Sykes v. Missouri, WD7356 (W.D. Mo., Apr. 17, 2012)

This is a decision by the Missouri Court of Appeals – Western District affirming the circuit court's denial of the defendant's motion for post-conviction relief. The defendant sought relief on the ground that he had received ineffective assistance of counsel during the appeal of his conviction of recklessly exposing another to HIV infection.
Sean Lee Sykes was convicted of recklessly exposing another to HIV infection without that person's knowledge or consent under section 191.677.1(2) of the Missouri statutes. Mr. Sykes had been convicted and served prison sentences twice before for violating the same statute and, as a recidivist, he was sentenced to life in prison. His conviction and life sentence were upheld on appeal. Mr. Sykes filed a motion for post-conviction relief claiming that his appellate counsel had failed to object to the circuit court's improper admission of evidence regarding Mr. Sykes's prior convictions for exposing others to HIV. The circuit court denied the motion, finding that his attorney's decision to not raise this issue on appeal was reasonable and that evidence of the prior convictions was properly admitted to establish the necessary elements of the offense. Mr. Sykes appealed.
The court of appeals here disagreed with Mr. Sykes's contention that his attorney's strategy was unreasonable because the claims she raised on appeal were ultimately unsuccessful; counsel's performance must be assessed on the basis of her perspective at the time, not on claims' ultimate outcomes. Regardless, the court of appeals found that evidence of Mr. Sykes's prior convictions was relevant to issues of intent, motive, and lack of consent in the current proceeding and, thus, was admissible. Mr. Sykes's stipulation that he knew he was HIV-positive and was required to disclose his status to partners was not an adequate substitution for admission of evidence of his prior convictions.