Case summaries for Jan. 31-Feb. 6, 2025
Each week, The Missouri Bar provides links to all hand downs published online during the past seven days by the Supreme Court of Missouri and the Missouri Court of Appeals. The Missouri Bar has created headings and summaries for each case. Summaries are not part of the opinions of the Court. They have been prepared for the convenience of the reader and should not be quoted or cited.
Criminal | Employment security | Tax
Criminal
Corpus delicti rule satisfied
The corpus delicti rule barred extra-judicial confessions absent corroborating evidence. Such evidence could be slight and resulted in admissibility of the confession and corroborating evidence. Evidence corroborating the defendant’s confession included evidence that the defendant was alone with the victim and that the victim’s behavior changed, both around when the defendant stated that he had committed the crime, and evidence that the defendant had researched the statute of limitations. The record included evidence that supported reasonable inferences that the elements of the crime occurred.
STATE OF MISSOURI, Plaintiff-Respondent v. ISARIAH M. ROBERTS, Defendant-Appellant
Missouri Court of Appeals-Southern District – SD38121
No credit for federal time served
Appellate courts reviewed a denial of summary judgment when intertwined with an appealable grant of summary judgment. Statute provided jail time credit only for time served within, or solely because of, state action. Time served solely because of the state did not include time served in federal custody on federal charges. The Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed the summary judgment that denied jail time credit.
(Overview summary)
Victor D. Vickers, Jr. vs. Missouri Department of Corrections
Missouri Court of Appeals-Western District - WD87214
Deliberation shown
The elements of murder in the first degree included deliberation, meaning any cool reflection, even for an instant. That finding had support in evidence that the defendant sought revenge for thefts, pursued the victim’s vehicle, threatened unarmed vehicle occupants, was not defending himself, sought no medical help for the victim, and destroyed evidence. The sentence as spoken had to prevail over the sentence as written, so the Missouri Court of Appeals remanded the action to correct the judgment by an order nunc pro tunc.
(Overview summary)
State of Missouri vs. Mark A. Fielder
Missouri Court of Appeals-Western District - WD86724
Instinctual inference prevailed over Batson challenge
When the state struck venire persons, the defense had the burden of showing that racially neutral grounds for the strike were pretextual, and must make a record on the state’s grounds to show error. “And, … as long as the State provides some reasonable context as to … instinctual inferences about that venire panel member, Missouri courts do not require corroborating evidence for that instinctual inference[.]” Absent a record showing that the state’s grounds for its strike was pretextual, the Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction.
(Overview summary)
State of Missouri vs. Toney Powell, Jr.
Missouri Court of Appeals-Western District - WD86564
Employment security
Evidence of misconduct was uncontroverted
The claimants had the burden of proof on claims, but claims were subject to denial for misconduct connected with work, and the employers had the burden of proof on that defense. The burden was not heavy when the misconduct consisted of violating the employer’s attendance policy; notice of the policy and violation of the policy could alone constitute substantial and competent evidence of misconduct. The employer’s evidence of multiple attendance policy violations was uncontroverted, but the Missouri Labor and Industrial Relations Commission did not address that defense and made its award based on other grounds for termination. The commission’s “failure to consider uncontroverted evidence of Claimant’s absenteeism and tardiness reveals that the Commission’s decision is against the weight of the evidence here.” The Missouri Court of Appeals reversed the award and remanded the action to the commission to deny the claim.
VALHALLA RESTAURANTS, LLC d/b/a MCDONALD'S, Employer-Appellant vs. KIARA PAGE, Claimant-Respondent and DIVISION OF EMPLOYMENT SECURITY, Respondent-Respondent
Missouri Court of Appeals-Southern District – SD38584
No professional standard breached, no misconduct
Statutes alone defined the misconduct connected with work for which the Missouri Labor and Industrial Relations Commission could deny benefits. Such misconduct included willfully deficient performance, violation of a state licensing standard, and negligence. No such facts appeared in the commission’s findings and, on the contrary, the commission cited no licensing standard and found that the claimant had tried to meet the employer expectations. The Missouri Court of Appeals reversed the commission’s decision and remanded the action for an award of benefits.
(Overview summary)
Courtney J. Whiteley vs. Hale Robinson & Robinson LLC, Employer and Division of Employment Security
Missouri Court of Appeals-Western District - WD87241
Tax
Mining rights on tax-exempt land discussed
Statutes levied a tax on possessory interests in real property, including leaseholds of real property of which the ownership was exempt from taxation. For lessee’s mining rights on United States land, the county assessor applied an income-based royalty valuation, but that valuation included minerals not yet mined, and still United States property, which was not subject to tax. That valuation assessed the tax-exempt land, not the lease. The State Tax Commission did not err in applying a bonus value method to the leases.
RICK PARKER, Assessor Reynolds County, Missouri, Appellant vs. THE DOE RUN RESOURCES CORPORATION, Respondent
Missouri Court of Appeals-Southern District - SD38539