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Missourinet

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You are here: Home / Archives for Missouri Supreme Court Judge Laura Denvir Stith

Missouri Supreme Court issues key ruling involving juvenile murderer

November 24, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

A Missouri prisoner who was 16 when she killed a man during a meth transaction in western Missouri’s Cass County will remain in prison for now, under a key ruling Tuesday from the Missouri Supreme Court.

Convicted killer Jessica Hicklin is currently incarcerated at the Potosi Correctional Center in Mineral Point (June 2020 file photo courtesy of the Missouri Department of Corrections)

The inmate, 41-year-old Jessica Hicklin, was sentenced in April 1997 to mandatory life without parole. Hicklin is incarcerated at the maximum-security Potosi Correctional Center in southeast Missouri’s Mineral Point.

Prosecutors say Hicklin was 16 when Sean Smith was shot and killed.

Hicklin began challenging her sentence after the U.S. Supreme Court held in 2012 that juveniles cannot be given mandatory sentences of life without parole.

In Tuesday’s 20-page unanimous decision, the Missouri Supreme Court rejected Hicklin’s claim that the Missouri statute giving her parole eligibility after 25 years is unconstitutional.

In its ruling, the state court notes U.S. Supreme Court precedent gives states two options for fixing mandatory juvenile life-without-parole sentences for juveniles already sentenced: either resentence them or give them meaningful opportunity for release after considering certain circumstances, including their youth.

Missouri Department of Corrections (DOC) spokeswoman Karen Pojmann tells Missourinet that Hicklin’s parole hearing is tentatively set for July 2021. The murder happened in 1995, and Hicklin entered state prison in April 1997 but received credit for time served in the county jail.

Hicklin also contended that the authority of Missouri’s Probation and Parole Board violates the state’s separation of powers. The Missouri Supreme Court rejected that.

Tuesday’s decision was written by Missouri Supreme Court Judge Laura Denvir Stith. You can read the full 20-page ruling here.

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

Filed Under: Crime / Courts, News, Politics / Govt Tagged With: 1995 Cass County murder, Jessica Hicklin, juvenile-life-without-parole sentences, Missouri Department of Corrections, Missouri Supreme Court, Missouri Supreme Court Judge Laura Denvir Stith, Missouri's Probation and Parole Board, Potosi Correctional Center, Sean Smith, separation of powers, U. S. Supreme Court

High-profile overtime pay case for corrections officers heard by Missouri Supreme Court

April 22, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The Missouri Supreme Court heard remote oral arguments on Wednesday in a high-profile case involving the Cole County circuit court’s 2018 decision to award more than $113 million in overtime pay for Missouri corrections officers.

Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice George Draper listens to remote oral arguments involving the corrections officer overtime pay case on April 22, 2020 in Jefferson City (photo courtesy of Missouri Supreme Court communications counsel Beth Riggert)

It’s a case that’s been working its way through the court system for eight years, and it’s a case that could have major implications across the street from the Supreme Court in Jefferson City, at the Legislature. That’s because of difficult budget times.

The key argument both sides emphasized on Wednesday is whether pre- and post-shift activities for corrections officers is compensable. The state attorney general’s office, which represents the Missouri Department of Corrections, says no. St. Louis attorney Gary Burger, who represents the corrections officers, says it is.

Wednesday was only the second time in history that the Missouri Supreme Court has held remote oral arguments. Due to COVID-19 concerns, only Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice George Draper and a few staffers were in the Jefferson City courtroom. Chief Justice Draper faced a screen where attorneys participated by videoconference. The other six judges participated remotely via teleconference.

There were a few minor glitches, when Supreme Court Judge Laura Denvir Stith’s microphone cut in-and-out a few times. That was quickly fixed. State Solicitor General D. John Sauer had some audio issues early, and Counselor Burger briefly had difficulty finding his timer. Attorneys are allowed set times, for arguments.

Corrections officer Thomas Hootselle Jr. and other officers sued the DOC, on behalf of a proposed class of more than 13,000 officers, for allegedly failing to pay them under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act for pre- and post-shift activities.

While labor agreements executed between the DOC and the Missouri Corrections Officers Association do not specifically address pre- and post-shift activities, Cole County Circuit Judge Pat Joyce ruled in 2018 that pre- and post-shift activities are compensable.

State Solicitor General D. John Sauer argues that the circuit court erred and that the case “involves a judgment imposing enormous liability on Missouri’s taxpayers without legal justification.”

Mr. Sauer cites a 1951 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, about pre- and post-shift activities. He is asking the high court to reverse the Cole County Circuit Court’s decision.

“Because they’re quintessential preliminary and postliminary activities, not the work of consequence that these employees (corrections officers) are employed to perform,” Sauer tells the Supreme Court.

Solicitor General Sauer also says the trial court excluded testimony from the DOC’s damages experts.

Mr. Hootselle and the corrections officers are represented by Mr. Burger. During his oral arguments, Counselor Burger emphasized the main points in his 135-page brief to the high court. He says the class of more than 13,000 Missouri corrections officers “risk their lives every day maintaining safety and security at appellant Missouri Department of Corrections’ prisons.”

Burger says the DOC requires its officers to perform pre- and post-shift activities that are critical to prison safety and security, but has refused to pay the officers for those activities. He also says the time between shift changes, when pre- and post-shift activities happen, “are often when prisoners attack others, try to escape, or try to smuggle contraband.”

“You can’t escort offenders within a prison without getting the equipment first,” Burger tells the Missouri Supreme Court. “Without getting the handcuffs, without getting the radios or the keys or the appropriate equipment.”

Chief Justice Draper requested additional memos from Solicitor General Sauer and Counselor Burger, as arguments concluded. There is no timetable on when the Missouri Supreme Court will issue its decision.

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

Filed Under: Crime / Courts, History, News, Politics / Govt Tagged With: Cole County Circuit Judge Pat Joyce, corrections officers overtime pay, COVID-19, Federal Fair Labor Standards Act, Jefferson City, Missouri Department of Corrections, Missouri legislature, Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice George Draper, Missouri Supreme Court Judge Laura Denvir Stith, St. Louis attorney Gary Burger, State Solicitor General D. John Sauer, Thomas Hootselle Jr.



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