Section 15.16 To Determine Validity of a Judgment

• Library: App Ct Prac 2015 Supp

1. (§15.16) To Determine Validity of a Judgment

After a judgment of a conviction in a criminal case, a writ of habeas corpus may lie to determine the validity of the judgment. But the use of habeas corpus to challenge the validity of a felony conviction after a plea of guilty or a trial has been largely supplanted by Rules 24.035 and 29.15, discussed in Chapter 10 of this deskbook. These rules provide the exclusive means of asserting a claim that:

· a judgment of conviction or a sentence imposed violate the Constitution or laws of Missouri or the Constitution of the United States;

· the court imposing the sentence was without jurisdiction to do so; or

· the sentence imposed was in excess of the maximum sentence authorized by law.

Young v. State, 724 S.W.2d 326, 327 (Mo. App. E.D. 1987).

There are some cases when the remedy of habeas corpus will lie even though relief would normally be...