at trial to the reading and giving of Instruction No. 1 and did not raise the issue in his motion for new trial. See Rule 28.03; 2 State v. Bradshaw, 26 S.W.3d 461, 471 (Mo.App.2000). He, therefore, asks for plain error review under Rule 30.20.

Rule 30.20 provides, in pertinent part, that “[wjhether briefed or not, plain errors affecting substantial rights may be considered in the discretion of the court when the court finds that manifest injustice or a miscarriage of justice has resulted therefrom.” The plain error rule should be used sparingly and does not justify a review of every alleged trial error that has not been properly preserved for appellate review. State v. Carr, 50 S.W.3d 848, 853 (Mo.App.2001). In determining whether to exercise its discretion to provide plain error review, the appellate court looks to determine whether on the face of the appellant’s claim substantial grounds exist for believing that the trial court committed clear and obvious error, which resulted in manifest injustice or a miscarriage of justice. State v. Dudley, 51 S.W.3d 44, 53 (Mo.App.2001). “Plain” error, for purposes of Rule 30.20, is error that is evident, obvious and clear, and results in manifest injustice or a miscarriage of justice. State v. Hibler, 21 S.W.3d 87, 96 (Mo.App.2000).

If the appellate court chooses to exercise its discretion to conduct plain error review, the process involves two steps. First, the court must determine whether the trial court committed error, affecting substantial rights, that was evident, obvious and clear. Id. As in the case of our review for “regular” error, not every obvious error found in plain error review mandates reversal. State v. Barnaby, 91 S.W.3d 221, 225 (Mo.App.2002). In the case of review for “regular” error, to be reversible, the found error must have prejudiced the appellant. State v. Taylor, 67 S.W.3d 713, 715 (Mo.App.2002). Likewise, in the case of review for plain error, the error found must have prejudiced the ap *451 pellant, except that such prejudice must rise to the level of manifest injustice or a miscarriage of justice. State v. Cole, 71 S.W.3d 163, 170 (Mo. banc 2002).

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Bluebook (online)
154 S.W.3d 461, 2005 Mo. App. LEXIS 169, 2005 WL 221493, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-smith-moctapp-2005.