State v. Adams
State v. Adams
Opinion of the Court
On July 23, 1999, David J. Adams (“Defendant”) pled guilty to two counts of committing the class C felony of child abuse in violation of § 568.060.
In his pro se brief, Defendant asks this court to find that the sentencing court erred and remand the case to the trial court for re-sentencing. He relies entirely upon Brown v. Gammon, 947 S.W.2d 437 (Mo.App. W.D. 1997). In Brown, a habeas corpus proceeding, the petitioner first entered a plea of guilty upon a plea agreement that he be sentenced to imprisonment for twelve years. However, the trial court in a colloquy before accepting the plea alternatively stated that upon a plea of guilty it would sentence petitioner to imprisonment for twenty years under § 559.115, and if petitioner completed a substance abuse program place him on probation. The petitioner renewed his plea of guilty upon the belief that if he completed such a program he would be placed on probation. He was sentenced to imprisonment for twenty years. However, the probation report filed with the court
In Brown, the petitioner first sought to withdraw his guilty plea in a habeas corpus proceeding filed in the circuit court. His petition was denied. He then filed his petition with the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District. That court recognized that the type of relief sought by petitioner was cognizable in a motion under Rule 24.035
This is not and cannot be considered a habeas corpus proceeding.
Withdrawal of Plea of Guilty. A motion to withdraw a plea of guilty may be made only before sentence is imposed or when imposition of sentence is suspended; but to correct manifest injustice the court after sentence may set aside the judgment of conviction and permit the defendant to withdraw his plea. (Emphasis added.)
In Clay v. Dormire, 37 S.W.3d 214 (Mo. banc 2000), a habeas corpus proceeding based upon an erroneous consideration of an expunged prior conviction, the Supreme Court of Missouri considered an exception to the general rule that habeas corpus cannot be used to raise procedurally barred claims (those that could have been raised, but were not on direct appeal or in post-conviction proceeding). “Very limited exceptions to this rule are recognized where the person seeks to use the writ ‘to raise jurisdictional issues or in circumstances so rare and exceptional that a manifest injustice results’ if habeas corpus relief is not granted.” Id. at 217 (emphasis added). The court held “that the manifest injustice or miscarriage of justice standard requires the habeas corpus petitioner ‘to show that a constitutional violation has probably resulted in the conviction of one who is actually innocent.’ ” Id.
It is not necessary to determine if the term manifest injustice as used in Rule 29.07(d) bears that meaning. A movant is entitled to an evidentiary hearing only if the basis upon which he seeks relief is “not refuted by the record and files in the case including the criminal matter.” McClellan v. State, 967 S.W.2d 706, 708 (Mo.App. S.D. 1998). In the instant case, the comments of the sentencing court upon sen
The record in the case clearly shows that Defendant entered his plea of guilty long prior to his sentencing and independent of any alleged representation or promise, and that the court made no representation to Defendant that he would not be placed in a treatment program. A belief to the contrary is not reasonable. See McClellan, 967 S.W.2d at 709. The record refutes the basis upon which the Defendant seeks relief, and his motion was properly denied. The judgment of the motion court is affirmed.
. All references to statutes are to RSMo (2000) and all references to rules are to Missouri Rules of Criminal Procedure (2001), unless otherwise indicated.
. "A defendant may not bypass the time limits of Rule 24.035 simply by asserting a Rule 24.035 claim under Rule 29.07.” State v. Ralston, 41 S.W.3d 620, 622 (Mo.App. W.D. 2001). See also State v. Elder, 36 S.W.3d 817, 820 (Mo.App. S.D. 2001); Logan v. State, 22 S.W.3d 783, 785 (Mo.App. W.D. 2000); Reynolds v. State, 939 S.W.2d 451-455 (Mo.App. W.D. 1996).
. An appeal does not lie in a habeas corpus proceeding. Taylor v. State, 51 S.W.3d 149, 152 (Mo.App. S.D. 2001).
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.