STATE OF MISSOURI, Plaintiff-Respondent vs. LANCE LECHNER, Defendant-Appellant(2025)
Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern DistrictFebruary 24, 2025#SD38099
Decision date: UnknownWD86680
Affirmed
Procedural posture: Direct appeal from conviction
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Statutes, rules, and cases referenced in this opinion.
Rule 2.02
Rule 30.20
Definitions. See State v. Boedecker, 717 S.W.3d 225
M.L.H. v. Juvenile Officer, 634 S.W.3d 667
Petersen v. State, 658 S.W.3d 512
See State v. Livingston, 665 S.W.3d 363
State v. Banks, 582 S.W.3d 919
State v. Barriner, 210 S.W.3d 285
State v. Bozarth, 51 S.W.3d 179
State v. Brandolese, 601 S.W.3d 519
State v. Coyle, 671 S.W.3d 702
State v. Davis, 348 S.W.3d 768
State v. Denham, 686 S.W.3d 357
State v. Dighera, 617 S.W.2d 524
State v. Dodd, 711 S.W.3d 619
State v. Dodd, 712 S.W.3d 454
State v. Driskill, 459 S.W.3d 412
State v. Gannan, 658 S.W.3d 103
State v. Hilbert, 663 S.W.3d 7
State v. Hughes, 563 S.W.3d 119
State v. Lingar, 726 S.W.2d 728
State v. Loper, 609 S.W.3d 725
State v. Ludwig, 18 S.W.3d 139
State v. McGee, 284 S.W.3d 690
State v. Palma, 719 S.W.3d 798
State v. Putfark, 651 S.W.3d 869
State v. Ratliff, 622 S.W.3d 736
State v. Rutter, 93 S.W.3d 714
State v. Scott, 676 S.W.3d 336
State v. Taylor, 466 S.W.3d 521
State v. Taylor, 588 S.W.3d 632
State v. Tisius, 362 S.W.3d 398
State v. Warren, 702 S.W.3d 48
State v. Wood, 580 S.W.3d 566
Supreme Court held in State v. Celis-Garcia, 344 S.W.3d 150
Tisius v. State, 519 S.W.3d 413
We are mindful that in State v. Thompson, 711 S.W.3d 339
Witnesses cannot testify as to others' intentions. Vescovo v. Kingsland, 628 S.W.3d 645
Issue-specific holdings extracted from the court's opinion.
Issue: Whether the trial court abused its discretion in admitting generalized expert testimony about domestic abuse over a logical relevancy objection.
The trial court did not abuse its discretion because the testimony became logically relevant to counter the defendant's theory that the victim's delayed reporting indicated she was at fault for her injuries.
Standard of review: abuse of discretion
Issue: Whether the trial court abused its discretion by limiting defense counsel's cross-examination of the victim regarding whether her injuries would have occurred if she had not struck the defendant first.
The trial court did not abuse its discretion because the question called for speculation and testimony not based on the witness's personal first-hand knowledge.
Standard of review: abuse of discretion
Issue: Whether the trial court plainly erred by submitting an incomplete definition of "knowingly" in the jury instructions for first-degree domestic assault.
No plain error occurred because the submitted definition conformed with one of the authorized MAI-CR definitions, and the defendant failed to establish evident, obvious, or clear error or manifest injustice.
Standard of review: plain error review
Cases sharing legal topics and authorities with this opinion.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern DistrictFebruary 24, 2025#SD38099
Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern DistrictJune 13, 2025#SD38483
Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern DistrictFebruary 24, 2023#SD37256
Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern DistrictNovember 19, 2024#ED112235
Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern DistrictSeptember 9, 2025#SD38581
Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern DistrictApril 29, 2025#ED112290