{"disclaimer":"This is a summary of public court records and is not legal advice. Missouri slip opinions may be modified or withdrawn; consult the official source.","party":{"slug":"john-a-pendergrass-movant","displayName":"JOHN A. PENDERGRASS, Movant-","totalCases":1},"cases":[{"caseId":"moappsd:sd38876:undated","opinionId":"bfb9418e-5703-5792-8f40-89a4de39c798","slug":"john-a-pendergrass-movant-appellant-v-state-of-missouri-respondent-respon-d38876","caseName":"JOHN A. PENDERGRASS, Movant-Appellant\nv.\nSTATE OF MISSOURI, Respondent-Respondent","caseNumber":"SD38876","court":"moappsd","courtLabel":"Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District","decisionDate":null,"year":2026,"display_summary":"John Pendergrass appealed the denial of his Rule 24.035 motion for post-conviction relief without an evidentiary hearing. Pendergrass claimed his guilty plea was involuntary because his attorney misinformed him about parole eligibility. The motion court denied relief, finding the claim was conclusively refuted by the record of the guilty plea hearing where Pendergrass affirmed no promises were made regarding parole. The appellate court affirmed, holding that an evidentiary hearing was not required because Pendergrass's sworn testimony at the plea hearing directly contradicted his post-conviction claim.","primaryTopic":"criminal-procedure","topicSlugs":["criminal-procedure","appellate-procedure","standard-of-review"],"outcomeNorm":"affirmed","officialSourceUrl":"https://www.courts.mo.gov/file.jsp?id=230253","detailUrl":"https://ott.law/missouri-courts/opinions/john-a-pendergrass-movant-appellant-v-state-of-missouri-respondent-respon-d38876","relatedPracticeAreas":[{"slug":"criminal-law","label":"Criminal Law","href":"/practice-areas/criminal-law","score":38,"source":"tag","evidence":["tag: criminal-law","topic: criminal-procedure","text: state of missouri","text: conviction"],"url":"https://ott.law/practice-areas/criminal-law"},{"slug":"litigation","label":"Civil Litigation","href":"/practice-areas/litigation","score":12,"source":"topic","evidence":["topic: appellate-procedure"],"url":"https://ott.law/practice-areas/litigation"}],"role":"appellant"}]}