Background

• Terrance Anderson was sentenced to death for Debbie Rainwater’s murder and life without parole for Stephen Rainwater’s murder after a penalty-phase retrial; the Mississippi? Missouri case affirmed on direct appeal prior to Rule 29.15 proceedings.
• Anderson filed a Rule 29.15 post-conviction motion challenging aspects of the penalty-phase retrial and later sought to disqualify the motion judge for cause based on appearance of impropriety.
• The motion judge had presided over Anderson’s first trial, the first Rule 29.15 motion, and the penalty-phase retrial.
• During hearings on motions to transport for brain testing, the judge disclosed extrajudicial conversations with the jury foreperson and referenced a 2004 New Yorker article about Dr. Lewis.
• Anderson challenged these references as improper extrajudicial information, and moved for the judge’s disqualification; the motion court ultimately overruled the Rule 29.15 motion and did not recuse.
• The court’s rulings and findings repeatedly referenced the foreperson’s statements and the New Yorker article, prompting an appeal asserting appearance of impropriety requiring recusal.

Issues

Key Cases Cited

• Worthington v. State, 166 S.W.3d 566 (Mo. banc 2005) (recusal standard and extrajudicial bias analysis)
• Smulls v. State (Smulls II), 10 S.W.3d 497 (Mo. banc 2000) (bias must have extrajudicial source and affect merits)
• Black v. State, 151 S.W.3d 49 (Mo. banc 2004) (right to cross-examine essential witnesses)
• State v. Blankenship, 830 S.W.2d 1 (Mo. banc 1992) (extrajudicial statements must be examined with care)
• Baumle v. Smith, 420 S.W.2d 341 (Mo.1967) (jurors speak only through verdict; extra-record statements scrutinized)