Newman v. State

CROW, Chief Judge.

In 1983 appellant John Michael Newman was found guilty by a jury of robbery in the first degree and armed criminal action, *95and sentenced as a persistent offender by the circuit court to concurrent 25-year terms of imprisonment. The judgment was affirmed on appeal. State v. Newman, 699 S.W.2d 29 (Mo.App.1985).

In 1986 appellant filed a motion in the circuit court under Rule 27.26, Missouri Rules of Criminal Procedure (17th ed. 1986),1 to vacate the conviction. Following an evidentiary hearing, the circuit court, henceforth referred to as “the motion court,” in an order…