State v. Vickers

560 S.W.3d 3
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedJuly 31, 2018
DocketWD 80148
StatusPublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 560 S.W.3d 3 (State v. Vickers) 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. Vickers, 560 S.W.3d 3 (Mo. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

4. Prejudice

"Generally, prejudice must be 'actual prejudice apparent on the record or by reasonable inference-not speculative or possible prejudice.' " Garcia , 316 S.W.3d at 912 (quoting State v. Edwards , 750 S.W.2d 438, 442 (Mo. banc 1988) ). "More recently, however, the United States Supreme Court allowed a speedy trial claim to stand absent particularized prejudice." Id. (citing Doggett v. United States , 505 U.S. 647, 112 S.Ct. 2686, 120 L.Ed.2d 520 (1992) ). "Negligence, the Supreme Court said, is not 'automatically tolerable simply because the accused cannot demonstrate exactly how it has prejudiced him.' " Id. (quoting Doggett , 505 U.S. at 657, 112 S.Ct. 2686 ).

*18"There are three considerations in determining whether a delay has prejudiced the defendant: (1) prevention of oppressive pretrial incarceration; (2) minimization of anxiety and concern of the accused; and (3) limitation of the possibility that the defense will be impaired." Garcia , 316 S.W.3d at 912. "Courts regard the third consideration as the most serious." Id.

"[T]he inability of a defendant adequately to prepare his case skews the fairness of the entire system. If witnesses die or disappear during a delay, the prejudice is obvious. There is also prejudice if defense witnesses are unable to recall accurately events of the distant past. Loss of memory, however, is not always reflected in the record because what has been forgotten can rarely be shown."

Id. (quoting Barker , 407 U.S. at 532, 92 S.Ct. 2182 ).

Here, neither of the first two concerns are present, as much of Vickers's time in custody was due to either a parole violation on an unrelated case or his federal charge and conviction. State v. Williams , 120 S.W.3d 294, 300 (Mo. App. W.D. 2003) ("Williams was already incarcerated on an unrelated incident at the time of the possession charge, so oppressiveness of pretrial incarceration is not an issue."); United States v. MacDonald , 456 U.S. 1, 9, 102 S.Ct. 1497, 71 L.Ed.2d 696 (1982) ("Certainly the knowledge of an ongoing criminal investigation will cause stress, discomfort, and perhaps a certain disruption in normal life[, but t]his is true whether or not charges have been filed...."). As for the third concern, Vickers has not identified any real prejudice from the delay. There is certainly no negligence on the part of the State to bring him to trial, as was present in Doggett .11

At best, he argues that the State would not have found Keith Jones but for the delay. But he does not identify any witnesses experiencing memory issues, nor any evidence lost as a result of the delay. And most of Jones's testimony was cumulative of other evidence presented. Jones testified that he knew Vickers, Briggs, Ransom, Forbush, and Ewing. Jones testified that he gave money to Vickers to bond him out of jail and that they discussed Ewing's murder. According to Jones, Vickers said he drove the car and "[e]verybody knew why" they went to Ewing's house that night-it was "[t]o see if the money [belonging to Briggs] was there," and, in the course of doing so, "[a] man got killed." The only information Jones's testimony added to the evidence already presented by Forbush was that Jones bonded Vickers out of jail and that the assailants had apparently been looking for money. Everything else was cumulative to Forbush's testimony that Vickers and Briggs (both of whom she knew) and a third man arrived at her house, held her at gunpoint while searching for something, and one of them shot and killed Ewing. Accordingly, this factor weighs against Vickers.

After examining the four Barker factors, it is apparent that, although there was an extended delay, much of it was attributable to joint efforts by the State and Vickers to both investigate this matter and resolve his federal case. Vickers did not assert his right to a speedy trial *19until one week before the trial was scheduled, and, at that time, he sought only dismissal of the charges and continued to seek additional delay. Finally, he has failed to demonstrate prejudice resulting from the numerous delays in which he acquiesced. Accordingly, he has failed to prove a violation of his right to speedy trial.

Point I is denied.

Exclusion of Alibi Witness

A. Background Facts

On the first day of trial, in the midst of voir dire examinations, Vickers advised the court that he wished to endorse a new witness and rely on an alibi defense:

We are requesting at this time to be permitted to endorse Emily DeMarea and announce that we have an alibi defense in this case. We would be able to proceed with her today if the State would like to talk with her. In the alternative, we would not object to a continuance for the State to investigate this alibi.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
560 S.W.3d 3, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-vickers-moctapp-2018.