Criminal Law :  Felon-In-Possession Statute – Prior Conviction –  Out-Of-State Deferred Judgment

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Where a defendant in a felon-in-possession case challenged his conviction arguing that an Oklahoma deferral of judgment and sentence was not a prior conviction under Missouri’s statute, the appellate court would agree and reversed and remand the conviction, but given its general interest and importance the case is transferred to the Missouri Supreme Court.

Suspended imposition sentence

Dissenting opinion by Hoff, J. : “I find that Rohra was a ‘felon’ for purposes of the Missouri felon-in-possession statute. Critical to my analysis is that I disagree with the majority opinion’s premise that a deferred sentence in Oklahoma is the same as a suspended imposition sentence in Missouri.”

Transferred to Supreme Court.

State v. Rohra (MLW No. 71186/Case No. ED105084 – 13 pages) (Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, Van Amburg, J.) Appealed from circuit court, St. Louis City, Stelzer, J. (Joel J. Schwartz for appellant) (Gregory L. Barnes for respondent).

Read the full text of this opinion. (PDF)