Missouri Supreme Court rules Mississippi County circuit court 'exceeded its authority'

The Missouri Supreme Court ruled Tuesday the Mississippi County circuit court “abused its discretion and exceeded its authority” in a probation-revocation case.

In a decision written by Judge George Draper III, the state’s high court ordered Circuit Judge David Dolan to discharge Charles Zimmerman from probation.

Draper wrote “at no point in these proceedings has the circuit court ever set forth a single reason or explanation as to why it had authority to hold the hearing despite the almost 11-year delay between the expiration of Zimmerman’s probationary period and his revocation hearing.”

In 1996, Zimmerman was charged with a robbery that occurred in Mississippi County. He subsequently pleaded guilty. The judge sentenced him to 20 years in prison, but suspended execution of the sentence and placed him on probation for a period of five years, beginning Sept. 11. 1997.

While living in Indiana, Zimmerman violated the terms of his probation. On May 9, 2000, Zimmerman’s probation was revoked and he was ordered to serve 120 days of shock incarceration, court documents show.

After completing incarceration, he was placed on probation for another five years.

In mid-September, Zimmerman was charged in Indiana with armed robbery that resulted in the victim’s death under a theory of accomplice liability.

Zimmerman later pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery and received a 26-year sentence. He began serving the sentence in September 2003.

In May 2005, Zimmerman sought a trial on the probation-violation charge. He agreed to waive extradition and requested counsel be appointed to assist him.

“The circuit court took no action or any of Zimmerman’s requests and did not appoint counsel,” Draper wrote in the ruling.

Zimmerman made repeated requests to the Mississippi County Circuit Court to resolve the matter, but the court took no action, the Supreme Court decision states.

Zimmerman was not extradited.

He remained in Indiana until he was released on parole in January 2016 after serving 13 years in prison.

Zimmerman then was brought back to Mississippi County for a probation-revocation hearing, according to court documents.

In March 2016, Zimmerman filed a writ with the Supreme Court in an effort to block the circuit court from holding the revocation hearing. While the case was pending before the Supreme Court, the circuit court held the hearing, Draper wrote.

Zimmerman’s probation officer recommended the probation be revoked because of the Indiana conviction. The circuit court found Zimmerman had violated the terms of his probation and set sentencing for June 14, 2016.

On May 24, 2016, the Supreme Court issued a preliminary writ of prohibition preventing the circuit court from sentencing Zimmerman.

In its latest ruling, the Supreme Court made permanent the writ of prohibition in the Zimmerman case.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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