Criminal Law : Post-Conviction Relief – Guilty Plea – Criminal Non-Support

Where a defendant who pleaded guilty to criminal nonsupport was not told by the trial court that an element of the offense was that the parent failed to provide support without good cause, and nobody advised him that if he was unable to provide support for any substantial reason then he could not be held criminally liable, the record did not show that the defendant understood the specific nature and elements of the charge against him, so his plea was not knowing and voluntary, so the conviction and sentence are reversed and remanded.

Judgment is reversed and remanded.

Cafferty v. State (MLW No. 67103/Case No. WD76817 – 9 pages) (Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, Welsh, J.) Appealed from circuit court, DeKalb County, Chapman, J. (S. Kate Webber, Kansas City, Missouri, for appellant) (Andrew Hooper, Jefferson City, for respondent).

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