{"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 Missouri slip opinions may be modified or withdrawn; consult the official source.","party":{"slug":"monika-gean-grayel-defendant","displayName":"MONIKA GEAN GRAY-EL, Defendant-","totalCases":1},"cases":[{"caseId":"moappsd:sd38991:undated","opinionId":"f55e5292-8706-5bc3-a117-0680ea7d6214","slug":"state-of-missouri-plaintiff-respondent-v-monika-gean-gray-el-defendant-ap-d38991","caseName":"STATE OF MISSOURI, Plaintiff-Respondent\nv.\nMONIKA GEAN GRAY-EL, Defendant-Appellant","caseNumber":"SD38991","court":"moappsd","courtLabel":"Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District","decisionDate":null,"year":2026,"display_summary":"Monika Gean Gray-El was convicted of forgery after attempting to cash a stolen check. On appeal, Gray-El argued the trial court plainly erred by misinstructing the jury on the forgery count, specifically regarding the element of authenticating a writing versus possessing/using it as genuine. The appellate court affirmed the conviction, finding no manifest injustice because Gray-El did not dispute at trial that she used the check as genuine, only that she did not know it was stolen.","primaryTopic":"criminal-procedure","topicSlugs":["criminal-procedure","jury-instructions","appellate-procedure","standard-of-review"],"outcomeNorm":"affirmed","officialSourceUrl":"https://www.courts.mo.gov/file.jsp?id=230353","detailUrl":"https://ott.law/missouri-courts/opinions/state-of-missouri-plaintiff-respondent-v-monika-gean-gray-el-defendant-ap-d38991","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: jury-instructions","topic: appellate-procedure"],"url":"https://ott.law/practice-areas/litigation"}],"role":"appellant"}]}