A St. Louis man’s conviction has been vacated after prosecutors failed to disclose the alleged victim’s criminal history. The Missouri Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that Jason Merriweather’s right to a fair trial was violated when prosecutors’ search of a ...

Tagged with: criminal record disclosure fair trial Jason Merriweather Missouri Supreme Court

A lawyer for Norfolk Southern Railway Co. urged the Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday to adopt a bright-line rule that attorney work-product protection is waived when a party designates a person as an expert. “Today this court addresses whether the ...

Tagged with: Crown Power and Equipment Co. McLeod & Heinrichs Missouri Supreme Court Norfolk Southern Railway Co. Richard McLeod Tracy v. Dandurand work-product protection

An attorney for a man seeking a DNA test argued on Wednesday before the Missouri Supreme Court that a lower judge erred in denying the procedure. Randy Belcher, a Livingston County resident, pleaded guilty in 1989 to rape.  He was ...

Tagged with: DNA Missouri Supreme Court Randy Belcher

Supreme Court says 25 percent is all that state must spend

The Missouri Supreme Court has upheld Missouri's method for funding public schools. More than 200 school districts, called the Coalition for Educational Equality, sued the state in 2004, arguing Missouri doesn't spend enough on education and distributes the money it does spend unfairly.

Tagged with: 25 percent Coalition for Educational Equality Missouri Supreme Court public schools Richard Callahan school districts school funding

Property owners challenging their assessments have to prove their properties’ fair market values in their complaint proceedings. The Missouri Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that property owners alleging their properties have been assigned discriminatory assessments first have to prove the properties’ ...

Tagged with: assessments fair market value Missouri State Tax Commission Missouri Supreme Court St. Louis County Board of Equalization

The Missouri Supreme Court ruled that the voluntary payment doctrine is not a defense for a violation of the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act. The court, in an opinion issued on Tuesday, allowed a class action against Charter Communications to proceed. ...

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The Missouri Supreme Court has upheld a state statute that requires parents delinquent on their child support to post a bond before attempting to modify a child support judgment. The statute applies to parents who owe more than $10,000 in ...

Tagged with: Carolyn Weigand Child Support delinquent Jeffrey Edwards Missouri Supreme Court unconstitutional

The Missouri Supreme Court has upheld the conviction of a man on child pornography charges even though a search of his camera and computer might have been illegal. The court ruled Tuesday that Robert Oliver’s conviction was valid because the ...

Tagged with: Child Pornography Consent illegal search Missouri Supreme Court Robert Oliver

The Missouri Supreme Court has denied a writ asking for the court to address problems with the Missouri Public Defender System. Attorney L. Steven Goldblatt, of the Goldblatt Law Firm, filed the emergency writ of petition for habeas corpus Wednesday ...

Tagged with: Missouri Supreme Court Missouri's Public Defender System Steven Goldblatt

Attorney's filing also alleges misconduct by St. Louis County prosecutor's office

L. Steven Goldblatt has taken it into his own hands to address problems with Missouri's Public Defender System. In the process, he alleges that an assistant St. Louis County prosecuting attorney threatened that if his client didn't plead guilty he would lose his law license. Goldblatt (pictured), of the Goldblatt Law Firm, plans to file an emergency writ of petition for habeas corpus with the Missouri Supreme Court today.

Tagged with: Bob McCulloch Missouri Supreme Court public defender

Lawyers waiting for new issues of Oklahoma Digest or the Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report to arrive at the Supreme Court Library have been out of luck for quite some time. Those publications are among an array of periodicals and treatises that received the ax at the Jefferson City facility at the beginning of the decade. The library has been underfunded for years and has continued to remain afloat by cutting hardback subscriptions and sometimes reverting to online options. The library was set to receive some relief this year when the Legislature allocated $100,000 worth of federal stimulus money, but Gov. Jay Nixon vetoed the appropriation.

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