A man sentenced to 35 years in prison for pleading guilty to his role in the death of a Fulton convenience store clerk in 1999 has been denied his petition to have his sentence be vacated due to his conviction being unlawful.
According to online court records, Cortez Buckner was found by Cole County Judge Dan Green to be lawfully confined in the custody of the Missouri Department of Corrections (he is housed at the Jefferson City Correctional Center).
Green denied Buckner's petition for writ of habeas corpus, which is used to release a person who is found to have been unlawfully detained or imprisoned. Green also ordered any other pending motions or matters are dismissed, denied and otherwise overruled in this case.
In his lawsuit filed in August, Buckner's lawyer, Kent Gipson, of Kansas City, argued Buckner's sentence should be vacated because of a "jurisdictional defect involving the manner in which the juvenile court relinquished jurisdiction over Buckner before he was charged as an adult, convicted and sentenced."
Buckner was one of four men accused in the Oct. 20, 1999, murder of Donna S. Lewis at the Short Stop convenience store just outside Fulton on Route F.
Investigators said Lewis was closing the store when she was approached by her assailants and forced back into the store during a robbery.
In July 2000, Buckner waived his right to a jury trial and pleaded guilty to charges of second-degree murder, first-degree robbery and armed criminal action.
In August 2000, then-Callaway County Judge Gene Hamilton sentenced Buckner to 30 years on the second-degree murder charge, 15 years for first-degree robbery (to run concurrently with the 30 years) and five years for the armed criminal action charge, to run consecutively.
In court, Buckner admitted he fired the shot that killed Lewis and apologized to them saying, "I'm sorry. It wasn't supposed to happen. It was an accident."
Gipson said in his lawsuit Buckner was initially charged in the case in juvenile court. Buckner was 16 at the time. He is now 38.
After the juvenile officer moved to dismiss the juvenile petition against Buckner, Gipson said the order signed by the juvenile judge did not comply with state statute because it was "devoid of any findings showing the reasons underlying the court's decision to transfer jurisdiction."
Gipson said as a result of this statutory violation, Buckner's adult charges, convictions and sentences should have been rendered void for lack of jurisdiction.
Gipson also noted despite the fact Buckner did not raise the jurisdictional defect on a appeal in a timely manner, he could file a writ of habeas corpus, arguing unlawful imprisonment which can be filed at any time when jurisdictional defects are believed to have occurred.