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Full-Text Articles in Law
Sound And Fury: Substantial Evidence In State V. Bruner, Anthony J. Meyer
Sound And Fury: Substantial Evidence In State V. Bruner, Anthony J. Meyer
Missouri Law Review
This Note argues that the current standard for substantial evidence is both confusing and inconsistent in Missouri case law. In the instant case, the standard for substantial evidence applied by the Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, involved weighing the credibility of the evidence when, according to the weight of authority in Missouri case law, the substantial evidence standard is a low one and does not include making determinations of credibility. Substantial evidence would be better defined as any evidence that is more than a mere scintilla that puts a matter in issue
It’S Probable: Missouri Constitution Article I, Section 15 Requires A Higher Standard To Obtain A Warrant For Real-Time Or Prospective Csli, Aaron Hadlow
Missouri Law Review
The scope of this Note primarily deals with issues surrounding real-time CSLI, although the issues implicated by article I, section 15 of the Missouri Constitution could apply to historic CSLI as well. Part II of this Note discusses general principles of Fourth Amendment law and the Supreme Court’s treatment of searches and seizures in relation to electronic communications and data. It then discusses the statutory developments empowering law enforcement to use emerging technologies for surveillance purposes. Part III discusses recent developments in search and seizure law. It then discusses Missouri’s recent amendment to its constitution, which provides additional protections for …
Picking Winners And Losers: The Subjectivity Of Missouri Disciplinary Decisions, Bradley Craigmyle
Picking Winners And Losers: The Subjectivity Of Missouri Disciplinary Decisions, Bradley Craigmyle
Missouri Law Review
This Note traces the facts and holding of the case In re Krigel, before delving into the ABA’s influential role in legal ethics. Next, it outlines Missouri’s attorney discipline procedures and analyzes pertinent Missouri case law. Lastly, this Note critiques the majority opinion and argues that Krigel should have been disbarred
“A Verdict Worthy Of Confidence”: The Weakening Of Brady’S “Materiality” Requirement In Missouri, Robert Wasserman
“A Verdict Worthy Of Confidence”: The Weakening Of Brady’S “Materiality” Requirement In Missouri, Robert Wasserman
Missouri Law Review
In 1993, Reginald Clemons was convicted and sentenced to death for his alleged participation in the brutal rapes and murders of two sisters at the Chain of Rocks Bridge in St. Louis, Missouri. Over twenty years later, and after several unsuccessful appeals by Clemons, the Supreme Court of Missouri vacated his convictions. The court found that the prosecution had failed to disclose evidence to Clemons’s trial counsel that suggested that he may have given his confession involuntarily. The court concluded that this evidence was sufficiently important that the prosecution’s failure to disclose it undermined confidence in the trial court’s verdict
Instilling Hope: Suggested Legislative Reform For Missouri Regarding Juvenile Sentencing Pursuant To Supreme Court Decisions In Miller And Montgomery, Brooke Wheelwright
Instilling Hope: Suggested Legislative Reform For Missouri Regarding Juvenile Sentencing Pursuant To Supreme Court Decisions In Miller And Montgomery, Brooke Wheelwright
Missouri Law Review
Missouri recently passed Senate Bill 590 (“SB 590”) in response to these decisions. However, inadequate time, research, and consideration were given to the passage of SB 590, in part because it was rushed through the legislature near the end of the legislative session. As a result, the bill has many shortcomings that must be fixed; this is the primary focus of this Note. Part II of this Note examines the necessary context and background of a handful of Supreme Court decisions pertaining to this issue. Part III discusses the language and likely impact of SB 590. Part III analyzes the …
What’S Missing? Addressing The Inadequate Lgbt Protections In The Missouri Human Rights Act, Ellen Henrion
What’S Missing? Addressing The Inadequate Lgbt Protections In The Missouri Human Rights Act, Ellen Henrion
Missouri Law Review
Most Missourians can move into homes with their partners, put up pictures of their spouses at their workplace desks, or book a hotel room for an overnight stay with a carefree confidence that these actions will not result in harassment or discriminatory repercussions. Unfortunately, this is not true for all of the state’s residents. Approximately 160,000 adults in Missouri identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender (“LGBT”). Accordingly, approximately 160,000 adults in Missouri are particularly vulnerable to workplace, housing, and public accommodations discrimination as the Missouri Human Rights Act (“MHRA”), Missouri’s general anti-discrimination statute, does not explicitly prohibit discrimination based …
Missouri Campaign Reporting Requirements In The Shade Of Citizens United, Benjamin N. Levin
Missouri Campaign Reporting Requirements In The Shade Of Citizens United, Benjamin N. Levin
Missouri Law Review
In Geier v. Missouri Ethics Commission, the appellant, Gerald Geier, asked the Supreme Court of Missouri to consider the constitutionality of Missouri’s reporting requirement statutes as applied to Stop Now!, an inactive political action committee (“PAC”). Geier argued that the reporting requirement failed to meet the exacting scrutiny standard because the State’s interest in receiving reports of inactivity did not outweigh the burden placed on Geier by the requirement. This Note analyzes the court’s application of exacting scrutiny in the instant decision. It also notes the limits of PAC disclosure requirements as a public policy tool in the absence of …
Statutory Interpretation In Missouri, Matthew Davis
Statutory Interpretation In Missouri, Matthew Davis
Missouri Law Review
Although countless secondary sources discuss the canons used to interpret statutory language, few thoroughly focus on the canons cited by Missouri courts. This four-part Note attempts to fill that void. Part II begins by organizing and concisely stating roughly thirty rules of statutory interpretation. Part III then contends that two of these principles – that the purpose of a statute should be furthered and that absurd outcomes should be avoided – often lend themselves to unpredictable results. Part IV concludes by suggesting one way this unpredictability could be minimized.
Access To Education: Transgender Students In Missouri’S Public Education System, Cailynn Hayter
Access To Education: Transgender Students In Missouri’S Public Education System, Cailynn Hayter
Missouri Law Review
Although the questions about whether transgender students have a right to use the restrooms of their gender identity in public schools have been centered on moral and religious concerns, this Note does not focus on those aspects. Instead, it focuses on legal precedent and the implications of developing law on the issue in Missouri. The first half of this Note discusses the federal and state legal backgrounds of transgender students’ right to use the restroom of their gender identity, while the second half discusses the need for the Missouri General Assembly to adopt a specific statute protecting this right.
“Show Me” Your Legal Status: A Constitutional Analysis Of Missouri’S Exclusion Of Daca Students From Postsecondary Educational Benefits, Britteny Pfleger
“Show Me” Your Legal Status: A Constitutional Analysis Of Missouri’S Exclusion Of Daca Students From Postsecondary Educational Benefits, Britteny Pfleger
Missouri Law Review
This Note discusses how Missouri’s exclusion of in-state tuition and state scholarship funding affects DACA students and concludes the Missouri legislature’s proposal violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. Part II explores the DACA program and its effects on both DACA individuals and society; it then lays out Missouri law on higher education benefits, both prior to and after the passage of HB 3 and SB 224. Next, Part III details the process used to evaluate equal protection claims based on immigration status. Part IV scrutinizes the legislation under equal protection case law, ultimately concluding in Part V that HB …
Sustainable Constitutional Growth? The “Right To Farm” And Missouri’S Review Of Constitutional Amendments, Angela Kennedy
Sustainable Constitutional Growth? The “Right To Farm” And Missouri’S Review Of Constitutional Amendments, Angela Kennedy
Missouri Law Review
Part I discusses the historical background and enactment of the amendment. Next, Part II outlines the legal challenges available during the political constitutional amendment process, detailing what challenges were – or were not – made to the right-to-farm amendment during its enactment. Part III discusses how Missouri courts generally review legislatively-referred constitutional amendments and how they would likely review challenges brought under the right-to-farm amendment. Part IV discusses the adequacy of existing legal challenges to Missouri constitutional amendments – particularly on the front end – when these amendments are enacted via a single election. It also provides suggestions for the …
The Supreme Court Of Missouri Splashes With Precedent In Waterslide Injury Case, Joe Krispin
The Supreme Court Of Missouri Splashes With Precedent In Waterslide Injury Case, Joe Krispin
Missouri Law Review
This Note reviews the legal history of amusement park operator liability in Missouri, discusses the application of that law to a recent incident involving a young girl injured at a Kansas City waterpark, and analyzes the various applications of the law made by the Supreme Court of Missouri, the Missouri Court of Appeals, and the dissenting Supreme Court of Missouri judges. This Note concludes by discussing relevant public policy concerns.
The Wild Mid-West: Missouri Ethics And Campaign Finance Under A Narrowed Corruption Regime, Dan Schnurbusch
The Wild Mid-West: Missouri Ethics And Campaign Finance Under A Narrowed Corruption Regime, Dan Schnurbusch
Missouri Law Review
This Note explores some of the history of Missouri’s attempts at ethics reform, recent developments in Missouri’s ethics legislation and federal First Amendment jurisprudence, and how these issues commingle to produce a dangerous climate in which to operate a representative democracy. This Note confronts some of the Supreme Court’s conclusions in both Citizens United and McCutcheon, exposes some of the deleterious societal and legal effects of these rulings, and provides some possible courses of action that Missouri and other states might undertake in order to help lay the groundwork for upholding meaningful campaign finance regulation in the future.
The Missouri Felony Murder Rule’S Merger Limitation: A Doctrine In Limbo, Jared Guemmer
The Missouri Felony Murder Rule’S Merger Limitation: A Doctrine In Limbo, Jared Guemmer
Missouri Law Review
Unfortunately, recent case law in Missouri obliterated the merger doctrine. This Note aims to expose the faulty reasoning applied by Missouri courts in abrogating the merger doctrine. In Part II, this Note will summarize the history of the merger doctrine, both generally and in Missouri. Then, Part III highlights the recent developments in Missouri law regarding felony murder and the merger doctrine. In Part IV, this Note discusses the purpose of the merger doctrine, the rules of interpretation regarding Missouri’s felony murder provision, and why Missouri courts incorrectly decided the merger doctrine no longer functions as a valid legal theory …
Probable Intent Vs. Certainty: The Missouri Probate Court And The Uniform Probate Code, Stephanie Pierce
Probable Intent Vs. Certainty: The Missouri Probate Court And The Uniform Probate Code, Stephanie Pierce
Missouri Law Review
This Note seeks to address how increasingly complex family situations should impact intestacy statutes. In In re Brockmire, the Supreme Court of Missouri specifically addressed what occurs when a decedent predeceases his biological granddaughter and his biological daughter, who had been adopted as an adult by her stepfather. Unfortunately, the court, bound by statute, was unable to even contemplate a remedy consistent with the probable intent of the decedent.
The (Hot) Dog Days Of Summer: Missouri’S “Baseball Rule” Takes A Strike, Ross H. Freeman
The (Hot) Dog Days Of Summer: Missouri’S “Baseball Rule” Takes A Strike, Ross H. Freeman
Missouri Law Review
Part II of this Note provides the facts and holding of Coomer. Part III discusses the legal background of Coomer, including the adoption of comparative negligence in Missouri, Missouri’s baseball rule, and other persuasive baseball rule authority the court used in Coomer. Part IV analyzes the court’s application of the law to the specific facts in Coomer. Finally, Part V discusses the court’s decision and explains why the court should have adopted a broader definition of what constitutes an “inherent risk” of attending an MLB game in person.
Missouri Abolishes The Corroboration Rule And The Destructive Contradictions Doctrine: A Victory For Victims Of Sexual Assault?, Kristen L. Stallion
Missouri Abolishes The Corroboration Rule And The Destructive Contradictions Doctrine: A Victory For Victims Of Sexual Assault?, Kristen L. Stallion
Missouri Law Review
Part II of this Note explores the issue in the case at hand, State v. Porter, which has finally abolished both the corroboration rule and destructive contradictions doctrine in Missouri sexual assault cases. Next, Part III presents the archaic rationale behind the two doctrines and explores its development. Finally, in Part IV, the Supreme Court of Missouri’s decision to abolish these doctrines is dissected and the evolution of these evidentiary common law rules is analyzed in light of courts’ efforts to remove the high wall of doubt female victims must attempt to overcome. This analysis reveals that much still needs …
There Must Be A Better Way: The Unintended Consequences Of Missouri’S Hancock Amendment. Zweig V. Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, Kimberly Hubbard
There Must Be A Better Way: The Unintended Consequences Of Missouri’S Hancock Amendment. Zweig V. Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, Kimberly Hubbard
Missouri Law Review
The Hancock Amendment to the Missouri Constitution became law in November 1980 after fifty-five percent of voters approved it. The amendment is a type of provision known as a “tax and expenditure limitation.” The purpose of these provisions was “to restrict the growth of the state budget.” Most people thought it meant that they would not have to pay higher taxes, and they were right to an extent. What voters and Mel Hancock, the amendment’s namesake, did not contemplate were the numerous ill-effects of this constitutional amendment.
Swing And A Miss: The Missouri Court Of Appeals Attempts To Interpret Delaware Corporation Law. Hci Investors, Llc V. Fox, David Ferguson
Swing And A Miss: The Missouri Court Of Appeals Attempts To Interpret Delaware Corporation Law. Hci Investors, Llc V. Fox, David Ferguson
Missouri Law Review
This Note examines the court’s analysis in implicitly adopting this new interpretation of the duties of corporate fiduciaries under the entire fairness standard and argues that by essentially ignoring the dichotomy between the standards and misapplying the relevant case law, HCI Investors was improperly decided. Part II examines the background of the underlying transaction at issue in the case, the parties’ arguments, the lower court’s disposition, the appellants’ arguments on appeal, and the appellate court’s disposition. Part III gives some legal background for the issues at play, including the adoption of Delaware’s corporation law by the Kansas courts generally and …
A Missouri Citizen’S Guide To Red Light Cameras, Joe Conlon
A Missouri Citizen’S Guide To Red Light Cameras, Joe Conlon
Missouri Law Review
Red light cameras are a hotly debated issue in Missouri. Many supporters argue that red light cameras reduce accidents and save lives.1 Those opposed claim the cameras do more harm than good.2 This Summary provides a brief background on red light cameras and their early use in Missouri. This Summary then discusses the recent development in red light camera laws, including the string of recent Missouri court cases dealing with the issue, as well as proposed state legislation. Finally, this Summary discusses possible legal arguments one can present in court in the event that he or she is accused of …
Civil Or Criminal?: Deciding Whether A Law May Be Applied Retrospectively Yet Constitutionally In Missouri. State V. Wade, Timothy M. Guntli
Civil Or Criminal?: Deciding Whether A Law May Be Applied Retrospectively Yet Constitutionally In Missouri. State V. Wade, Timothy M. Guntli
Missouri Law Review
This Note begins by discussing the facts and holding of Wade. Next, this Note examines generally the legal background and history of bans on ex post facto laws and on laws retrospective in their operation in Missouri. Then, this Note explains recent precedent regarding such bans, particularly in the context of sex offender registration statutes. After the discussion of precedent, this Note explores the analyses of the majority, concurring, and dissenting opinions in Wade. Finally, this Note concludes with a critique of these analyses in the instant decision and contemplates the future effects of the court’s decision.
Call Me, Maybe: Missouri’S Approach To Extraterritorial Personal Jurisdiction On The Basis Of Interstate Communications, Caleb Wagner
Call Me, Maybe: Missouri’S Approach To Extraterritorial Personal Jurisdiction On The Basis Of Interstate Communications, Caleb Wagner
Missouri Law Review
This Note discusses the legal doctrine of personal jurisdiction over out of-state parties in Missouri and how the instant case fits within that regime. It also offers guidance for out-of-state parties conducting business in Missouri, as well as Missouri parties dealing with out-of-state corporations, suggesting ways in which businesses can structure their arrangements to ensure specific forums should litigation become necessary.
Supreme Court Decision On Juvenile Sentencing Results In Cruel And Unusual Difficulties For Missouri, Andrew Peebles
Supreme Court Decision On Juvenile Sentencing Results In Cruel And Unusual Difficulties For Missouri, Andrew Peebles
Missouri Law Review
Part II gives a brief background of the facts and circumstances surrounding the Hart decision. Part III discusses the history of the Eighth Amendment and explores the U.S. Supreme Court’s trend toward leniency in the imposition of punishments, culminating with a discussion of the Miller decision. Part IV delves into the Supreme Court of Missouri’s reasoning behind its decision in Hart and the temporary sentencing procedures the court provided. Finally, Part V comments on the many problems currently facing Missouri’s criminal justice system since the implementation of the Miller decision and the actions that will be required by the legislature …
Missouri’S School Transfer Law: Not A Hancock Violation But A Mere Bandage On Wounded Districts, Kimberly Hubbard
Missouri’S School Transfer Law: Not A Hancock Violation But A Mere Bandage On Wounded Districts, Kimberly Hubbard
Missouri Law Review
This Note first discusses the Breitenfeld decision and then explores the prior cases and legislation leading up to the Breitenfeld decision. In discussing Breitenfeld, this Note describes how the transfer law will affect transferred students, unaccredited districts forced to pay tuition, accredited districts forced to accept transfer students, and the public school accreditation system in Missouri. Finally, this Note proposes that because the adverse consequences outweigh the benefits of the law, action must be taken so that unaccredited school districts can have a fighting chance to become accredited again. Legislative change is necessary because a solution is not forthcoming from …
Two Tests Of Severance: Procedural And Substantive Constitutional Violations And The Legislative Process In Missouri, Jonathon Whitfield
Two Tests Of Severance: Procedural And Substantive Constitutional Violations And The Legislative Process In Missouri, Jonathon Whitfield
Missouri Law Review
This Note argues that severance is justified in two situations. First, severance is justified where authorized by the legislature. Alternatively, severance is justified when innocent third parties rely on the passage and implementation of a law in good faith, and invalidation of the law would have collateral effects that outweigh the need to ensure consistent legislative practice. Part II of this Note analyzes the facts and holding of Missouri Roundtable. Part III explores the development of severance as a remedy for procedural constitutional violations, particularly in the context of the single-subject rule. Part IV examines the court’s rationale in Missouri …
Missouri And The Charter School Puzzle: A Story With An Uncertain Ending, Jillian Dent
Missouri And The Charter School Puzzle: A Story With An Uncertain Ending, Jillian Dent
Missouri Law Review
Education and education reform are often at the forefront of the public consciousness. Currently, three large public school systems in Missouri are at a crossroads: Kansas City Public Schools, which became unaccredited in 2012; the Normandy and Riverview Gardens School Districts of St. Louis, which were re-classified as unaccredited in 2013; and St. Louis Public Schools, whose provisional accreditation was in question after 2013 test results. The education systems in Missouri’s two largest cities, the lifeblood of the state, are in varying states of accreditation, and a looming question, with recent cases such as Breitenfeld v. School District of Clayton, …
Reg. B Is No Guaranty: Missouri Courts’ Openly Divergent Views On The Enforceability Of Coerced Spousal Guaranties In Commercial Lending, Alexander Hurst
Reg. B Is No Guaranty: Missouri Courts’ Openly Divergent Views On The Enforceability Of Coerced Spousal Guaranties In Commercial Lending, Alexander Hurst
Missouri Law Review
This Summary examines how this inconsistency of law came to be, the public policy arguments for and against protecting spouses from being required to sign guaranties, and the potential actions which could be taken to resolve the issue. First, this Summary will examine the legal background of the ECOA and Reg. B as well as the paradigm that developed under the assumption that Reg. B was valid law. The Summary will then turn to the recent diverging cases dealing with the regulation’s validity in chronological order, starting with the federal cases that called the law’s validity into question, then moving …
Missouri Court Limits The Reach Of The Pollution Exclusion, Kelly Gorman
Missouri Court Limits The Reach Of The Pollution Exclusion, Kelly Gorman
Missouri Law Review
This Note explains the conflicting viewpoints presented in Wyatt and how the court reached its conclusion that the pollution exclusion clause does not encompass non-traditional pollutants. Part II of this Note describes the facts of Wyatt and the particular position of each party. In Part III, this Note examines the history behind pollution exclusion language and the various forces that shaped its evolution. Part IV then considers how other jurisdictions have dealt with pollution exclusion clauses and what legal theories or principles shaped their decisions. Finally, Part V argues that the Court of Appeals’ rejection of a more broad “pollution …
Doctrine Of Substantial Overbreadth: A Better Prescription For Strong Medicine In Missouri, The , Keith H. Holland
Doctrine Of Substantial Overbreadth: A Better Prescription For Strong Medicine In Missouri, The , Keith H. Holland
Missouri Law Review
Considering prior cases where Missouri courts have applied the doctrine of substantial overbreadth, however, State v. Vaughn may represent a significant step towards a more well-defined and consistent approach to the doctrine. Even though Vaughn does not clearly resolve all of the inconsistencies in Missouri's application of the overbreadth doctrine, it represents a necessary and important development in the way the doctrine is applied by Missouri courts.
Amendment 2 And Its Effect On Missourians' Free Exercise Of Religion, Mishelle Martinez
Amendment 2 And Its Effect On Missourians' Free Exercise Of Religion, Mishelle Martinez
Missouri Law Review
This Comment provides a thorough analysis of Amendment 2. The primary issue addressed is whether Amendment 2 will have an impact on Missourians' religious freedoms or whether Amendment 2 merely reaffirms rights already granted under the old article I, section 5 of the Missouri Constitution. If Amendment 2 does add new rights, an analysis of whether such rights are in accord with the First Amendment is required. Part II outlines the legislative history, text, and general commentary on the key provisions of Amendment 2. In Part III, all new provisions under Amendment 2 are analyzed in light of the legal …