Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District / Apr 4, 2019
STATE OF MISSOURI, Plaintiff-Respondent vs. CHARLES L. WHITE, Defendant-Appellant
Charles L. White was convicted of first-degree assault and first-degree burglary following a jury trial. On appeal, White argued that the burglary statute was ambiguous and that the evidence was insufficient, and that the trial court plainly erred by not declaring a mistrial due to the prosecutor's closing argument. The Southern District affirmed the convictions, finding the burglary statute unambiguous and the evidence sufficient, and concluding that the prosecutor's statement referred to White's out-of-court statements, not his failure to testify, thus no plain error occurred.