Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District / Dec 1, 2020
Terrell Gran Johnson, Appellant, vs. State of Missouri, Respondent.
Terrell Johnson appealed the denial of his Rule 29.15 motion for post-conviction relief, which included claims from an untimely amended motion. The motion court denied the amended motion, finding no abandonment by post-conviction counsel, but failed to conduct a mandatory independent inquiry into whether abandonment occurred. The appellate court reversed and remanded the case, instructing the motion court to perform the necessary independent inquiry on the record to determine if abandonment by counsel justified the untimely filing.