Following his indictment for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, defendant moved to suppress evidence obtained from tracking devices law enforcement placed on his car. The district court agreed with defendant’s contention that the government lacked probable cause to install the trackers ...

Tagged with: Criminal Law Drug Distribution Probable Cause to Install Trackers Suppression of Evidence

Defendant pleaded guilty to distributing methamphetamine and possessing a firearm. The district court sentenced defendant to consecutive prison terms resulting in an aggregate sentence of 270 months followed by five months of supervised release. On appeal, defendant challenged the substantive ...

Tagged with: Consecutive Prison Terms Criminal Law Drug Distribution Substantive Reasonableness of Sentence

Where a defendant challenged his convictions for kidnapping and armed criminal action, the judgment is affirmed because the evidence was sufficient to support the kidnapping charge, but the trial court erred by failing to instruct the jury that the defendant’s ...

Tagged with: Criminal Law kidnapping Sufficiency Of Evidence Underlying Felony

Where a man who dragged a horse behind his truck challenged his animal-abuse conviction, arguing that he should have been able to read Missouri’s right-to-farm constitutional amendment to the jury, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in refusing ...

Tagged with: Animal Abuse Criminal Law Right-To-Farm Amendment

Following his indictment for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, defendant moved to suppress evidence obtained from tracking devices law enforcement placed on his car. The district court agreed with defendant’s contention that the government lacked probable cause to install the trackers ...

Tagged with: Criminal Law Drug Distribution Probable Cause to Install Trackers Suppression of Evidence

Where a defendant did not provide substantial evidence to support his claim that he was not the initial aggressor in an altercation or that he reasonably believed force was necessary to defend himself, the trial court did not err in ...

Tagged with: Criminal Law Initial Aggressor Relevancy Objection Self-Defense Instruction

Where a motion court resolved a defendant’s claims of ineffective assistance of trial counsel but did not make findings of fact or conclusions of law as to the defendant’s claims regarding his appellate counsel, the appeal must be dismissed for ...

Tagged with: Criminal Law Finality Of Judgment Post-Conviction Relief

Where a defendant in a drug-possession case challenged the denial of two pre-trial motions for continuance, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the first request because it did not contain allegations of efforts to locate the ...

Tagged with: Absence Of Witness Criminal Law Denial Of Continuance

Where a defendant challenged the sufficiency of evidence to support convictions for third-degree domestic assault and burglary, the judgment is affirmed because even though the victim testified that the defendant’s actions in threatening her and a male guest and shooting ...

Tagged with: Apprehension Of Injury Criminal Law domestic assault Victim’s Testimony

Where a defendant who was sentenced to death in a first-degree murder case argued that his counsel was ineffective for failing to call witnesses to testify about the defendant’s mental health at the penalty-phase retrial, the trial counsel presented strategic ...

Tagged with: Criminal Law Death Penalty Case effectiveness of counsel Mitigation Evidence

Defendant pleaded guilty to being an unlawful drug user in possession of a firearm, received a below-guidelines sentence of 12 months and one day and was released on supervision. Immediately thereafter, defendant committed 14 violations of her supervised release. The ...

Tagged with: Criminal Law Substantive Reasonableness of Sentence Unlawful Drug User in Possession of Firearm Violation of Supervised Release