Court of Appeals upholds ruling on judge in Barlow case

To view the petition for the writ of prohibition concerning Judge Syler, click here.

The Missouri Court of Appeals recently ruled to uphold a decision from the lower courts denying a motion to disqualify the assigned judge in the trial of Lisa Barlow for first-degree murder.

She allegedly shot and killed her boyfriend, Michael Strong, of Scopus, Mo., on July 27 in his residence.

Barlow's case was slated to be tried this summer in St. Louis on a change of venue from Bollinger County.

Circuit Judge William L. Syler was transferred to the 21st judicial circuit in November to try the case in St. Louis.

On Nov. 14, Prosecuting Attorney Stephen P. Gray filed a motion for a change of judge, which was denied. The second motion, filed Dec. 7, was also denied.

On Jan. 15, Gray filed another motion to the appeals court seeking to disqualify Syler as the trial judge. It was denied Jan. 28.

The dispute involves the timeliness of Gray's first request to appoint a new judge to try the case.

According to the petition Gray submitted to the appellate court, Syler "erred as a matter of law and exceeded his jurisdiction when he refused to disqualify himself upon timely application for a change of judge."

Because Gray filed his first motion for a change of judge five days after Syler decided to remain the judge of record for the proceedings when the case went to St. Louis, he argued that his request fell within the 10-day rule required by the Missouri Supreme Court.

That rule states that a change of judge shall be ordered in any criminal proceeding when the request is filed not more than ten days after the initial plea is entered, or within 10 days of the designation of trial judge if the judge has not been named before the plea is entered.

Because two court appearances went by in which Syler discussed venue suggestions for the case, and received "repeated requests from the defendant's attorney that he remain on the case and follow the parties to the new venue in another circuit," it wasn't until Nov. 9 that Syler became the judge of record for the trial, Gray argued in his petition.

Amy Metzinger, attorney for Barlow, stated in her petition opposing Gray's motion that Barlow pleaded not guilty Oct. 4, when Judge Benjamin F. Lewis presided over a pretrial hearing.

Metzinger requested a change of judge on that date, and the case went to Syler, who re-arraigned Barlow at a hearing 22 days later, where the defendant re-entered a plea of not guilty.

At that point, Syler became the trial judge, and Gray had only 10 days for his request to be considered timely, therefore it should have been filed by no later than Nov. 5, Metzinger argued.

At no point during the Oct. 26 hearing, Metzinger wrote, did Gray "ever indicate any intention or desire to change judge."

He never gave notice that he intended to file a motion for a change of judge at that time, Metzinger stated in her petition.

A trial date has not yet been set for the case.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 245