OPINION |
I don't think judges often look at a defendant at sentencing and say, “You're getting a hell of a deal.”
I'd expect that more from a guy trying to sell me a car, not from a judge.
That's what the News-Leader reported the judge said in a July 21 story.
It was a “deal,” in fact, that prosecutors opposed.
The judge's remark grabbed my attention because the defendant before him happened to be a fellow attorney. It was Springfield lawyer Aaron M. Klusmeyer, 37.
I'm writing about this now because on Jan. 31, the Supreme Court of Missouri disciplined Klusmeyer by suspending his law license indefinitely. I've gone backward in the chronology to look at this case.
Klusmeyer can apply for reinstatement in a year.
The high court wrote that when Klusmeyer applies, “This court will consider whether Respondent (Klusmeyer) has had contact with the victim of the domestic assault offense to which he pleaded guilty and whether Respondent has participated in appropriate treatment pertaining to domestic violence.”
She says he pointed gun at her; he says he was ‘gesturing' with gun
This case stems from his assault of his then-wife — soon-to-be ex-wife — on Feb. 8, 2019. Much of the delay in the court proceedings was due to the pandemic.
Klusmeyer pleaded guilty in May 2022 to unlawful use of a weapon, a Class E felony, the lowest felony.
He was accused of going to get a gun during an argument with his wife. He was intoxicated. She told police he pointed the gun at her, the family dog and himself. She said she thought she was going to die.
According to court documents, Klusmeyer said he never pointed the gun at her.
Instead, he said, he was “gesturing” with the gun. He didn't dispute being intoxicated.
In fact, according to court records, his various defense lawyers portrayed Klusmeyer not as a batterer of women, but an alcoholic who needs treatment.
His then-wife was clear about what happened.
“I remember it very vividly,” she said, according to court documents. “That's not something a person forgets.”
SIS, meaning the felony just disappears
What was the “deal” Judge Charles Curless granted Klusmeyer?
The gun charge carried a punishment up to four years in prison. But instead, Klusmeyer was given five years of parole with a Suspended Imposition of Sentence, called an SIS.
Other than being found not guilty or having charges dropped, preference No. 3 for most criminal defendants is an SIS. It's like hitting the pause button on being convicted or not being convicted.
If you follow the rules of probation, there is no jail time and no conviction. It's like it never happened.
Anyone checking court records won't find it. His love interests won't know. Clients won't see it. Future employers won't see it. And in the eyes of the Missouri Supreme Court, overseer of law licenses, he has no felony conviction.
The public record of an SIS disappears from Case.net, the online database for Missouri courts, if the defendant does what he or she is ordered to do during probation.
This Case.net practice exists for a good reason. If someone charged with a crime is found not guilty, or the charges are dropped, it is unfair to have that criminal charge available forever for public view.
I reached out to judge for comment; I did not hear back
Curless is not from around here. He was a judge in Barton County. (I called there Monday and was told he retired years ago. So I'm not sure if he was retired from the circuit court when he heard the Klusmeyer case.)
I reached out by email and phone but did not hear back by deadline. But I did discover His Honor is in the band “Sober as a Judge,” which plays oldies from the 1960s and 1970s.
He was assigned the case to avoid the appearance of conflict because Klusmeyer works at the Springfield law firm of Lowther Johnson, which does work for Greene County.
To be fair to Curless, I will give you the full quote, as reported in the News-Leader
“You're getting a hell of a deal,” he told Klusmeyer. “But if you mess up, I'm going to be on your ass like a hen on a June bug.”
I'm not sure what that means, but it certainly sounds like some homespun menace.
With an SES, the conviction stays
Klusmeyer also pleaded guilty to domestic assault in the 4th degree, a misdemeanor. He was sentenced to 90 days in the Greene County Jail, but was given a Suspended Execution of Sentence — or SES — and two years probation.
With an SES, the conviction stays on Klusmeyer's record. But if he follows the rules of his probation, he will not serve time in the county lockup: there is a conviction, but the sentence is never executed.
Should Klusmeyer become a repeat-offender batterer, prosecutors and judges and the public in the future will be able to see a history of domestic assault.
Missouri laws on domestic assault have provisions that call for stiffer sentences for repeat offenders. One of them is that if someone is convicted twice of domestic assault in the fourth degree the third time is bumped to a felony.
Felons can't possess a gun in Missouri
I should point out one ramification of the felony gun sentence being an SIS.
If it ends up that Klusmeyer is not convicted on the gun charge, he can still possess a firearm in Missouri. Convicted felons, on the other hand, cannot legally possess a gun in this state.
Prosecutors argued against the SIS, but Judge Curless disagreed.
Other things seem odd to me in this case. Klusmeyer apparently did not like wearing a GPS ankle monitor. Two different attorneys asked the court if he could remove it.
Attorney Adam Woody wrote:
“A GPS ankle monitor is completely unnecessary in this matter. A bond is completely unnecessary in this matter. Defendant is a practicing attorney and has taken an oath to uphold the Constitution and abide by Court's orders.”
Attorney Shane Cantin later asked the court to have the monitor removed:
“The ankle monitor is uncomfortable and defendant wants and needs to be able to exercise. With the monitor in place he is unable to run or bike or swim with the ankle monitor.”
I understand that your attorney is your zealous advocate, but these arguments seem tone deaf to, first, the difference between a “want” and a “need,” and second, his ex-wife's potential concern that Klusmeyer might just run, bike or swim over to her residence.
Victim asks: Why did being an attorney matter in a domestic assault case?
Much attention was paid in this case to the fact Klusmeyer is an attorney and the impact a felony conviction might have on his livelihood.
It made me wonder: Why? If I pleaded guilty to domestic assault should it matter that I'm a working, recognizable journalist in Springfield?
In fact, Judge Curless said in court one reason he decided to grant an SIS was so Klusmeyer could keep his job and pay $38,000 in restitution to his ex-wife, according to the News-Leader. Nevertheless, Klusmeyer has lost his license — at least for a year.
The victim was at the sentencing hearing. She told the newspaper she thought her ex-husband got special treatment because he is a lawyer.
“They talked a lot about his grades, degree and the work he does as justification for a lesser punishment,” she told the newspaper. “Why should that matter? I have a master's degree, doesn't that matter?”
That's a great question.
Definition of a crime in the matter of disciplining an attorney
According to the Missouri Courts website, lawyers convicted of a crime can have disciplinary action taken against their law license.
Here is how a crime is defined.
(1) Any felony of this state, any other state, or the United States;
(2) Any misdemeanor of this state, any other state, or the United States involving interference with the administration of justice, false swearing, misrepresentation, fraud, deceit, bribery, extortion, misappropriation, theft, or moral turpitude; or
(3) Any misdemeanor involving attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation of another to commit any misdemeanor of this state, any other state, or the United States as described in this Rule 5.21(c)(2).
This is Pokin Around column No. 96.
