{"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 Missouri slip opinions may be modified or withdrawn; consult the official source.","party":{"slug":"kavion-l-thomas","displayName":"Kavion L. Thomas","totalCases":1},"cases":[{"caseId":"moappd:ed111160:2023-11-21","opinionId":"3f9a81e3-904a-5a7f-afd9-00b23a923a5f","slug":"kavion-l-thomas-appellant-v-state-of-missouri-respondent-111160","caseName":"Kavion L. Thomas, Appellant, vs. State of Missouri, Respondent.","caseNumber":"ED111160","court":"moappd","courtLabel":"Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District","decisionDate":"2023-11-21","year":2023,"display_summary":"Kavion Thomas appealed the denial of his Rule 29.15 motion for post-conviction relief after an evidentiary hearing. Thomas claimed his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to a detective's testimony referring to a \"wife beater\" tank top found at the crime scene and for advising him to waive his right to jury sentencing. The appellate court affirmed the motion court's denial, finding that counsel's decision not to object was reasonable trial strategy and that Thomas's waiver of jury sentencing was knowing, voluntary, and intelligent.","primaryTopic":"criminal-procedure","topicSlugs":["criminal-procedure","appellate-procedure","standard-of-review","evidence"],"outcomeNorm":"unknown","officialSourceUrl":"https://www.courts.mo.gov/file.jsp?id=202929","detailUrl":"https://ott.law/missouri-courts/opinions/kavion-l-thomas-appellant-v-state-of-missouri-respondent-111160","relatedPracticeAreas":[{"slug":"criminal-law","label":"Criminal Law","href":"/practice-areas/criminal-law","score":36,"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"}]}