Tag Archives: lawyers

Court of Appeals strikes down ordinance establishing new police standards

January 23, 2017

A recent Eastern District of Missouri Court of Appeals ruling struck down an ordinance establishing new police standards in St. Louis County.

St. Louis County had enacted an ordinance authorizing the County Executive to impose countywide minimum police standards.  However, the cities affected by that ordinance filed a petition to have it invalidated. 

The trial court had ruled that the county had no authority to enact the ordinance.  The Court of Appeals affirmed. 

The reasoning was as follows: The Missouri Constitution provides that certain exercises of legislative authority be subject to a county-wide vote. At the same time, the state’s constitution also allows a county charter to authorize any action permitted by statute, including public health standards.  The Court says standards of police conduct fall within public safety and not public health as public health is limited to preventing disease.  Furthermore, the Court held that the county’s authority to legislate police conduct standards does not depend on the proposition that low standards harm residents. 

The Court said: “The County’s reliance on information presented to the County Council as to the impact of this ordinance on public health does not aid its argument for how this was a valid exercise of authority under Section 192.300.  The positive impact that improved law enforcement may have on the public – including the extent to which it improves the community’s physical and mental well-being – is simply not what was meant by “enhance public health” in Section 192.300.  To hold otherwise would be to broaden the scope of authority beyond what the legislature intended by granting counties the power to make “additional health rules” in Section 192.300.  Thus, this Ordinance was not a valid exercise of the County’s authority conferred by that statute.”

Court explains annual DWI breath tester calibration requirement

January 9, 2017

The Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District handed down an opinion that better explains the calibration of breath testing devices used in DWI cases. The court ruled that the annual certification of the device, which regulations state it be done “annually,” must be taken literally. Annually means within 365 days. The Court went on to say that the purpose of the annual test is to make sure that the BAC tester is accurate when used. The case is MICHAEL RAY SLEDD, Petitioner-Respondent, v. DIRECTOR OF REVENUE, Respondent-Appellant. Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District – SD34272

Any other explanation such as how close to the use of the tester was the simulator certified, or how close to trial for an alcohol-related offense was the simulator certified is irrelevant. The court said that the circuit court erred when it excluded results of a breath test based on the certification of the stimulator. The case was remanded to admit the test results, then determine their credibility, and issue a new judgment.

Missouri relaxes penalties for 1st time pot possession charges

January 3, 2017

As of January 1st, 2017 the State of Missouri has relaxed penalties regarding possession of marijuana. These apply to charges brought be a state agency. Municipalities, such as Maryland Heights, may or may not have their own rules for enforcement of possession infractions.

For a first time possession of less than 10 grams there is no incarceration. This charge will be classified as a Class D Misdemeanor. The maximum fine associated with a Class D Misdemeanor is $500.00. 10 grams is more than a quarter ounce, but less than half an ounce. This only applies to first time offenders with less than 10 grams.

Previous pleas of guilty to possession of marijuana or possession of 10 – 35 grams will result in the charge being classified as a Class A Misdemeanor. Penalties for a Class A Misdemeanor are up to 1 year in jail and up to $2,000 in fines. Possession of more than 35 grams is a still a felony.

The penalties for possession of paraphernalia remain the same. Further, possession or use of marijuana still results in a suspension of the offender’s driving privileges if the person is under 21 at the time of the charge.

Law enforcement ups efforts to prevent DWIs over holidays

December 27, 2016

Watch out for intoxicated drivers this holiday season.  At least that’s what Missouri Highway Patrol is planning to do.  Law enforcement agencies around the country are expected to step up their efforts to curtail drinking and driving these next couple weeks.

Many law enforcement agencies from across the nation will be participating in an initiative called “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.”

According to news reports, the Missouri State Highway Patrol intends to increase the number of officers and checkpoints for the holidays.  Law enforcement officials say the combination of bad weather such as ice and snow plus driving impaired leads to a significant number of accidents.

Many Missouri courts will punish the first time DWI offender with some combination of fines, jail time, probation, community service, victim impact panels, and treatment through DWI courts.  They hope to curtail the number of DWI’s and DWI repeat offenders.   Missouri in 2015 had 870 traffic fatalities of which just under one-fourth of them involved some form of alcohol or drug impairment.

Be sure to have fun and drive safe this holiday season.  Happy Holidays.

MADD lowers grade on efforts by Missouri, Illinois to prevent drunk driving

December 5, 2016

Missouri and Illinois slipped in how Mothers Against Drunk Driving ranked both states’ efforts to prevent drunk driving.

MADD recently released its annual overview ranking each state’s progress in stopping drunken driving. There are five areas to judge and rank each state. They include the following:

1) How sobriety checkpoints are conducted;

2) The degree of punishments for putting children in danger;

3) Whether or not ignition interlocks are required, which is a machine that prevents a car from starting if a driver’s blood-alcohol level exceeds a certain limit;

4) Whether drivers licenses are revoked; and

5) The degree of punishment for refusing a blood-alcohol test.

It was just last year that Missouri and Illinois received the highest rating of five stars. This was the first year that a new half-star ranking was used in order to provide a more nuanced analysis of each category.  This year both Missouri and Illinois dropped a half star to four stars.

Each state slipped because of how it handled license suspensions, with Missouri for its blood-test refusals and Illinois for its punishments related to child endangerment.

Missouri does not have a statewide “no-refusal” law that requires police to obtain a warrant to draw blood from suspected drunk drivers who have refused to take a breath test. There are counties, such as St. Louis County since 2013, that do this on their own.  However, other counties have not chosen to do so.

Missouri does have an implied consent law that mandates that a driver who refuses to be tested will lose their driving privileges for one year.  The number of refusals have been dropping in Missouri.

Some 973 people nationwide were killed nationwide in drunken driving crashes.  These deaths occurred between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, amounting to almost 10 percent of all drunk driving accidents. MADD contends that almost a third of traffic deaths on the day before Thanksgiving Day and Christmas involved drunk driving.

 

Class action lawsuit filed against the City of Florissant

November 10, 2016

The City of Florissant has been sued  in Federal Court in a class action lawsuit on October 31, 2016 alleging a de facto debtor’s prison system. ArchCity Defenders, a non-profit organization providing civil representation and legal counsel, joined with a Washington DC firm are representing the Plaintiffs. The lawsuit alleges Constitutional violations under the 14th Amendment’s equal protection and due process clause and the 6th Amendment’s right to counsel and the right to a hearing to determine a person’s inability to pay. Allegations include “thousands [were] denied their civil rights while Florissant made $14 million. The lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Eastern Division seeks injunctive, declaratory and compensatory relief for the plaintiffs and thousands of class members.

The allegations continue indicating that City officials used municipal codes and petty justifications such as unpaid parking tickets to target residents and jail them. Conditions are deplorable with inmates often kept in the same clothing for days or weeks. Women are denied menstruation products. Food quality is poor causing many detainees to be undernourished.

In 2015, Florissant collected $2.3 mill in court fines and issued 28,000 arrest warrants. Warrants can be issued for those who are unable to pay fines or miss court dates. If picked up on an arrest warrant, individuals can stay in jail until they pay a “bond.”

Florissant is a suburb in North St. Louis County. 

Man’s life ruined by Ferguson Court System

August 25, 2016

St. Louis native, Fred Watson, was watching baseball in his legally parked car in August of 2012 after playing basketball in Ferguson. Mr. Watson had frequented this specific park for many years.

Ferguson Police Officer, Eddie Boyd, III, parked his car in front of Watsons. The officer requested Watsons social security number, but as he was doing nothing wrong, Watson declined.  Officer Boyd then pulled his gun, removed Watson from the vehicle and arrested him for Driving without a license, failure to have insurance, failure to register and tinting his windows. Watson had his license, his car was registered in Florida and he had insurance.  Pursuant to Florida law, his windows were not excessively tinted. Watson was taken to jail where he posted a $700.00 bond to be released.

After he complained about the way he was treated, Ferguson added two more charges, including failure to comply with a police officer.

Watson worked for the National Geospatial – Intelligence Agency in St. Louis. This job requires special security clearance. At the time this happened he was undergoing a security clearance review. Watson tried to get the charges dropped on his own, but was forced to hire an attorney. His first attorney was unable to get the charges removed from his record. The goes on for a couple of years so Watson hires a second attorney. At this time, the Prosecuting Attorney indicated that all the charges had been amended down to illegal parking and/or littering and all the fines had been paid.

She was wrong. The failure to comply charges were still showing in some court records. Watson was fired because he couldn’t keep his security clearance without clearing up the charges in Ferguson.

His second attorney continued to try to clear his name. In March 2015, his letter criticizing the Ferguson Municipal Court was not responded. Prosecuting Attorney for Ferguson, Stephanie Karr resigned in May of 2016.

Now Watson is on his third set of attorneys, Arch City Defenders. This non-profit law firm has filed a Motion to withdraw the guilty pleas Watson never entered and to declare the convictions void.

New Missouri law bans traffic quotas, changes use-of-force laws

July 25, 2016

Missouri’s Governor Jay Nixon signed a new crime related bill that updates youth sentencing laws, changes use-of-force statutes, and bans traffic ticket quotas.

Changes will go into effect in 2018 and also make it easier to seal conviction records for some crimes. Currently state laws require a 20 year waiting period to file for an expungement of felonies and 10 years for misdemeanors. The new law reduces the waiting period for felonies to 7 years and 3 years for misdemeanors.  The cost to file is $250 and the person must not have received any other convictions during the waiting period.  Those convicted of dangerous felonies, domestic assault, certain violent crimes and sex offenses will not be eligible.

The legislation, approved by large margins in both the House and Senate, is designed to help former criminals find employment more easily. Records would be sealed from public viewing but prosecutors and police could still receive the information.

Legislation has changed how much physical force a police officer may use to bring Missouri in compliance with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Tennessee v. Garner.

Ticket quotas, a practice in some Missouri municipals, will likely be abolished with laws now prohibiting cities from encouraging or requiring an employee to issue a certain number of tickets. This change has come about after a push in traffic ticket reforms post 2014 Ferguson unrest and protests.

Sentencing reform also was part of the changes, particularly involving juveniles.  Juvenile murders older than 16 can be assessed a minimum of 50 years and be eligible for a parole hearing. Juvenile murders under age 16 can be sentenced to a minimum of 35 years and be eligible for a parole hearing.  These sentencing options were added for juvenile murders after a 2005 U.S. Supreme Court case ruled death sentences were unconstitutional, which left Missouri with only one option of a first-degree murder conviction.  And a later 2012 case stated that life without parole also was unconstitutional.

 

Missouri Legislature trying to stop ticket quotas

June 8, 2016

In May, the Missouri Legislature passed a law banning law enforcement agencies from setting quotas for traffic citations. The Bill is currently awaiting signature from Governor Nixon. The Bill was sponsored by Senate Republican Eric Schmitt from Glendale. He indicated the law was necessary to prevent local law enforcement agencies from using police officers to pad their budgets. For example, the Mayor of Edmundson sent a letter to the city’s police officers telling them they needed to issue more tickets in order to help pay their salaries.

Currently only St. Louis County has restrictions on traffic citations quotas. This new law would expand to all law enforcement agencies in the state. Punishments for violation of this new law could include Class A misdemeanor charges against city officials who order employees to issue a certain number of traffic citations.  

Citizens may get chance to vote red light camera tickets out

May 12, 2016

The Missouri House of Representatives recently moved legislation that would allow citizens to determine what to do with red light cameras. State Representative Bryan Spencer (R-Wentzville) introduced the ballot measure by voice vote.  The bill will receive a final vote in the state House after a fiscal review of it.

The bill then would need to be passed by the Senate and signed into law.

The bill calls for asking voters whether they want to stop cities from making new deals with red light and speed camera companies.

The bill allows jurisdictions with existing automated ticketing programs one year to wind down their contracts and shut the cameras down. The proposal also prohibits the mailing of automated citations.
Known as House Bill 1945, it calls for motorists who get a red light ticket to receive in person notification from a law enforcement officer working with the agency issuing the ticket.  It also allows the use of automated license plate readers.  The bill calls for a ballot measure on November 8.

Cases that are excluded from the bill are hit and run cases, parking tickets, open investigations, and cases in which in-person notification is not possible.

A similar bill had passed in the Missouri House last year but failed to make it to the Senate.

Similar bans have been successful at the county level in St. Charles where voters banned automated ticketing machines in 2014.  In November 2015, a court rejected attempts from three municipals to reinstate their use of the ticketing machines.