In the Missouri’s 24th Judicial Circuit (St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve, Madison, and Washington counties), the circuit court judges read a script regarding what is known as post-conviction relief (PCR) rights. I suspect many defendants are missing much of this info and wanted to create a “post” they can return to if needed.

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A person convicted of a felony is notified of their right to “file a motion to vacate, set aside or correct the judgment or sentence.” These PCR rights are defined by law (RSMo. § 547.360) and Supreme Court Rules (Rule 24.035 and Rule 29.15.

• Judgments are judges after a plea or from juries and judges after a trial.
• Sentences are imposed (i.e., given) after trials and may be imposed after guilty pleas.

Notes on SIS or SES probation

If a plea agreement is for a “Suspended Imposition of a Sentence” or “SIS,” this means the judge will not imposing (or giving) a sentence. Instead the defendant is placed on probation. And if the defendant successfully completes probation, the judge will never impose a sentence. Therefore, for defendant’s receiving a SIS, the court/judge will not read the PCR script.

In contrast, if a defendant gets a “Suspended Execution of a Sentence” or “SES” this means the judge does sentence the defendant (for example, sentencing them to seven years in the Department of Corrections (DOC)); but the judge then “suspends” that sentence for probation. However, unlike an SIS, because the sentence is imposed or given, the judge will notify the defendant of their PCR.

This page, the video (re)reading of a defendant’s PCR script , and the link to Criminal Procedure Form 40 (and cites to the Rules) is intended to reiterate and better explain the available relief/rights.

Key terms

First, there are reasonable questions regarding the three definitions: vacate, set aside, and correct. In fact, they are quite similar and often used interchangeably and jointly. Black’s Law Dictionary defines the terms as follows.: 

• Vacate –  to nullify or cancel; make void; invalidate. 
•  Set aside – to annul or vacate (a judgment, order, etc.) 
• Correct – to make  right what is wrong (from definition of “correction”)

Although such motions sometimes results in a sentence or part of a sentence “going away,” at least temporarily, this does not, however, mean there will be no sentence; the person may be re-sentenced — and could be resentenced to a greater punishment.

• For example, in the case of State ex rel. Reece v. Campbell, a defendant was permitted to withdraw his guilty plea because he was led to believe his sentencing alternatives were probation or five years’ imprisonment, but he was instead sentenced to 25 years.

Second, it is important first to note that a defendant who pleads guilty has less rights after sentencing than does a defendant who is found guilty by a jury or a judge.  This is because in exchange for getting a negotiated plea, defendants do give up real rights. As the “Plea Petition” notes, you are giving up your rights to a jury trial, your rights to cross examine witnesses, etc. But you are also giving up your right to “constitutional[ly] challenge[]… legality of (1) my arrest, (2) any search or seizure or (3) any statement I may have made related to the charge.” 24th Cir. Plea Petition at  ¶ 56.

Third, defendants who plead guilty do have rights to claim the following:

1  the conviction or sentence imposed violates the constitution and laws of this state or the constitution of the United States…

[2.] ineffective assistance of… counsel [NOTE: This is listed under ¶1, but it is worth separating it here to call better attention to it];

[3.] the court imposing the sentence was without jurisdiction to do so; or 

[4] the sentence imposed was in excess of the maximum sentence authorized by law . 

Fourth, if a defendant wants to make such claims, the rule they must follow depends on how they were sentenced — if after a plea they will do so under Rule 24.035 [<– this is the target audience of this page & video] and if they do so after trial during which  they were found guilty they will do so under Rule 29.15].

Fifth, under either Rule, the Form the defendant must use is the same:   Criminal Procedure Form No. 40 (in addition to this html version of Form 40, you can click here for printer-friendly PDF version and here for editable Google Docs version (on Google Drive).

Sixth, the video below is the recitation of the script the Court reads upon sentencing with some discussion. The script with hyperlinks the form and rules is below the video (in the green shaded area):