STATE оf Missouri, Respondent, v. Andrew Luke LEMASTERS, Appellant.
No. SC 94295
Supreme Court of Missouri, en banc.
Opinion issued February 24, 2015
456 S.W.3d 416
Paul C. Wilson, Judge
Andrew Lemasters was convicted of one count of first-degree statutory sodomy. In this appeal, Lemasters argues that the trial court erred by: (1) denying his motion to disqualify the entire Newton County Prosecuting Attorney‘s Office (“NCPAO“); and (2) entering a written judgment recording convictions on two counts of first-degree statutory sodomy even though he was tried and convicted of only one count. The Court finds merit in the second point but not the first.
Lemasters’ former public defender went to work at the NCPAO prior to Lemasters’ trial and, therefore, was disqualified from participating in his prosecution. Her conflict, however, was not imputed to the remainder of the office under the Rules of Professional Conduct, and a reasonable person would have no factual basis to find an appearance of impropriety in this case and doubt the fairness of Lemasters’ trial. Accordingly, the Court affirms the judgment on one count of first-degree statutory sodomy but vacates the judgment as to the second count and remands this case to the trial court with instructions to correct the written judgment to reflect what actually оccurred.
Background
Lemasters’ daughter (“HL“) was born in 1992. In 2001, HL was living with Lemasters and his wife (“Wife“). Wife was not HL‘s mother, but she raised HL, and the two were very close. Lemasters does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence in this appeal, and the facts of his crime are not relevant to his appellate claims. Suffice it to say, therefore, that Lemasters subjected HL to acts of statutory sodomy in the spring of 2001 and beyond. HL did not tell anyone of this abuse until much later, however, because she was afraid she would be separated from Wife and the rest of her family. When HL did repоrt Lemasters’ conduct, he was charged with two counts of first-degree statutory sodomy under
On August 7, 2012, the trial court appointed the Missouri State Public Defender System (“MSPD“) to represent Lemasters on these charges. The following day, the MSPD sent Lemasters an introductory
After receiving telephone calls from members of Lemasters’ family, Cheney instructed her secretary to return the calls and inform the family that Cheney could not speak with them about Lemasters’ case without his permission. She also instructed her secretary to tell the family that Cheney could not help them obtain a power of attorney from Lemasters because that was a civil matter unrelated to her representation of Lemasters in the criminal case. The language Cheney used in these instructions was derogatory toward Lemasters’ family, and the tone of her instructions indicated Cheney‘s frustration with them.
Cheney had little direct contact with Lemasters. She had one interview with him in August 2012, which lasted approximаtely 15 minutes. After this visit, Cheney asked one of her investigators to conduct a recorded interview with Lemasters because his extensive use of pronouns made it difficult for Cheney to “keep track of what he‘s talking about.” Cheney also moved for a reduction of Lemasters’ bond. She appeared in court to argue that motion, and it was overruled.
In September 2012, Cheney was hired by the NCPAO. Her last day with the MSPD was September 7, 2012. That day, Cheney wrote an interoffice “transfer memorandum” to the public defenders who were preparing for the preliminary hearing in Lemastеrs’ case. Again, the language of Cheney‘s memo indicated her frustration with the case, and her memo was derogatory regarding the likelihood that Lemasters could mount a successful defense.
Cheney started work in the NCPAO on September 10, 2012. On February 7, 2013, Lemasters moved to disqualify the entire prosecutor‘s office due to Cheney‘s prior representation of him. The trial court held a hearing on Lemasters’ motion the following day. Cheney testified that she did not participate “in the prosecution of any individuals where [she] previously represented them” and that she did not discuss any of those cases with others in the prosecutor‘s office except to identify the defendants she previously represented. The trial court overruled Lemasters’ motion, and, in June 2013, the case was tried to a jury.
During the instruction conference, the trial judge noted that the “state has elected to dismiss one of the two counts.” As a result, only one count of first-degree statutory sodomy was submitted to the jury. The jury found Lemasters guilty of only one count, and the trial court sentenced Lemasters to 31 years in prison for only one count. Nevertheless, the written judgment reflects that Lemasters was convicted of two counts of first-degree statutory sodomy. Lemasters appeals, and this Court has jurisdiction under
I. Disqualifying the Newton County Prosecuting Attorney‘s Office
Lemasters claims the trial court erred in overruling his motion to disqualify the entire NCPAO from participating in his case notwithstanding that Cheney did not participate or divulge to the other prosecutors any information she learned while representing Lemasters. Lemasters contends that he is entitled to a new trial because Cheney‘s conflict disqualified all of the other lawyers in the NCPAO, and thаt—even if her conflict is not imputed to the remainder of the prosecutor‘s office—Cheney‘s conflict created an appearance of impro-
A trial court‘s ruling on a motion to disqualify is reviewed for abuse of discretion. See State v. Smith, 32 S.W.3d 532, 543 (Mo. banc 2000). “A trial court abuses its discretion when its ruling is clearly against the logic of the circumstances then before the court and is so arbitrary and unreasonable as to shock the sense of justice and indicate a lack of careful consideration.” State v. Taylor, 134 S.W.3d 21, 26 (Mo. banc 2004). “If reasonаble persons can differ as to the propriety of the trial court‘s action, then it cannot be said that the trial court abused its discretion.” Id. The facts of this case show no abuse of discretion.
A. The Rules of Professional Conduct
There is no doubt that Cheney had a conflict that prohibited her from participating in the prosecution of Lemasters after she joined the NCPAO. She was a “public officer or employee” when she worked with MSPD; therefore, she was a “former” governmental attorney for purposes of
As a “former” governmental lawyer with MSPD, not only did
The evidence shows that Cheney complied with her obligations under Rules
The heart of Lemasters’ claim focuses not on Cheney‘s conduct but on the real or perceived impact of that conduct on the remainder of the NCPAO. Lemasters argues that Cheney‘s conflict must be imputed to the entire prosecutor‘s office so that none of the other prosecutors could prosecute his case. Even if her conflict is not imputed, Lemasters argues that the failure to disqualify the entire NCPAO created an appearance of impropriety and deprived him of his right to a fair trial. Lemasters’ claim is not based on the Rules of Professional Conduct. Instead, he argues that it stems from his constitutional right to a fair trial and this Court‘s decision in State v. Ross, 829 S.W.2d 948, 949 (Mo. banc 1992).
Lemasters may not rely on the Rules of Professional Conduct, but the Court‘s analysis of his claim must begin with those rules.
By the same token, even though
As discussed above, because Cheney was a former “public officer or employee” with the MSPD,
Next, the Court must consider
And even if Cheney had a conflict under
Because of the special problems raised by imputation within a government agency, Rule 4-1.11(d) does not impute the conflicts of a lawyer currently serving as an officer or employee of the government to other associated government officers or employees, although ordinarily it will be prudent to screen such lawyers.
Accordingly, there is no basis in the Rules of Professional Conduct to disqualify the entire NCPAO based on Cheney‘s representation of Lemasters when she was with the MSPD. The only conflict created by that representation was under
B. Appearance of Impropriety
The Court‘s conclusion that the Rules of Professional Conduct do not impute Cheney‘s conflict under
Society‘s confidence in the judicial system—and, in particular, the criminal justice system—depends on society‘s perception that the system is fair and its results are worthy of reliance. For that reason, it is essential that trials be fair. See In re Murchison, 349 U.S. 133, 136, 75 S.Ct. 623, 99 L.Ed. 942 (1955) (“A fair trial
That said, an appearance of impropriety judged only from the defendant‘s perspective cannot be sufficient for relief. Instead, the touchstone for claims that present a real threat to the apparent fairness of the system is what knowledge of all the facts and circumstances would suggest to a reasonable person. When reviewing similar claims concerning judicial disqualification, therefore, this Court has held that the trial judge must disqualify herself when “a reasonable person would have factual grounds to find an appearance of impropriety and doubt the impartiality of the court.” Anderson v. State, 402 S.W.3d 86, 91 (Mo. banc 2013). The same standard applies here. Ross, 829 S.W.2d at 949. Accordingly, even if an assistant prosecutor‘s conflict is not imputed to the remainder of the office under the Rules of Professional Conduct, the remainder of the prosecutor‘s office must be disqualified if a reasonable person with knowledge of the facts would find an appеarance of impropriety and doubt the fairness of the trial.6
Lemasters argues that, because this Court disqualified the entire prosecutor‘s office in Ross, the entire NCPAO should have been disqualified in his case. This is incorrect, and the differences between the two cases are instructive. In Ross, a part-time assistant prosecutor brought criminal assault charges against Ross even though another lawyer in the assistant prosecutor‘s law firm (who also was a part-time prosecutor) was already representing Ross in a civil action arising out of the same assault. Id. at 949-50. The problem in Ross was concurrent representations—not successive ones.7 As a result,
Under
In Ross, however, just as in the present case, the Court identified no basis in the Rules of Professional Conduct to impute the individual assistant prosecutors’ conflict to the remainder of the prosecutor‘s office so as to preclude them from participating in Ross’ prosecution. Instead, the Court focused on whether the failure to disqualify the entire prosecutor‘s office created an appearance of impropriety. Ross, 829 S.W.2d at 951. But, unlike the present case, the Court noted in Ross that there were facts that—if known to a reasonable person—would create an appearance of impropriety and cast doubt on the fairness of the trial. “[T]he interconnections between the prosecuting attorney‘s office and the law firm handling [Ross‘] related civil case create ... suspicions and appearances of impropriety and show that members of the prosecuting attorney‘s office had the potential access” to confidential information from Ross’ civil case that the prosecution could use against him in the criminal case. Id. Ross also claimed that he was “chilled” from testifying in his own defense as a result of not knowing what his lawyer may have divulged to the prosecutor. As Judge Rendlen pointed out in his concurrence, it was not this claim that merited relief but the evidence in support of it. “[T]he record must demonstrate there existed circumstances which merit the perceived ‘chill‘. Allegations must be based upon the record for merit to be given to a defendant‘s claim.” Ross, 829 S.W.2d at 953-54 (Rendlen, J., concurring).
Equally important, the Court in Ross noted that there were no facts that—if known to a rеasonable person—would have dispelled the appearance of impropriety and restored confidence in the fairness of the trial. Instead, the Court stated: “There is equally no evidence of steps taken to insulate the actual prosecutor from the conflict. The State construes certain unsworn, timely-objected-to statements by the prosecutor as evidence that insulation occurred de facto.” Id. at 952 (emphasis added). Accordingly, in Ross, not only were there facts that—if known to a reasonable person—would create an appearаnce of impropriety and cast doubt on the fairness of the process, but there also were no countervailing facts to dispel that appearance and restore confidence in the fairness of the trial.
Lemasters’ case is just the reverse. First, there are no facts that—if known to a reasonable person—would create an appearance of impropriety and cast doubt on the fairness of his trial. Second, the evidence showed—and the trial court found—facts that precluded any appearance оf impropriety that otherwise might have cast doubt on the fairness of Lemasters’ trial. The evidence was undisputed that the NCPAO followed the prudent course and screened Cheney completely from Lemasters’ prosecution. Cheney did not participate in—or assist with—the state‘s case against Lemasters in any way. Not only did she not divulge any of Lemasters’ confidential information to the prosecutors working on his case, but Lemasters also knew nearly five months before his trial that Cheney had been screened from his case. As a result, even if he initially feared that such disclosures might have occurred (as Ross did), Lemasters’ fears could not have affected his defense at trial
Lemasters makes much of the disclosure that—while working at MSPD—Cheney made derogatory comments about his family and disparaging comments about his prospects for a successful defense. But the evidence also shows that the other attorneys in the NCPAO did not know about Cheney‘s statements (or, at least, that they did not know of them until Lemasters elicited evidence about them at the hearing on his motion to disqualify). These statements reflect poorly on Cheney‘s professionalism while working at the MSPD, but they have no bearing on whether the trial court should have disqualified the remainder of the attorneys in the NCPAO who did not make those statements and comments, did not know about them, and were not working with Cheney when she made them. Unlike in Ross, therefore, no reasonable person with knowledge of the facts in this case would believe they create an appearance of impropriety or cast doubt оn the fairness of Lemasters’ trial. And, unlike in Ross, even if the Court assumes such an appearance and doubt, the evidence showing that the NCPAO and Cheney took adequate and effective measures to prevent any communication between Cheney and the other prosecutors dispels that appearance and removes that doubt.
The reasonable person standard applicable to Lemasters’ motion should not be confused with a requirement that actual prejudice be shown. See State v. Smulls, 935 S.W.2d 9, 26 (Mo. banc 1996) (the “standard by which we determine the question [of judicial disqualification] is not whether the trial judge is actually prejudiced ... [but] whether there is an objective basis upon which a reasonable person could base a doubt about the racial impartiality of the trial court“). This is because there may be cases in which proof of a thorough and effective screening process (like that used by the NCPAO in this case) will not be sufficient to prevent a reasonable person from concluding, based upon all the facts and circumstances, that an appearance of impropriety casts doubt on the fairness of a trial.
For example, in State ex rel. Burns v. Richards, 248 S.W.3d 603, 605 (Mo. banc 2008), the Court held that a newly elected prosecutor could not bring criminal charges against an individual who, prior to the election, the prosecutor had defended on very recent and very similar charges. In such cases, a reasonable person may well conclude that the facts create an appearance of impropriety and cast doubt on the fairness of the trial, even though there is no actual prejudice, i.e., even though the prosecutor did not—in fact—divulge any confidential communication to, or otherwise assist in, the prosecution. Even a thorough and successful screening process may not be sufficient to remove the appearance of impropriety and dispel the resulting doubt when it is the prosecutor herself, i.e., “the boss,” who supposedly is being screened from the remainder of her employees, rather than one assistant being screened from the others.
Accordingly, the Court holds that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in overruling Lemasters’ motion to disqualify the entire NCPAO. A reasonable person with knowledge of all the facts and сircumstances in this case need not conclude that they create an appearance of impropriety that casts doubt on the fairness of Lemasters’ trial.
II. Error in the Written Judgment
In his second point, Lemasters argues the trial court erred by entering a written judgment that reflects convictions
Clerical errors in the sentence and judgment in a criminal case may be correctеd by an order nunc pro tunc if the written judgment does not reflect what actually was done. Soehlke v. Soehlke, 398 S.W.3d 10, 22 (Mo. banc 2013) (“the only true function of a nunc pro tunc order is to correct some error or inadvertence in the recording of that which was actually done, but which, because of that error or omission was not properly recorded“) (quotation marks omitted). In a criminal case,
The written judgment in this case does not reflect what occurred during Lemasters’ trial and sentencing. Even though Lemasters initially was charged with two counts of first-degree statutory sodomy, the trial court stated during the instruction conference that the State had dismissed one of the counts. Only one verdict director was submitted to the jury, and the jury returned only one guilty verdict. At sentencing, the trial court specifically imposed a single 31-year sentence on the single conviction. The written judgment, however, erroneously records these events by stating that Lemasters was found guilty on two cоunts of first-degree statutory sodomy. Accordingly, this is a proper circumstance—indeed, the prototypical circumstance—for an order nunc pro tunc correcting the written judgment to reflect what actually occurred. See State v. Primm, 347 S.W.3d 66, 73 (Mo. banc 2011) (“cause is remanded to the trial court for the entry of a nunc pro tunc order correcting the written judgment“).
Conclusion
For the reasons set forth above, the judgment as to one count of first-degree statutory sodomy is affirmed. The judgment as to the second count of first-degree statutory sodomy is vacated. The case is remanded with direсtions that the trial court vacate its judgment with respect to the second count of statutory sodomy.
All concur.
PAUL C. WILSON
SUPREME COURT JUDGE