Court Opinion

ID: 9684681
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 14:08:10.377256+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:17:58.842642
License: Public Domain

FINCH, Chief Justice
(concurring).
I concur in the principal opinion and file this separate opinion only to more fully state my reasons for so concurring.
Whether we have jurisdiction in this case depends on the meaning of the phrase “offenses punishable by a sentence of death or life imprisonment” which appears in Art. V, § 3, Constitution of Missouri, 1945, as amended. There would seem to be three possible interpretations of that phrase: (1) It includes offenses under all open ended statutes specifying a minimum sentence but under which a maximum sentence of life imprisonment may be imposed. Under this interpretation, death as a possible punishment would not be a prerequisite to jurisdiction in the Supreme Court. The state’s brief recognizes but does not advocate this interpretation. (2) It means that the Supreme Court has jurisdiction of all cases where both death and life imprisonment are possible but in which the statute also authorizes imposition of imprisonment for a term of years. This is the interpretation urged by the state and by movant. (3) The interpretation adopted by the principal opinion that the phrase contemplates those offenses where the only two alternative sentences possible are death or life imprisonment.
I find it easy to rule out possibility No. 1. If this had been the intended meaning, *228there would have been no reason to mention a sentence of death in describing the offenses of which the Supreme Court would have jurisdiction. In that event, the constitutional provision could (and I believe would) have stated simply that the Supreme Court shall have exclusive appellate jurisdiction in all cases in which the defendant may be sentenced to as much as life imprisonment. This automatically would have included all cases punishable by death. The fact that the constitutional provision specifically mentions that the offenses of which the Supreme Court has jurisdiction are punishable by death or life imprisonment clearly indicates that this court does not have jurisdiction of cases in which death is not a possible punishment.
Alternative interpretation No. 2 is arguable since in that situation both death and life imprisonment are possibilities. However, if this interpretation had been the intention of the framers and of the people, it would have been necessary only that the constitutional provision say that the Supreme Court shall have exclusive appellate jurisdiction in all cases involving offenses in which a defendant may be sentenced to death. Such language would have included instances in which a person was sentenced to life imprisonment or to a term of years as authorized by the statute, provided, of course, the defendant could have received the death penalty in those cases. The fact that Art. V, § 3, was not so written, but instead specifically states the two alternatives as death or life imprisonment, indicates that this alternative interpretation No. 2 was not what was intended.
Possibility No. 3, adopted by the principal opinion, is the only interpretation which fits exactly the phrase “offenses punishable by a sentence of death or life imprisonment.” I conclude, as does the principal opinion, that the language means exactly what it says, that it is not ambiguous, and that it limits our jurisdiction to offenses in which death or life imprisonment are the only two possible punishments.
The interpretation which the court adopts in this case is consistent with other changes made by the 1970 revision of Art. V. Prior to, the effective date of that amendment, the Supreme Court consisted of seven judges and six commissioners and had very extensive appellate jurisdiction, including all felony appeals. On the other hand, the jurisdiction of the three Courts of Appeals was limited to misdemeanors and cases involving a maximum dollar amount which did not fall within one of the categories in which jurisdiction was imposed on the Supreme Court.
The 1970 revision altered the structure of the appellate court system in Missouri. It eliminated commissioners on the Supreme Court1 so that this Court would become a court of seven judges with no provision for expansion in personnel of the court. The three Courts of Appeals were consolidated into a single Court of Appeals of Missouri with three geographical districts, but with provision for increasing the number of geographical districts as the need should arise. In addition, commissioners on the Court of Appeals were to be phased out and replaced by judges on said court, thereby making it possible for the court to operate in panels of three and make more effective use of its manpower so as to dispose of a larger number of cases. Furthermore, membership on the Court of Appeals was left open ended so that additional judges could be added, as needed, by legislative action.
The 1970 revision of Art. V, § 3, in recognition of the change in size of the Supreme Court, also materially reduced its exclusive appellate jurisdiction. However, *229the Judicial Article provided that the Supreme Court should retain superintending control over the whole system and, more importantly, authorized transfer by order of this Court of cases before as well as after opinion by the Court of Appeals. I think that it is obvious that it was intended that, more than ever before, the Court of Appeals should hear most direct appeals and the Supreme Court should become truly a court of last resort, concentrating on the decision of important cases and reconciling divergence of opinions between districts of the Court of Appeals and between prior decisions of the Supreme Court and those of the Court of Appeals, thereby achieving uniformity in judicial interpretation throughout the state.
It is both fortunate and understandable that the provision of the Constitution with respect to handling criminal appeals was drafted as it was. For example, if it had been written in accordance with possible interpretation No. 1 heretofore discussed, this Court would have exclusive appellate jurisdiction over at least twenty-one offenses. See §§ 30.400, 41.720, 195.200, 556.140, 557.020, 557.050, 557.230, 558.220, 558.240, 559.030, 559.150, 559.180, 559.230, 559.260, 559.270, 559.280, 560.010, 560.135, 562.010, 562.230 and 564.560, V.A.M.S., in some of which the sentence would be a minimum of two years imprisonment. During the year July 1, 1970, through June 30, 1971, a total of 132 cases involving offenses in which defendant could receive as much as life imprisonment (direct appeals and cases pursuant to Rule 27.26) were submitted in the Supreme Court. On the basis of a court of seven judges, that would be nineteen cases per judge, and it is obvious that such a mandatory jurisdiction in the criminal field would compel this Court to function primarily as a “court of criminal appeals” and would severely limit the ability of the Court to exercise its superintending authority, its rule-making authority, its decision of important cases, and its performance of the function of harmonizing and reconciling decisions of all the appellate courts of Missouri. If it had been the intention that this Court should function primarily as a “court of criminal appeals,” I believe that such intention would have been clearly stated.
For the foregoing reasons, I concur in the principal opinion.

. The six commissioners are to be phased out over a period of time and may not be replaced by the Supreme Court. Instead, they are replaced by new judges on one of the districts of the Court of Appeals. To date, the number of commissioners has been reduced to four and two judges have been added to the Court of Appeals, one in St. Louis and one in Kansas City.