Offender says DWI sentencing law is un-constitutionally vague 
A St. Charles County man convicted of several drunken driving offenses is challenging the constitutionality of a state DWI law, arguing that it gives prosecutors too much leeway.
The Missouri Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday in the case, which concerns the differences between “persistent,” “aggravated” and “chronic” offenders. Persistent offenders are those who have committed two [...]
Domestic Relations: Child Custody - Modification - Jurisdiction
Hightower v. Myers, et al. (MLW No. 60347/Case No. SC89951 - 14 pages)
(1)Where a mother appealed after a trial court entered a modification of child custody to grant the Missouri father physical custody of the couple’s child during the school year after the mother relocated several times in New Jersey and then to Georgia and [...]
Criminal Law: Death Penalty - Independent Proportionality Review - Verdict-Mechanics Instruction
State v. Anderson (MLW No. 60348/Case No. SC89895 - 38 pages)
(1)Where a jury in a death-penalty case was given a “verdict-mechanics” instruction that omitted a revised paragraph on mitigation evidence but the jury was still properly instructed about the consideration of mitigating circumstances, the defendant was not prejudiced by the omission.
(2)Where a defendant was charged [...]
Civil Practice: Personal Jurisdiction - Long-Arm Statute - Tortious Act
Bryant v. Smith Interior Design Group, Inc. (MLW No. 60346/Case No. SC90205 - 13 pages)
Where a Missouri resident brought an action in St. Louis County alleging fraudulent misrepresentation and concealment against a Florida defendant in a dispute, which arose over interior decorating services, the trial court erred in finding it lacked personal jurisdiction over the [...]
Civil Practice: Juror Nondisclosure - Litigation History - Timeliness
Johnson v. McCullough (MLW No. 60345/Case No. SC90401 - 12 pages)
(1)Where a juror in a medical malpractice case failed to disclose in response to a reasonably clear voir dire question her recent participation in debt collection actions and a personal injury case, the trial court did not err in finding that the non-disclosure was intentional [...]
Look up juror histories before trial, Supreme Court says
Attorneys, warm up your laptops.
The Missouri Supreme Court said Tuesday that lawyers must use “reasonable efforts” to research the litigation histories of potential jurors before trial, not after.
Administrative: Municipal Violation - Jurisdiction - Trial De Novo
City of Springfield v. Belt (MLW No. 60296/Case No. SC90324 - 8 pages)
Where a driver cited for running a red light in violation of a Springfield municipal ordinance requested a trial de novo after his challenge to the citation was rejected by a municipal judge sitting as a hearing examiner at a “contested hearing,” the [...]
State Supreme Court will look at Batson, UPL, HIPAA
The Missouri Supreme Court has agreed to take up the appeal of a St. Louis murder conviction where the trial judge overruled objections to allow the prosecutor to eliminate a black juror from the jury pool.
The case is an example of a Batson v. Kentucky challenge aimed at ensuring citizens aren’t excluded from jury panels [...]
Supreme Court lets you pick your precedent
There is a footnote at the end of a seven-page ruling issued last week by the Missouri Supreme Court, on a day when the court only belatedly decided to issue opinions.
It may be one of the most important footnotes of the year.
In what is essentially an instruction to circuit judges, the footnote says trial courts [...]
Real Property: Annexation - County Road - Easement
Orla Holman Cemetery, Inc. v. The Robert W. Plaster Trust, et al. (MLW No. 60275/Case No. SC90133 - 15 pages) (Supreme Court of Missouri, Price Jr., C.J.; all concur)
Where a road that provided access to a county-owned cemetery was expressly excepted from a deed that transferred property around the cemetery to a trust which then [...]