Court Opinion

ID: 9759800
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 00:28:30.914984+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:29:04.857633
License: Public Domain

WELLIVER, Judge,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent. Prior decisions of this Court leave us no alternative other than to reverse and remand this case for a new trial wherein the jury is instructed on manslaughter pursuant to the existing automatic submission rule. See State v. Gordon, 621 S.W.2d 262 (Mo.1981); State v. Watts, 618 S.W.2d 190 (Mo.1981); State v. Flenoid, 617 S.W.2d 75 (Mo. banc 1981); State v. Lawrence, 605 S.W.2d 98 (Mo.1980); State v. King, 577 S.W.2d 621 (Mo. banc 1979); State v. Franco, 544 S.W.2d 533 (Mo. banc 1976), cert. denied, 431 U.S. 957, 97 S.Ct. 2682, 53 L.Ed.2d 275 (1977); State v. Mudgett, 531 S.W.2d 275 (Mo. banc 1975), cert. denied 426 U.S. 910, 96 S.Ct. 2234, 48 L.Ed.2d 835 (1976); State v. Stapleton, 518 S.W.2d 292 (Mo. banc 1975).
The principal opinion concludes that there is no prejudice to the defendant in failing to submit the manslaughter instruction. The conclusion drawn is based solely upon an assumption of the truth of the conclusion, not upon the truth of a proven premise. How can anyone know whether or not it is prejudicial? There have been no other similar cases upon which to base either a premise or the conclusion reached by the majority.
The concurring opinion of Billings, J., persuasively demonstrates to me that State v. Stapleton, supra, and its progeny were wrongly decided. However, for the purpose of deciding the case before us we are bound to apply the law existing at the time of movant’s original trial. There can be no doubt that Stapleton states the substantive law of this state as of June 1975 when movant was tried. Retroactively overruling Stapleton sub silentio, as the concurring opinion does, in my opinion runs contrary to any sense of fundamental fairness.
Assume for a moment that movant had a twin brother involved with him in the same crime and that the identically charged cases were severed for the purpose of trial. As in movant’s trial, the jury in the brother’s case is not instructed on manslaughter. Assume further that on direct appeal the case of movant’s brother was consolidated with either Stapleton, Mudgett, Franco, King, Lawrence, Flenoid, Watts or Gordon. In the hypothesized situation, the twin brother’s case would have been remanded for a new trial under the automatic submission of manslaughter rule. Notwithstanding this fact, the majority herein would deny movant’s motion for post-conviction relief. Is this the kind of fundamental fairness and due process afforded by Missouri courts? I submit that it neither is nor should be. Our then controlling cases, whether rightly or wrongly decided, were the law at the time and mandate remand and retrial of this case.
It is extremely doubtful that there are any other cases of this vintage in the stream of appellate review. The changed statutes will take care of the future.1

. § 565.023.2 RSMo Cum.Supp.1983.