Employer – Employee: Non-Compete Agreement - Time Restriction - Attorney’s Fees 
Paradise v. Midwest Asphalt Coatings, Inc. (MLW No. 60373/Case No. WD70944 - 7 pages) (Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, Newton, C.J.)
Where a trial court found that a non-compete agreement was valid and that the employer had a protectable interest in its customer list, the court erroneously considered whether the employee actually solicited customers and [...]
Criminal Law: Drug Possession - Sufficiency Of Evidence - Exigent Circumstances
State v. Warren (MLW No. 60374/Case No. WD70671 - 11 pages) (Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, Welsh, J.)
(1)Where officers entered defendant’s home in response to an activated burglar alarm and saw marijuana and drug paraphernalia throughout the home, including readily accessible areas of the kitchen and bedroom, and the defendant did not act surprised [...]
Burglar alarms, pot don’t mix
Here’s a cautionary note: If you keep large amounts of pot in your home, you might consider canceling the service designed to bring the authorities at a moment’s notice.
Civil Practice: Subject Matter Jurisdiction - Work Comp Exclusivity - Standard Of Review
Fortenberry v. Buck (MLW No. 60375/Case No. WD70490 - 5 pages)
Where a trial court dismissed a medical negligence action brought by a plaintiff against his co-worker, the judgment is reversed and remanded because the standard no longer allows a court to dismiss when it “appears” that a court lacks subject matter jurisdiction, instead, a defendant [...]
Criminal Law: Sentencing - Amendment - Authority
State ex rel. Dwight K. Scroggins Jr. v. Kellogg (MLW No. 60337/Case No. WD71763 - 7 pages) (Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, Pfeiffer, P.J.)
Where a trial court granted a defendant’s motion to make his sentences run concurrently instead of consecutively, the court lacked authority to do so, and the court erred in using Rule [...]
Criminal Law: Second-Degree Murder - Double Jeopardy - Closing Arguments
State v. Prince (MLW No. 60343/Case No. WD70337 - 23 pages) (Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, Martin, J.)
Where a defendant was convicted of second-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action, the defendant did not show a violation of right to be free from double jeopardy, and the convictions are affirmed [...]
Criminal Law: Rape - Statute Of Limitations - Amendments
State v. Maples (MLW No. 60344/Case No. WD70313 - 10 pages) (Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, Welsh, P.J.)
Where a defendant argued that his prosecution for forcible rape and sodomy were barred by the statute of limitations, at the time that the offenses were committed and at the time the indictment was filed, there was [...]
Criminal Law: First-Degree Murder - Dying Declaration - Deliberation
State v. Minner (MLW No. 60342/Case No. WD70338 - 24 pages) (Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, Martin, J.)
(1)Where an officer gave hearsay testimony in a first-degree murder trial that the victim implicated the defendant as his murderer, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in allowing the testimony as a dying declaration because [...]
Criminal Law: Drug Trafficking - Accomplice Liability - Sufficiency Of Evidence
State v. Jackson (MLW No. 60341/Case No. WD70627 - 8 pages) (Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, Pfeiffer, J.)
Where a defendant was charged with drug trafficking under an accomplice theory of liability, the state met its burden to prove that the defendant knowingly participated in the enterprise through testimony from officers and the defendant’s girlfriend, [...]
Criminal Law: Costs - Recovery Against State - Amended Statute
State v. Arteaga (MLW No. 60338/Case No. WD71425 - 4 pages) (Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, Welsh, P.J.)
Where a defendant found not guilty of second-degree murder requested that costs be taxed against the county prosecutor, the legislature has amended the statute during the pending of this appeal, so the trial court’s denial of the [...]