Missouri judge who defended statutory rapist officiated his wedding to victim; judge's wife helped vacate plea

"'Tis strange,—but true; for truth is always strange; Stranger than fiction; if it could be told, How much would novels gain by the exchange! How differently the world would men behold! How oft would vice and virtue places change! The new world would be nothing to the old, If some Columbus of the moral seas Would show mankind their souls' antipodes." — Byron, Don Juan

A recent federal court decision from the Eastern District of Missouri illustrates Lord Byron's maxim that truth is stranger than fiction. The case, Stewart v. Pemiscot County, decided yesterday by Judge Stephen Clark, involves a tangled web of legal relationships spanning more than a decade.

Key Facts of the Case

• October 2009: Stewart pleaded guilty to first-degree statutory rape. At the time of the offense, Stewart was 17 years old and the victim was 13 years old.
• Plea Negotiations: Judge William Carter—then a private attorney—negotiated Stewart's plea agreement. The written judgment imposed four years of suspended sentence and four years' probation, with no mention of lifetime GPS supervision.
• Post-Plea Events: Three months after the plea, Stewart and Probation Officer Libby Banks signed a Global Positioning Agreement mandating compliance until 2058. Stewart completed his probation in October 2013 without violation.
• Marriage: Seven years after the offense, Stewart married the victim. Judge Carter served as the officiant. The couple now has six children together.

The Legal Entanglements

In 2022, Stewart was charged with violating Mo. Rev. Stat. § 575.206 ("Violating a Condition of Lifetime Supervision"), a class D felony. Judge Carter—Stewart's former plea counsel—presided over the arraignment and the next eight months of the case until February 2023, when it was transferred to Judge Reeves without explanation.

According to Stewart's claims:

• His public defender told him that "Judge Carter wants [him] to call his wife Kimberly, [because] she may be able to assist [him] in the matter."
• Stewart called Kimberly Carter, who said her husband "had already gotten her up to speed" and would file a motion on his behalf.
• Kimberly Carter charged Stewart $750 for her representation.

Motion to Vacate Guilty Plea

In April 2023, Kimberly Carter—Judge Carter's wife—entered an appearance on Stewart's behalf and filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea. She argued that:

• Stewart "was assured by the understanding of plea counsel" (her husband, Judge Carter) and the prosecuting attorney that if he successfully completed supervision, the conviction would be removed from his record without further consequence.
• Stewart "has refused to comply with the added condition of wearing a Global Positioning System unit," though he continued to comply with registration requirements.
• The guilty plea "resulted in a manifest injustice because it violated his rights to due process and to the effective assistance of counsel."
• "[B]ut for plea counsel's and prosecuting attorney's explanations of the consequences of his guilty plea, rendering his guilty plea unknowing and involuntary, [Stewart] would not have entered a plea of guilty and would have insisted on his constitutional right to a jury trial."

Outcome

In late July 2023, Judge Keith Currie granted Stewart's motion to withdraw his guilty plea. The court withdrew the plea, vacated the conviction, and removed "any requirement for registration and/or supervision as a sexual offender that may have been imposed based upon said conviction."

Stewart now sues Pemiscot County and various county officials under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging a wide-ranging conspiracy to cover up the terms of his plea agreement.