Missouri

Condemned to death—and solitary confinement

Arizona death row inmate Scott Nordstrom lives alone in a room smaller than a parking space. He’s allowed to leave his cell a few times each week to shower or exercise alone in a similarly-sized mesh cage and is forbidden from making physical contact with visitors from the outside. But…

Jul 27, 2017 10:27 AM CDT

Judge seals settlement in Michael Brown wrongful death suit against Ferguson, cites safety concern

A federal judge in St. Louis has approved a confidential settlement in a wrongful death suit filed by the parents of Michael Brown, whose 2014 shooting death by a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer set off a wave of protests. Settlements against government are usually open records under Missouri law, but…

Jun 21, 2017 10:45 AM CDT

Judge allows suit over underfilled candy boxes; Hershey’s says consumers alerted by ‘audible rattle’

A federal judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a man in Columbia, Missouri, who claims the Hershey Co. misled consumers by selling underfilled boxes of Reese’s Pieces and Whoppers. U.S. District Judge Nanette Laughrey of the Western District of Missouri ruled (PDF) last week that the would-be…

May 30, 2017 7:00 AM CDT

Justices appear sympathetic to Missouri church seeking playground improvements

At oral arguments Wednesday, justices of the U.S. Supreme Court appeared sympathetic to a church’s arguments about its eligibility for a state playground improvement program, the Washington Post reported Wednesday. Trinity Lutheran Church in Columbia, Missouri, applied for a state-funded grant that funds rubberized playground coverings made from scrap tires.…

Apr 19, 2017 5:15 PM CDT

Lawyer is acquitted in murders of her wealthy father and his girlfriend

A suburban Kansas City lawyer was acquitted on Tuesday in the murders of her wealthy father and his girlfriend, who was to receive the bulk of the father’s estate. Jurors in Lebanon, Missouri, acquitted Susan Elizabeth Van Note after deliberating for about six hours, report the Kansas City Star, the…

Feb 15, 2017 10:33 AM CST

Dairy Queen manager accused of ridiculing teen worker is charged in his suicide

A Dairy Queen manager accused of ridiculing a teen she supervised has been charged with second-degree involuntary manslaughter in connection with his suicide. Harley Branham, 21, a manager at the Dairy Queen in Fayette, Missouri, was charged on Wednesday in connection with the suicide of 17-year-old Kenneth Suttner, report the…

Feb 2, 2017 11:07 AM CST

KC law firm Spencer Fane grows to 190 lawyers with acquisition of 70-year-old Denver firm

Kansas City-based Spencer Fane will have more than 190 full-time lawyers as a result of its acquisition of a 70-year-old Denver law firm, Berenbaum Weinshienk. The addition of 30 lawyers from Berenbaum Weinshienk will give Spencer Fane 55 lawyers in Colorado, the Am Law Daily reports. A press release is…

Dec 2, 2016 7:00 AM CST

FBI investigates possible computer breach at Missouri courthouse

Updated: FBI agents removed computer equipment from the courthouse in Camden County, Missouri, this week as they worked with state officials to investigate a possible computer breach. County phone and computer systems have been shut down since Monday, and an outside company has been hired to investigate, the Lake Sun…

Sep 22, 2016 3:35 PM CDT

ACLU sues Kansas City school district for handcuffing a crying 7-year-old

The ACLU of Missouri has sued the Kansas City Public Schools over a handcuffing incident involving an African-American 7-year-old boy. According to the Kansas City Star, the second-grader was handcuffed by a school police officer in 2014 after he started crying uncontrollably in class at George Melcher Elementary School. The…

Sep 16, 2016 2:00 PM CDT

Missouri must reveal suppliers of lethal injection drug, 8th Circuit says

Two Mississippi death-row inmates are entitled to find out the suppliers of Missouri’s lethal injection drug pentobarbital in their suit claiming there is a better alternative to Mississippi’s three-drug cocktail. The St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday refused to disturb a federal judge’s order that Missouri…

Sep 6, 2016 11:42 AM CDT

Law firm says it got nearly 26,000 calls after multimillion-dollar talcum powder verdicts

An Alabama law firm that won $127 million in two talcum powder lawsuits says it has gotten nearly 26,000 calls since the verdicts earlier this year. Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles says it has 867 cases pending against Johnson & Johnson over its talcum powder products, Alabama Media…

Sep 2, 2016 8:00 AM CDT

Governor appointed to represent poor defendant wins reprieve, appoints new members of PD commission

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon appointed three new members to the commission that oversees the state’s public defender system a day after a judge ruled he does not have to represent an indigent defendant. Nixon made the appointments on Friday to the seven-member board that has the authority to hire and…

Aug 31, 2016 1:57 PM CDT

Prosecutors obtained video recordings of lawyer-inmate meetings at private-run federal prison

Prosecutors obtained video recordings of lawyers meeting with their prisoner clients that were made by the Corrections Corporation of America and turned over in response to a grand jury subpoena, testimony revealed at a hearing before a federal judge last week. U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson ordered (PDF) prosecutors to…

Aug 15, 2016 3:48 PM CDT

Governor who blocked public-defender budget increases is ordered to represent indigent defendant

Taking aim at the government official who has blocked budget increases for indigent defense, the top public defender in Missouri has appointed Gov. Jay Nixon to represent a poor defendant in an assault case. Michael Barrett, director of the Missouri State Public Defender, posted to his office’s website his Aug.…

Aug 4, 2016 10:26 AM CDT

Jury awards $55M to woman who claimed Johnson & Johnson talcum powder caused her cancer

A Missouri jury verdict of $72 million earlier this year in a landmark tort case blaming talcum powder for an Alabama woman’s ovarian cancer death wasn’t just a fluke. A second St. Louis jury on Monday awarded $55 million on Monday against Johnson & Johnson in another talcum powder case,…

May 3, 2016 2:15 PM CDT