Missouri law allows informant testimony

Critical steps to protect your rights

• Speak exclusively to your attorney about your case
• Refuse all discussions about your charges with other inmates
• Stay silent about your situation when others might overhear
• Never put anything about your case in writing through jail mail systems
• Recognize that friendly cellmates may be collecting information to trade
• Know that jail authorities record and monitor phone calls
• Ignore anyone who asks probing questions about the arrest

Taking to the right people is crucial

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What evidence do you need to be aware of in your price tag switching case?

What you need to know to protect your benefits and future

• A drug charge can put your VA benefits at risk: If you depend on the Department of Veterans Affairs for housing, medical care or educational support, a conviction could disrupt those services. Felony charges, and sometimes even misdemeanors, can lead to delays, limitations or permanent loss of access. Even without jail time, the effects can deeply affect your everyday life.

• You may qualify for Veterans Treatment Court: In certain Missouri counties, veterans facing nonviolent drug charges may be eligible for a specialized court program. Veterans Treatment Court focuses on rehabilitation, not punishment. If accepted, you follow a structured plan that includes peer support, therapy and supervision. It is not guaranteed and not every case qualifies, but it offers a path forward without a permanent criminal record.

• Civilian court is not like the Uniform Code of Military Justice: If your only experience with the law came during your military service, civilian court will feel very different. There are no commanding officers or military lawyers walking you through the process. From your first hearing, what you say or fail to say can shape your outcome. Early decisions carry more weight than many expect.

You have earned the right to be heard

Preventative approach

Defense

• An illegal traffic stop: The police can’t just stop you whenever they want. They have to have reasonable suspicion that you’ve committed a crime or a traffic violation. If they lack that level of suspicion when they stop you, such as when they rely on a hunch, then you’ve been illegally stopped. Any action taken by the police from that point moving forward will be considered tainted by that illegality, including a search of your vehicle and the seizure of incriminating evidence.
• A failure to read you your rights: When you’re in police custody being subjected to questioning, the investigators are required to advise you of your Miranda These include your right to remain silent and the right to have an attorney present. If the police don’t advise you of these rights and then secure a confession from you, that confession has been illegally obtained. You’ll thereafter be in a strong position to have that confession blocked from being used against you.
• Evidence collection errors: The police have to collect, transport, and store evidence in a way that doesn’t compromise its integrity. Yet, mistakes are made all the time here, which you might be able to use to show that the evidence isn’t what the prosecution purports it to be. If you’re successful here, then you might be able to block that evidence from being used against you.
• Warrant and warrant exception errors: Sometimes the police mislead a judge to obtain a search warrant. And even when a valid warrant is secured, sometimes the police go beyond the scope of that warrant when conducting a search. When police officers rely on an exception to the warrant requirement, they sometimes misapply it in violation of your Constitutional rights. If you suspect that any of these issues are in play in your case, then you need to raise them so that you can try to suppress any seized evidence that the prosecution intends to use against you.

Don’t allow the prosecution to secure a conviction on faulty evidence

Ex parte order

Violating an order of protection

Defending against an order of protection

• The type of crime in question: Most misdemeanor offenses result in penalties that exclude executed jail or prison time. If you’re convicted of a felony, though, then your chances of incarceration increase. The higher the level of the felony in question, the greater the risk that you’ll face more extensive jail or prison time.
• The severity of the crime: Crimes that are more severe in nature are more likely to be punished with extensive periods of incarceration. Those crimes that are violent, for example, will be punished more severely than a drunk driving conviction.
• Your criminal history: If you have an extensive criminal history, then the judge in your case might feel like a harsher penalty is necessary to deter you from subsequent criminal behavior. This could include incarceration. If this is your first offense, on the other hand, then you may be able to convince the judge to exercise leniency and impose penalties outside of jail or prison time.
• Any remedial action you’ve taken on your own: While much of the criminal justice system is focused on punishing wrongdoing, there’s also a rehabilitative aspect. If you can show that you’ve already taken remedial action on your own, then the court may be less inclined to send you to jail.
• Your remorse: How you respond to having been convicted of a crime can be telling to a judge. If you present as remorseful, then they may not feel the need to send you to jail or prison. If, on the other hand, you don’t seem to take accountability for your actions, then the court may feel like incarceration is necessary to stress upon you the importance of the offense committed.

Is there anything you can do to reduce your risk of incarceration?

• Brandishing a gun in a threatening manner.
• Carrying a concealed weapon into a restricted place such as an airport, bar, courthouse, police station or other restricted area.
• Carrying a gun into a school, onto a school bus or at a school-sanctioned event or school board meeting.
• Carrying a lethal weapon into a church or government building such as a polling place.
• Discharging a gun while intoxicated.
• Discharging a gun within 100 yards of a church, courthouse or school.
• Discharging a gun at a motor vehicle or from a motor vehicle.
• Firing a gun at any person, discharging a warning shot or setting up a spring shot.
• Possessing a gun while in possession of a controlled substance.

Exceptions for groups of people

• Claiming that you didn’t commit the acts in question: In many domestic violence cases, the victim levies allegations to get back at the accused simply because they’re mad. Don’t let lies lead to conviction in your domestic violence case. Instead, figure out if there’s a way to directly challenge the truthfulness of the prosecution’s evidence, such as by attacking the credibility of the victim’s statements and analyzing 911 calls to identify inconsistencies. You may even be able to provide an alibi that makes it impossible for you to have committed the crime in question.
• Arguing that the incident was an accident: For the prosecutor to obtain a conviction, they’re going to have to prove intent. If the evidence supports an argument that the injuries were accidentally inflicted, then you might be off the hook as it pertains to the domestic violence criminal charges that you’re facing.
• Presenting evidence that you were engaging in self-defense: One of the most effective ways to defend yourself in a domestic violence case is to argue self-defense. Under Missouri law, you can exercise reasonable physical force if doing so is necessary to protect yourself or someone else from the imminent use of unlawful force. Just remember that you’re not going to be able to raise a self-defense argument if you were the initial aggressor or if the other person withdrew from the conflict and you continued to pursue it.
• Showing investigatory errors: Even if the evidence against you seems overwhelming and difficult to escape, you might be able to block key evidence from being used against you by highlighting police errors. For example, if you were interrogated without being read your rights, then you can prevent the prosecution from using incriminating statements that you made during that interrogation against you. Make sure you thoroughly analyze the facts of your case to see if evidence suppression is something you can use in your domestic violence case.

Don’t leave your domestic violence case to chance