{"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 Missouri slip opinions may be modified or withdrawn; consult the official source.","party":{"slug":"john-vincent-estes","displayName":"JOHN VINCENT ESTES","totalCases":1},"cases":[{"caseId":"moappsd:sd38483:2025-06-13","opinionId":"e767f541-b515-507b-876b-4e998be6ae6f","slug":"state-of-missouri-respondent-v-john-vincent-estes-appellant-d38483","caseName":"STATE OF MISSOURI, Respondent\nv.\nJOHN VINCENT ESTES, Appellant","caseNumber":"SD38483","court":"moappsd","courtLabel":"Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District","decisionDate":"2025-06-13","year":2025,"display_summary":"John Vincent Estes appealed his conviction for statutory rape, asserting the trial court erred by allowing propensity witness testimony and by excluding evidence of the victim's prior sexual conduct under the rape shield statute. The appellate court found no abuse of discretion in the admission of the propensity evidence. However, it determined that the exclusion of evidence suggesting the victim's motive to fabricate, though unpreserved, constituted plain error affecting Estes's substantial right to a fair trial. Consequently, the court vacated the conviction and remanded the case for a new trial with instructions to admit the excluded evidence.","primaryTopic":"criminal-procedure","topicSlugs":["criminal-procedure","evidence","appellate-procedure","standard-of-review"],"outcomeNorm":"unknown","officialSourceUrl":"https://www.courts.mo.gov/file.jsp?id=221334","detailUrl":"https://ott.law/missouri-courts/opinions/state-of-missouri-respondent-v-john-vincent-estes-appellant-d38483","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: evidence","topic: appellate-procedure"],"url":"https://ott.law/practice-areas/litigation"}],"role":"appellant"}]}