Gittemeier v. State

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the motion court overruling Appellant’s amended motion for postconviction relief filed under Mo. R. Crim. P. 29.15. On appeal, the State asserted that the motion court erred by considering Appellant’s amended Rule 29.15 motion on the merits because it was untimely filed by Appellant’s retained counsel on Appellant’s behalf. Appellant argued that the untimely filing must be excused because his retained counsel abandoned him. The Supreme Court held (1) Appellant’s amended Rule 29.15 motion was untimely filed, but the abandonment doctrine does not apply to retained counsel and therefore does not excuse retained counsel’s untimely filing; and (2) the ineffective assistance of counsel claim raised in Appellant’s timely filed pro se motion was without merit. View "Gittemeier v. State" on Justia Law