State v. Sumowski

792 S.W.2d 381, 1990 Mo. App. LEXIS 866, 1990 WL 74530
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 5, 1990
DocketNos. 55309, 55310
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 792 S.W.2d 381 (State v. Sumowski) 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. Sumowski, 792 S.W.2d 381, 1990 Mo. App. LEXIS 866, 1990 WL 74530 (Mo. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

KAROHL, Judge.

Defendants appeal after verdicts of guilty and sentences in accord with the verdicts on charges of perjury. Section 575.040 RSMo 1986. Joseph Sumowski was convicted of three counts, and Vicki Sumowski of two. All charges involve testimony made on December 30, 1987 in the Juvenile Court of Audrain County, Missouri. The alleged statements of perjury were made during this juvenile proceeding which was held to determine custody of Vicki Sumowski’s children after allegations that their stepfather, Joseph Sumowski physically abused them. The issue in the juvenile proceeding was whether the children were abused or neglected by Joseph Sumowski on August 18, 1987. The fact issue for the jury in the present case was whether defendants knowingly lied when they testified in the juvenile proceeding that threats and promises were made to obtain admissions from defendants that Joseph Sumowski committed child abuse. At the request of defendants the charges were tried together. We consolidated the appeals.

The charges against Joseph S. Sumowski are as follows:

Count I
... the defendant, while a witness under oath legally administered in the case of In the Interest of [B.J.S.] and In the Interest of [D.W.S.] ... with the purpose to deceive, knowingly testified falsely to a material fact, ... that Connie Jensen of the Division of Family Services “told me that I would either take and agree that I took and had abused the kids or else I would never see them again. I said, ‘if that’s what I have to say to see my kids, then so be it.’ ” Said testimony by defendant was false and known by defendant to be false. Connie Jensen did not threaten to take away the children, and the issue before the court was whether the children had been abused or neglected.
Count II
... the defendant, while a witness under oath legally administered in the case of In the Interest of [B.J.S.] and In the Interest of [D.W.S.], ... with the purpose to deceive, knowingly testified falsely to a materia] fact, ... that he, the defendant, did not tell Detective Richard Sewell that he, the defendant, had grabbed B. by his shirt collar and slapped him on the head for playing on the telephone. Said testimony by defendant was false and known by defendant to be false. Defendant did in fact tell [383]*383Richard Sewell that B.J. was using the telephone and that he, the defendant, hit him, B.J., for doing that, and the issue before the Court was whether the children had been abused or neglected.
Count III
... the defendant, while a witness under oath legally administered in the case of In the Interest of [B.J.S.] and In the Interest of [D.W.S.], ... with the purpose to deceive, knowingly testified falsely to a material fact, ... that Connie Jensen, Richard Sewell and Donna Wilson told him, the defendant, that if he, the defendant would admit that he, the defendant, had abused the children, that they would get me, the defendant, counseling and that would be it. Said testimony by defendant was false and known by defendant to be false. Connie Jensen, Richard Sewell and Donna Wilson did not tell the defendant that if he, the defendant would admit he had abused the children, that they would get him, the defendant, counseling and that would be it. The issue before the Court was whether the children had been abused or neglected.

The charges against Vicki Lynn Sumowski are as follows:

Count I
... the defendant, while a witness under oath legally administered in the case of In the Interest of [B.J.S.] and In the Interest of [D.W.S.], ... with the purpose to deceive, knowingly testified falsely to a material fact, ... that Connie Jensen of the Division of Family Services, Donna Wilson of the Juvenile Office, and Detective Richard Sewell told me, the defendant, that if I did not admit to Joe having abused B.J., that they would take my children, and it was very doubtful that I would receive custody of my children again. Said testimony by defendant was false and known by defendant to be false. Connie Jensen, Donna Wilson and Richard Sewell did not threaten to take away the children unless defendant admitted that Joe had abused B.J., and the issue before the Court was whether the children had been abused or neglected.
Count II
... the defendant, while a witness under oath legally administered in the case of In the Interest of [B.J.S.] and In the Interest of [D.W.S.], ... with the purpose to deceive, knowingly testified falsely to a material fact, ... that she, the defendant, told Richard Sewell that Joe said he hit B.J., then I guess that’s what happened, because I don’t know, as I was at the laundromat. Said testimony by defendant was false and known by defendant to be false. Defendant did in fact tell Richard Sewell that around 3:00 p.m. when she, the defendant returned and saw B. and asked Joe what happened, Joe told her (the defendant) that he (Joe) slapped him (B.) because he wouldn’t do what he (Joe) told him (B.) to do, that he was using the telephone when he wasn’t supposed to. The issue before the Court was whether the children had been abused or neglected.

We first consider and dispose of Count II charging Vicki Lynn Sumowski with perjury. We find the court erred in failing to sustain a motion of Vicki Sumowski to dismiss Count II for failure to state a charge of perjury. The state was required by Missouri Approved Criminal Charges 29.10 to allege testimony given by defendant, its falsity, the truth of the matter, and the issue upon which the testimony was given. Count II alleges defendant Vicki Sumowski testified falsely in the juvenile proceeding that she told Richard Sewell, a police officer, her husband Joe hit her son, B.J., that she guessed that’s what happened because she didn’t know, as she was at the laundromat. However, in attempting to allege the truth of the matter the charge is that Vicki Sumowski did tell Richard Sewell that when she returned and saw her son, she asked Joe what happened, and Joe told her he slapped her son. What the state alleges to be true is the same as what it alleges was her false testimony.

[384]*384The state contended at trial the motion to dismiss Count II for failure to state a crime came too late because it was made as the trial began. The court denied the motion without comment. Defendant preserved the error in the motion for new trial and alludes to the error in her brief. The requirement to allege a cause of action is jurisdictional and may be raised at any time. Count II is insufficient because it fails to inform defendant of an offense as required by § 545.030.2 RSMo 1986.

We also note the testimony of Officer Sewell for the state. When asked what he learned from defendant Vicki Sumowski he testified:

And at this time, she told us that—that it was around three o'clock when she returned from the Laundromat. She noticed the redness and bruises on B.J. And she asked Joe how that it was caused. And she said that Joe told her that it was caused because B.J. was playing with the telephone and would not leave it alone. And that he slapped him.

Even if Count II stated a charge of perjury this testimony confirms that the alleged testimony of defendant at the juvenile hearing on December 30, 1987 was true, not false.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State v. Jarrett
304 S.W.3d 151 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2009)
State v. Revelle
809 S.W.2d 444 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1991)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
792 S.W.2d 381, 1990 Mo. App. LEXIS 866, 1990 WL 74530, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-sumowski-moctapp-1990.