Criminal Cases

Missouri Supreme Court

The Missouri Supreme Court is the court with original jurisdiction to hear appeals from cases involving a death sentence, a challenge to the validity of a treaty or statute of the United States or the construction of revenue laws. In all other cases, the Missouri Supreme Court's decision to review a case is discretionary.  In the past two years, the Missouri Supreme Court has taken up three of this firms cases and reversed the convictions entered by the trial court.

Billy Blocker lived with his grandmother. He was giving his brother a ride to Farmington Missouri. The police stopped the car. After the stop, the officer took his brother back to the police car. Billy saw a prescription pill grandma had given his brother. Fearing his brother would get in trouble, Billy put the pill in his pocket. If Billy's grandmother had a prescription for the pill, does Billy have a defense?  This case is the first reported opinion on when having a prescription is a defense to a charge of possessing a controlled substance. The Supreme Court reversed Billy's conviction and remanded the case for a new trial.

State v. Blocker

Randy Barks was speeding and stopped by the police. After the police officer gave Randy a ticket, he continued to detain him. The Supreme Court held that once an officer in Missouri completes the traffic stop he must let the driver go.

State v. Barks

Troy Marlow was accused of intentionally trying to run over a police officer when fleeing the scene of a theft, which is a class A felony. The jury convicted him of only the misdemeanor of recklessly creating a grave risk of injury. However, to the surprise of the Prosecuting attorney, the Supreme Court held the State had improperly stricken the only African American from the jury and reversed even that conviction.

State v. Marlow

The prosecuting attorney in the case claimed it told a reporter for the Daily American Republic this case was the first time he had ever had a court reverse a jury trial conviction. conviction following a jury trial reversed.

Daily American Republic

Intermediate Appellate Courts

For the first time in 16 years, the Eastern District Court of Appeals reversed a conviction and ordered the defendant discharged. Kevin Morris was over at a friends house doing his laundry. The police burst in with a search warrant and found a 6 or 7 once baggies of pot. The police decided that, since Kevin was there, it must be his even though he didn't live. The Appellate court threw out his conviction.

State v. Morris

The Southern District Court of Appeals reversed Harold Birmingham's conviction when it determined the trial court had improperly admitted statements Harold made to a probation officer.

State v. Birmingham