Court Opinion

ID: 9665290
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 00:44:09.273366+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:15:14.457309
License: Public Domain

BLACKMAR, Judge,
concurring in result.
I would not dispute the Chief Justice’s assertion that the Supreme Court of the United States, in remanding several of our cases for reconsideration in light of Albernaz v. United States, 450 U.S. 333, 101 S.Ct. 1137, 67 L.Ed.2d 275 (1981), gave a clear indication that our opinion in Sours I (Sours v. State, 593 S.W.2d 208 (Mo. banc 1980), vacated, 446 U.S. 962, 100 S.Ct. 2935, 64 L.Ed.2d 820 (1980)), did not correctly state the law of double jeopardy under the federal Constitution, and that the denial of cer-tiorari in Sours II (State v. Sours, 603 S.W.2d 592 (Mo. banc 1980), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 1181, 101 S.Ct. 953, 67 L.Ed.2d 118 (1981)), was attributable to circumstances peculiar to that case, rather than indicating that this Court had correctly resolved the issue which was the occasion for remand.1 Nor would I disagree with the assertion that there was no reasonable expectation that the decision on rehearing in State v. Haggard, 619 S.W.2d 44,49 (Mo. banc 1981), cert. denied, 455 U.S. 930, 102 S.Ct. 1297, 71 L.Ed.2d 474 (1982), would be sustained on further review.
In the present case, however, motion for rehearing was denied on February 9, 1981, before the remand in Missouri v. Counselman, 450 U.S. 990, 101 S.Ct. 1690, 68 L.Ed.2d 190 (March 23, 1981), had been ordered. The state could have filed a petition for certiorari within 60 days following the denial of rehearing, and could have secured an extension of up to 30 days. (U.S.Sup.Ct. Rule 20.1). No petition was filed by the state.
The state had another opportunity when the defendant-appellant filed his petition for certiorari. By Rule 19.5 of the Supreme Court of the United States a cross petition could have been filed within 30 days of the filing of the defendant’s petition, even though an initial petition would have been out of time. Filing the cross petition would be very simple since most of the record documents are required to be printed as appendices to the defendant’s petition.
The Counselman remand indicates that either an initial petition or a cross petition would undoubtedly have been granted. The state, instead, acquiesced in the final disposition of the case through denial of the defendant’s petition. The state may have felt that the Supreme Court would be more willing to grant the defendant’s petition if the state were also to seek review. Perhaps the state felt that any risk of opening up the case was not worth the possible benefits, in view of the severe sentence which was affirmed. Whatever the motive, however, the signals were not so clear at the time this Court initially acted on the case, and I believe that the move was the state’s in seeking further review.
For the reasons stated I agree that the motion to recall the mandate should be overruled. It is not necessary to discuss other possibilities.

. Certiorari was denied in Sours II, 449 U.S. 1131, 101 S.Ct. 953, 67 L.Ed.2d 118, on January 26, 1981, after the opinion in this case was handed down on January 15, 1981, but before the denial of rehearing. The majority of the Supreme Court did not flag mootness as the occasion for the denial. This persuades me that the state should have assumed the burden of seeking further review.