Justia Missouri Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of two counts of first-degree statutory sodomy, three counts of first-degree child molestation, and one count of enticement of a child, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on his claims of error.Specifically, the Supreme Court held (1) the circuit court did not abuse its discretion in overruling Defendant's motion to sever count four from counts one through five; (2) the evidence was sufficient to support the convictions; (3) the circuit court did not plainly err in failing sua sponte to declare a mistrial based on testimony the State elicited during Defendant's cross-examination; and (4) the circuit court did not plainly err in failing sua sponte to declare a mistrial based on a comment made by the State during closing argument. View "State v. Boyd" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court granted a preliminary writ of prohibition ordering the circuit court to take no further action in the underlying criminal matter other than dismissing the Washington County prosecuting attorney's motion to vacate or set aside Michael Politte's second-degree murder conviction, holding that the writ was warranted.Politte was convicted in the circuit court of St. Francois County of second degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. The Washington County prosecuting attorney later filed a motion seeking to vacate or set aside Politte's conviction under Mo. Rev. Stat. 547.031. After the attorney general's motion to dismiss was overruled, the attorney general sought a writ prohibiting the circuit court from taking any action other than to dismiss the prosecuting attorney's motion to vacate or set aside Politte's conviction. The Supreme Court issued a writ of prohibition, holding that the motion to vacate or set aside Politte's conviction failed to comply with the requirements of Mo. Rev. Stat. 547.031. View "State ex rel. Bailey v. Honorable Fulton" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgments of the circuit court denying Appellants' petitions for removal from the Missouri sex offender registry, holding that the circuit court did not err.Appellants Brock Smith and Gary Ford separately appealed two circuit court judgments denying their separately-filed petitions for removal from the Missouri sex offender registry. Smith argued that because he was a tier I sex offender, Mo. Rev. Stat. 589.400.1(7) did not mandate that he remain on the registry for his lifetime. Ford argued that the lower court misstated and misapplied the law in denying his petition. The Supreme Court affirmed in both cases, holding that the circuit court did not err in concluding that Appellants were not entitled to removal from the Missouri sex offender registry. View "Smith v. St. Louis County Police" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission denying Appellant's claim for benefits from the Second Injury Fund, holding that the Commission did not abuse its discretion and that the Commission's findings were supported by substantial evidence.On appeal, Appellant challenged the Commission's decision to overrule his motion to conduct additional discovery and submit additional evidence after the Supreme Court's decision in Cosby v. Treasurer of Missouri, 579 S.W.3d 202 (Mo. banc 2019) interpreting Mo. Rev. Stat. 287.220 and the Commission's finding that Appellant failed to show any medically documented qualifying preexisting disabilities that qualified him for benefits. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the Commission did not abuse its discretion in overruling Appellant's motion to conduct additional discovery and submit additional evidence; and (2) the Commission's findings were supported by substantial and competent evidence. View "Dubuc v. Treasurer of State of Missouri Custodian of Second Injury Fund" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court overruled two motions in this case where Kevin Johnson was scheduled for execution on November 29, 2022, holding that the two motions to stay Johnson's execution did not show a likelihood of success.Johnson was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. Fourteen days before Johnson's execution date, the special prosecutor filed a motion to vacate his conviction under Mo. Rev. Stat. 547.031, claiming that his prosecution violated equal protection because it was motivated, in part, by discriminatory intent. The circuit court denied the motion, and both the special prosecutor and Johnson appealed. While the appeals were pending, the special prosecutor filed a motion for stay of Johnson's execution, and Johnson filed a motion for stay of execution in the direct appeal from his conviction and sentence. The Supreme Court overruled both motions, holding that neither the special prosecutor nor Johnson showed a likelihood of success on their claims. View "State v. Johnson" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of driving while intoxicated as a persistent offender and sentencing him to four years' imprisonment, suspended in favor of supervised probation, holding that the circuit court did not err.On appeal, Defendant argued that the circuit court abused its discretion in overruling his pretrial motion to suppress and his pretrial motion in limine and allowing testimony of his breath test results. The Supreme Court disagreed and affirmed, holding that a review of the facts and circumstances of this case failed to reveal any error in the circuit court proceedings that was evidence, obvious, or clear. View "Petersen v. State" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of three counts of first-degree statutory sodomy and three counts of incest and sentencing him to a total of eighty-seven years' imprisonment, holding that there was no error.On appeal, Defendant argued that the circuit court erred in admitting evidence pursuant to Mo. Const. art. I, 18(c), overruling objections to the State's closing argument, admitting expert testimony and particular exhibits, and finding sufficient evidence to support the convictions. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that there was no error, plain or otherwise, or abuse of discretion in the proceedings below. View "State v. Minor" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of tampering with a judicial officer and second-degree harassment of his probation officer, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on his allegations of error.Specifically, the Supreme Court held (1) Defendant's facial overbreadth challenge to the second-degree harassment statute, Mo. Rev. Stat. 565.091, was without merit; (2) there was sufficient evidence to support Defendant's conviction for second-degree harassment; and (3) the district court did not violate Defendant's right to be free from double jeopardy when it sentenced Defendant for both tampering with a judicial officer and second-degree harassment. View "State v. Collins" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant for driving while intoxicated and sentencing him as a habitual offender, holding that the circuit court erred in sentencing Defendant as a habitual offender.On appeal, Defendant argued that the State failed to prove he was a habitual offender based solely on a certified copy of his Colorado driving record. Specifically, Defendant argued that the State failed to introduce facts underlying the Colorado convictions to show that the conduct at issue would qualify as intoxication-related traffic offenses (IRTOs) in Missouri at the time of his current offense. The Supreme Court vacated the judgment, holding that the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Defendant was convicted of at least five prior IRTOs based solely on his Colorado driving record. View "State v. Shepherd" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of assault and armed criminal action following a jury trial, holding that the circuit court prejudicially erred in failing to give the "castle doctrine" self-defense jury instruction that Defendant requested.During trial, Defendant requested a self-defense instruction justifying the use of deadly force by a person lawfully in a vehicle, otherwise known as the "castle doctrine." The circuit court refused the castle doctrine instruction but gave the general self-defense instruction. Defendant was subsequently found guilty on all counts. The Supreme Court vacated the convictions, holding (1) the circuit court erred in failing to instruct the jury on the castle doctrine; and (2) Defendant was prejudiced by the error. View "State v. Straughter" on Justia Law