Defense lawyer: Waller faces 'double jeopardy' in federal case

Convicted murderer James Clay Waller II faces "double jeopardy" if he is tried on a federal charge stemming from the state case, his lawyer said in a motion filed in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau.

John Lynch, Waller's St. Louis-area lawyer, filed a motion late last week seeking to have the federal indictment dismissed on grounds of double jeopardy, violation of due process and failure to state an offense against the United States.

Lynch also has filed a motion to suppress statements made by Waller to the FBI and other law-enforcement agencies on the grounds they were obtained through "coercion and misrepresentation."

In June 2013, Waller pleaded guilty to a state charge of second-degree murder. He admitted killing his estranged wife, Jacque Waller, on June 1, 2011, and burying her body in a secluded area near Devil's Island in Alexander County, Illinois.

As part of a plea agreement, he showed authorities where he had buried the body.

He was sentenced to 20 years in prison, minus time served while waiting for trial.

On May 19, 2016, federal prosecutors charged Waller with one count of committing interstate domestic violence in the murder of his wife. Conviction on that charge could result in a life sentence, prosecutors have said.

According to the defense motion, prosecutors also have filed a forfeiture allegation, seeking proceeds from a book they said is derived from a "manuscript authored" by Waller and titled, "If You Take My Kids, I'll Kill You!; True Confessions of Missouri's Most Notorious Wife Killers."

Lynch argued in the motion the federal government essentially is prosecuting Waller for the same offense four years later in violation of the U.S. Constitution's prohibition against "double jeopardy."

Lynch wrote the federal indictment is "nothing more than an unnecessary, second state prosecution."

According to the motion, Waller said he entered into a plea agreement on the state charge and agreed to show authorities where he buried the body on the belief he would face no other charges in connection with the crime.

Lynch wrote Waller was "never advised of the potential admissibility of this guilty plea in a subsequent federal proceeding because there simply wouldn't be a federal case."

But Cape Girardeau County assistant prosecuting attorney Angel Woodruff said in 2013 the plea agreement would not protect Waller from other charges.

Prosecutors said the federal charge is different from the state charge.

Chris Limbaugh, Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney, said after the federal indictment was filed, "dual prosecutions may be necessary to ensure that the ends of justice are fully served." He called the Waller case "one of those exceptional cases."

But the defense motion contends the federal prosecution is "vindictive and frivolous" and violates Waller's due-process, Fifth Amendment rights.

Lynch wrote the federal case was brought "solely to punish him" for the publication of the book.

"Prosecution for no other purpose than to punish an individual for exercising a valid legal right violates due process," according to the motion.

Lynch wrote the book was "arguably in bad taste." But he said it "wasn't actually generated by Waller, but rather via an author from the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, area."

He said regardless of the authorship, the book is not illegal. Waller, Lynch wrote, has a "constitutionally protected" First Amendment right to free speech.

"Waller could, and still can, say anything he chooses regarding the death of Jacque Sue Waller and cannot be prosecuted for it because it is deemed inappropriate or disturbing," Lynch said.

Lynch wrote Waller believes the book's discovery "infuriated federal agents to a point where they demanded federal prosecution where there was no prior indication that one was to be brought, and to which Waller contends he was told was not going to happen in light of his cooperation."

According to the motion, Waller "has been subjected to delayed federal prosecution" for exercising his First Amendment right.

In addition, the motion argues the indictment "fails to state facts sufficient to charge Waller" with interstate domestic violence.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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