Court Opinion

ID: 9654260
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 18:11:59.960205+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:13:07.390988
License: Public Domain

BARDGETT, Chief Justice,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent and concur in the dissenting opinion of Seiler, J. I file this opinion in order to set forth the following. As shown by both the principal and dissenting opinions, the stark realities of this case are that defendant was not only identified as a robber but the eyewitness identification included as a key element that the person the eyewitnesses were identifying was the one person who jumped or hurdled over a certain plexiglass shield. In connection with this act on the part of the robber, the eyewitnesses showed the police precisely where he went over that plexiglass shield and, pursuant to that information, the police lifted a hand and thumb print from the plexiglass. This hand and thumb print were not on a single side of the glass but rather the hand print was on one side with the thumb on the other. The fingerprint evidence then became extremely important because, as a matter of credibility, a fingerprint is a rather immutable type of evidence. It does not depend upon the vagaries of memory or eyesight and is, I believe, accepted as one of the strongest items of evidence to show that a particular person was in a particular place. Eyewitness identification has varying degrees of credibility, but so far as I know the fingerprints of a person are exclusive to him.
In this case, it is not only the absence of the defendant’s fingerprints from the plates on the plexiglass where the person who came over the plexiglass would have left prints, but, additionally, the presently identified print of a person who is a known felon.
The evidence with respect to the prints on the glass is admitted by the State to be true.
All human systems are fallible and our system of justice is designed with that in mind and, although cumbersome at times, has for its purpose the conviction of the guilty and the acquittal of the not guilty. Even with all the safeguards that are built into the system, it occurs from time to time that an innocent person is imprisoned. That is one of the reasons why Rule 27.20(c) permits plain errors affecting substantial rights to be considered on motion for new trial or on appeal, in the discretion of the court, though not raised in the trial court or preserved for review, or defectively raised or preserved, when the court deems that manifest injustice or miscarriage of justice has resulted therefrom.
The person whose print was identified on the plexiglass shield was at the time of oral argument in this case confined in the Missouri State Penitentiary. I, of course, cannot predict whether the fact that he is a felon would be admissible in evidence during a retrial of this case even if the defense called him as a witness. What probably would happen, however, is that the defense would either take his deposition or call him to testify on retrial. He would be called upon to admit or deny that he was at this store on the day of the robbery or if he was ever in the store. He may or may not have an explanation as to how his thumb print got onto one side of the plexiglass shield. I regard the print of this identified felon *311being on the plexiglass at the place where the robber was seen by the eyewitnesses to have come over the glass, which print was lifted promptly by the police, to be entirely too significant and strong to permit the present conviction to stand.
In my opinion the failure to grant a new trial so as to permit the introduction of the additional evidence concerning the fingerprint as now identified was an abuse of discretion. I am firmly convinced that a miscarriage of justice has resulted from the failure to grant a new trial in this case. I would therefore reverse and remand this cause for a new trial.