Summary
The Supreme Court of Missouri affirmed the denial of Damon Feldhaus's Rule 24.035 post-conviction motion. The court held that Feldhaus waived his void-for-vagueness challenge to section 577.023 by failing to raise it before pleading guilty, and further held that the statute's "or more" language was not unconstitutionally vague as applied to his case.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether Feldhaus's constitutional vagueness challenge to section 577.023 was waived because he did not raise it before pleading guilty.
- Whether section 577.023, including its use of the phrase "or more" to define prior intoxication-related offenses, is unconstitutionally vague under the due process and void-for-vagueness doctrines.
Holdings
- A constitutional vagueness claim is nonjurisdictional and is waived when the defendant does not raise it at the earliest opportunity, before pleading guilty, subject to the limited exception for defects apparent on the face of the record showing that the court lacked power to enter the conviction or impose the sentence.
- Section 577.023 is not unconstitutionally vague because its definition of a chronic offender and its use of the phrase "or more" provide a person of ordinary intelligence with sufficient notice of the relevant conduct and enhanced penalty and do not authorize arbitrary or discriminatory enforcement as applied to Feldhaus.
Key quotations
“Except for certain double jeopardy claims not relevant to this case, constitutional claims raised after a plea of guilty are nonjurisdictional.” (805)
“The words "or more" are of common understanding that speak for themselves and provide a person of ordinary intelligence with sufficient notice of the prohibited conduct and the enhanced penalty.” (806)
Factual background
Feldhaus was arrested in June and November 2007 for separate intoxication-related driving offenses. The State charged both offenses as class B felonies and alleged that Feldhaus was a chronic offender because he previously had pleaded guilty to or been found guilty of four or more intoxication-related traffic offenses. He pleaded guilty pursuant to an agreement providing for concurrent eight-year sentences, and the court found him to be a chronic offender under section 577.023.
Procedural history
Feldhaus pleaded guilty to two class B felony intoxication-related offenses after the State charged him as a chronic offender under section 577.023. The circuit court accepted the pleas and imposed two concurrent eight-year sentences. Feldhaus later filed a Rule 24.035 motion asserting that section 577.023 was void for vagueness. The motion court denied relief without an evidentiary hearing, and the Supreme Court of Missouri affirmed.