Opinion ID: 1466388
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Joinder Was Proper

Text: Whether joinder is proper is a question of law. State v. Morrow, 968 S.W.2d 100, 109 (Mo. banc 1998). Liberal joinder of criminal offenses is favored. Id. (citing State v. Simmons, 815 S.W.2d 426, 428 (Mo. banc 1991)). Joinder of offenses is governed by Rule 23.05, which states: All offenses that are of the same or similar character or based on two or more acts that are part of the same transaction or on two or more acts or transactions that are connected or that constitute parts of a common scheme or plan may be charged in the same indictment or information in separate counts. Section 545.140.2 also provides for joinder of offenses, stating: [T]wo or more offenses may be charged in the same indictment or information... if the offenses charged ... are of the same or similar character or are based on the same act or transaction or on two or more acts or transactions connected together or constituting parts of a common scheme or plan. McKinney asserts that joinder was improper because the attempted escape occurred nine weeks after the Caylors' murders and at a different location. He contends that the attempted escape cannot be considered part of the same transaction as the Caylors' murders or part of a common scheme or plan relating to their deaths. And he also argues that the attempted escape charge was joined improperly to the other charges because it was dissimilar in character. McKinney's arguments, however, fail to give effect to all the provisions for joinder under Rule 23.05 and section 545.140.2. These joinder provisions are listed as alternatives, and one alternative permits joinder where offenses are connected. In Morrow , this Court noted definitions of connected for purposes of reviewing the propriety of joinder: Connected is defined as: [j]oined; united by junction, by an intervening substance or medium, by dependence or relation, or by order in a series. Black's Law Dictionary 302 (6th ed.1990). In Webster's, connected is defined as: joined or linked together [in] a series, having the parts or elements logically related.... Webster's International 480 (3d ed.1981). 968 S.W.2d at 109. Morrow discussed a number of ways that the offenses in that case were connectedby time, by similarities in the manner they were committed, by motive, and by their dependence and relationship to one another. Id. Morrow 's discussions focused on the facts of that particular case and did not limit the factors that can connect offenses for joinder purposes. Charges may be connected for reasons other than sharing a common time or location. In this case, McKinney's charges shared a dependence and relationship to one another that rendered them connected in satisfaction of the joinder provisions of Rule 23.05 and section 545.140.2. McKinney's incarceration for the felony charges of murder and armed criminal action provided the basis for the State to charge him with attempted escape from confinement while under arrest for a felony. His apparent motive for the attempted escape was avoidance of prosecution for the other charges, and the trial court correctly noted that his attempted escape provided evidence of his consciousness of guilt that was relevant to the other charges. [3] The trial court did not err in finding that joinder was proper in McKinney's case.