Missouri Court of Appeals

U.S. Supreme Court Hears Missouri Man's Warrantless DUI Blood Draw Case Tomorrow

When Tyler G. McNeely was knocking back drinks on an October evening in 2010, he probably didn't figure he was about to embark on a two year journey to the United States Supreme Court. But that's exactly where his night of boozing will land him tomorrow, when the nine justices will hear arguments t ... More >>

Former St. Louis Alderman Tom Bauer Loses Defamation Ruling on Appeal

The Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District last week reversed a St. Louis jury's verdict in which former St. Louis Alderman Tom Bauer (Ward 24) won a defamation lawsuit against 7-Eleven and one of its franchise owners, Randy Munton. In a unanimous decision handed down November 27, all three appe ... More >>

Kansas City's Red Light Cameras Survive Class-Action Lawsuit

Last year the St. Louis-based Simon Law Firm filed six class-action lawsuits challenging the legality and constitutionality of red light cameras in Missouri. To date, the Simon lawyers are 0-3 in their quest to banish the cameras in a half-dozen municipalities. The latest defeat occurred last week w ... More >>

Creve Coeur's Red-Light Cameras Win Another Legal Battle

​A St. Louis County judge this week upheld Creve Coeur's red-light camera system, dismissing a class-action suit challenging the legality of the cameras. Attorneys Ryan Keane and John Campbell with the Simon Law Firm filed the suit last year on behalf of four people who'd received tickets from the ... More >>

St. Louis' Red-Light Camera Ordinance Officially Declared Void

Buh-bye!​Updated at 9:45 a.m. with response from city counselor Patti Hageman. A St. Louis Circuit Court judge last week officially struck down the city's red-light camera ordinance, effective voiding any outstanding or new citations issued by the city. In a ruling February 17, Judge Mark Neill up ... More >>

Appellate Judges: Adrienne Martin's Parents Deserve Shot at Busch Settlement Money

The Missouri Court of Appeals in the Eastern District released an opinion today declaring that George "Larry" Eby and Christine Trampler -- the parents of the late Adrienne Nicole Martin, former girlfriend of St. Louis beer scion August Busch IV -- have the right to join in on the wrongful death law ... More >>

Should Undocumented Sexual Predators Be Detained or Deported?

Missouri Department of Mental HealthHe came for the American dream, but this is what Javier Calleja will likely get.​In a unanimous opinion made public this morning, a three-member panel of judges with the Missouri Court of Appeals in the Eastern District sent a pointed -- some might say ironi ... More >>

Appeals Court Goes Inside the Toolkit of a Burlgar

​As the saying goes, a good carpenter never blames his tools. But in the case of Brad Mills, who apparently arrives to the job very well prepared, the blame for his legal troubles can be placed squarely on his toolkit. Earlier this week the Eastern District of the Missouri Court of Appeals r ... More >>

Missouri Appellate Court Sides With Red-Light Cameras

​The Missouri Court of Appeals handed down a ruling today to a case heard earlier this month involving a St. Louis County woman who challenged the red-light camera ticket she received in Creve Coeur in August of 2009.Mary Nottebrok had lost two previous decisions in municipal court and St. Louis C ... More >>

Missouri Appellate Court Hears Red-Light Camera Case

​Appellate judges for the Missouri Court of Appeals - Eastern District heard arguments this morning in a lawsuit challenging Creve Coeur's red-light camera ordinance.The Creve Coeur municipal court and St. Louis County Circuit Court have both ruled against plaintiff Mary Nottebrok, of St. Louis Co ... More >>

Opponents of Red-Light Cameras Rally for the Cause

Matt Hay and Ryan Keane at "Stop the Scameras."​Daily RFT stopped by the Off Broadway last night where opponents of red-light cameras were hosting their "Stop the Scameras" fundraiser. State senator Jim Lembke, the emcee of the evening who's fighting his own red-light ticket in St. Louis, was alre ... More >>

St. Louis County Residents Forced to Pay For Recycling After Court Loss

Paying for recycling services is not optional, says the Missouri Appellate Court.​A group of St. Louis County residents has lost another round in its effort to opt out of a recycling service -- and the quarterly fees that go with it.Today's appeals court decision is the latest (and possibly final) ... More >>

Drury Hotel in Chesterfield Loses Five-Year-Old Tax Appeal

Death and taxes: Drury learned this one the hard way.​When St. Louis County assessed Chesterfield's new Drury Plaza Hotel at $23.1 million in 2006, even though the hotel had not yet opened, the owners cried foul. The St. Louis-based company proffered its own appraisal of the property -- this one s ... More >>

Man Who Molested Daughters to "Educate Them About Love and Sex" Loses Court Appeal

Mo. Dept. of CorrectionsLeonard Cannafax is currently in year two of a 25-year sentence.​The following is not for the squeamish, yet it appears here to illustrates just how depraved people can be.Last week, the Missouri Court of Appeals upheld a Greene County Circuit Court's 2009 conviction of Leo ... More >>

Twelve Years for a DWI? Too Much, Says Missouri Appellate Court

Twelve years for drunk driving? Not unless you're a "chronic" offender -- and the judge crosses every T, the appeals court finds.​A Jefferson City man wasn't speeding when he got arrested for drunk driving. Nor did he hit anyone (or anything). In fact, he wasn't even, technically, driving. When po ... More >>

Girls Gone Wild Seeks to Block New Trial of Woman Exposed in Film

Jane Doe "playing" to the GGW camera seconds before an acquaintance pulled down her top.​Mantra Films, the company behind the Girls Gone Wild series of DVDs, has filed a motion with the Missouri Court of Appeals in an effort to block a new trial for a St. Charles woman who appeared in one of its f ... More >>

Should Sick Mother Have Been Charged With Child Neglect After E.R. Visit?

​Let's say you're a single mother with four kids at home. This is very common. Suppose that one day you wake up feeling sick. So sick, in fact, that, as a precaution, you decide you should go to the emergency room. It could happen to any mom, right? But you wonder about who will watch the ki ... More >>

Missouri Supreme Court to Weigh Warrantless Blood Draws for DUIs

If you're on the roadways, you may have no right to refuse a blood test, the Missouri Court of Appeals suggested in a ruling today.​Do law enforcement officers in Missouri have the right to order a blood draw if they suspect a driver is drunk -- even if they haven't gotten a judge to issue a warra ... More >>

$60 Million A.G. Edwards Settlement Gets Appeals Court OK

It's $21 million for the lawyers who steered a lawsuit against A.G. Edwards, alleging unjust enrichment.​A $60 million class-action settlement agreement between A.G. Edwards and a group of account holders who accused the company of a conflict of interest and unjust enrichment has been permitted to ... More >>

MO Supreme Court Will Decide FOP Status for U. City, Chesterfield Police

The appellate court found that police officers do have a right to collective bargaining -- but then kicked the case to the Missouri Supreme Court.​Are the cities of Chesterfield and University City required to enter into collective bargaining with the Fraternal Order of Police?That was the questio ... More >>

Humane Society Not Liable for Dog Bite, Court Finds

via www.zifflaw.comIt's not the humane society's fault if your adopted pup turns into a vicious attack dog, the Missouri Court of Appeals says.​When a St. Louis girl was bit by a dog, she and her family filed suit against the dog's owner, alleging the attack was a result of the owner's "negligence ... More >>

Canadian Libel Judgment Quashed by Missouri Appeals Court

The cover of Udis Sanchez Lord's autobiography, which got her in big trouble with her cousin -- and a Canadian court.​Kidnapping! Land fraud! Cousins fighting with cousins -- even as one cousin rises from working as a fieldhand to achieve both her Ph.D. and win (drumroll!) the title of Ms. Asia In ... More >>

Lemay Fire District Loses Grab at Casino Revenue -- Again

Moral of today's appellate court ruling: Nobody gets between St. Louis County and its casino revenue!​A south-county fire district has lost, again, in its attempt to grab a share of revenue from the River City Casino.In an opinion issued today, the Eastern District of the Missouri Court of App ... More >>

Debt Collection Company Fights Off Missouri AG -- Again

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster​Deception? Unfair practices? The Missouri Court of Appeals' Eastern District says those may be A-OK for a Kansas City debt collection company targeted by Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster.Why? Turns out that, per the court, the statute Koster was using t ... More >>

Ferguson Landlord Licensing Program Survives Realtor Challenge

Property for rent in Ferguson? Only if you comply with their licensing program, the appeals court says.​When the city of Ferguson enacted a licensing program for anyone trying to rent out their property in 2006, the St. Louis Association of Realtors promptly sued -- arguing that the court should d ... More >>

Appeals Court: "Disgusting" Gestures OK for Workplace

Wal-Mart managers got you down? Why not tell 'em how you feel?​Good news for all you disgruntled WalMart workers out there: You can flip off your boss. You can even tell your boss that he "disgusts" you. And even after all that, your boss still doesn't have the right to fire you for misconduct!Tha ... More >>

Robert Edwards: Ousted Chairman of Northeast Ambulance and Fire Loses Court Appeal

Robert Edwards lost job after holding meetings without a quorum.​The Missouri Court of Appeals for the Eastern District yesterday handed down a ruling confirming a St. Louis County verdict from last year that stripped Robert Edwards of his leadership position with the Northeast Ambulance and Fire ... More >>

Judy Pickens: Appeals Court Affirms Munchausen by Proxy Murder Conviction

Judy Pickens' conviction for murder stands.​In August 2009, a jury found Judy Pickens guilty of killing her four-year-old son, Mikal, by giving him a fatal dose of the drug Clonidine. The prosecution's expert testified that Pickens had a highly unusual mental disorder called Munchausen by Proxy -- ... More >>

Airis Family Loses Appeal to Get Native American Artifacts Back

Jennifer SilverbergKevin Airis and one of the headdresses the science center returned to him.​Kevin Airis isn't going to get his grandfather's missing Native American artifacts back from the Saint Louis Science Center anytime soon. Yesterday the Missouri Appellate Court upheld an earlier judgm ... More >>

Court of Appeals Hears Argument Over World Series Ticket Scandal

​The Missouri Court of Appeals this morning heard arguments over a protracted lawsuit stemming from the 2006 World Series when St. Louis police officers were accused of taking tickets from scalpers and passing those tickets along to their friends and families. In April of last year St. Louis Circu ... More >>

Sex at Work Is Not OK, MO Appellate Court Says (Dammit)

This just in, via our pals over at Kansas City's Pitch: This could get you fired, per the Missouri Court of Appeals​If you have sex on the timeclock -- even consensual sex! -- your employer can fire you.Cue the chorus of boos here.This landmark ruling, originally reported by Missouri Lawyers Media ... More >>

Science Center's Cataloging Problems Spread to Art Museum

image viaThe Chunkey Player Effigy Pipe in question.​The Case of the Missing Eagle Feathers, also known as Kevin Airis's ongoing battle with the Saint Louis Science Center for the return of his family's collection of Native American artifacts, continues. Airis will have his day in the Missouri ... More >>

Attorneys for Archdiocese Demanded Recusal of Gay Judge, Records Show

courts.mo.govLawrence Mooney: Has sat on other appeals that ruled in favor of the archdiocese.​The note from Missouri Court of Appeals Judge Lawrence Mooney to former St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke was just three sentences long. Written on Court of Appeals stationary and dated October 2, 2007, ... More >>

Concerned Citizens Win Round in Crystal City -- Internet Anonymity at Issue

A Jefferson County Circuit Court judge erred when he threw out a lawsuit filed by gadflies in Crystal City, the Missouri Court of Appeals said in an opinion released today.Jennifer SilverbergConcerned citizens rose up to fight a smelter in Crystal City -- and won one round today.​The gadflies -- w ... More >>

Greedy Insurance Provider Thwarted in Attempt to Grab Chaplain's Settlement

Three years ago, a woman named Pamela Scroggins took a nasty fall in a parking lot owned by a Missouri Red Lobster franchise. Scroggins' attorney, Roger Johnson of Joplin, tells Daily RFT that his client fractured her neck -- and, to this date, is still unable to return to work.​Naturally, Scroggi ... More >>

Court: Man Rightly Fired for Eating Watermelon at Company Picnic, Calling it "Obama Fruit"

Mmm, yummy! Obama fruit!​Darwin Holly, a former employee of TAMKO Building Products in southern Missouri, swears he's "not a racist" over comments he made back in May 2009. That's when Holly grabbed a slice of watermelon at a company picnic and parked himself near a few other employees. "I'm going ... More >>

Crappy Camera Cover-up at St. Louis Police Station Upheld by Appellate Court

When Tracy Joseph Dennis went to trial on misdemeanor charges of assaulting a law enforcement officer in March 2009, he wanted to introduce as evidence the presence of cameras at St. Louis' Central Patrol Station.At the cop shop, the cameras don't work.​ That seems relevant enough: The Central Pat ... More >>

Preservationists Lose Court Appeal Over San Luis Apartments

The San Luis apartments as they appeared last year.​The Missouri Court of Appeals upheld a circuit court's decision yesterday that a group of preservationists had no right to sue over the demolition of the San Luis apartments on Lindell Avenue. The 1960s-era building was owned by the Archdiocese o ... More >>

Lamborghini and The Law: Can You Prosecute a Traffic Crime Based on YouTube Videos?

A Lamborghini similar to the one John Hill drives in a YouTube video.​The story of an exotic car dealer busted by the cops for test-driving Lamborghinis and Ferraris on a St. Louis highway and posting videos of his high-speed exploits on YouTube has generated a lot of chatter about the law and cri ... More >>

The Verdict on Kansas City's Smoking Ban: Put Out Your Butts, People

Wikimedia CommonsKansas City is free to enforce its indoor smoking ban, per an order issued yesterday by the Missouri Court of Appeals-Western District. According to a story today in the Kansas City Star, "Enforcement of the Kansas City smoking ordinance plays an important part in protecting the hea ... More >>

Judicial Politics -- and Poop

Broad Strokes for Lead Paint Folks

Mysterious Departure

Why did the ACLU's legal director hit the road?

Ain't No Sunshine

When is a public record not a public record? Ask St. Louis police.

Going Postal

Maybe it’s time to revisit Steve Stogel’s redevelopment plan for the Old Post Office downtown

Angel's Wings

Only Jay Nixon stands in the way of Angela Coffel's freedom

Smoke and Numbers

In the Century Building scrap, everybody's deal is shaky, even the mayor's

God's Level Playing Field

Week of February 6, 2002

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