Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District / Date unavailable
State of Missouri vs. Harvey Oscar Pendleton
Harvey Oscar Pendleton appealed his conviction for two counts of statutory sodomy in the first degree, arguing the trial court abused its discretion by refusing to strike the entire venire panel. Pendleton claimed the panel was biased because no one believed a child could rape an adult male, which he asserted prejudiced his defense theory. The appellate court affirmed the judgment and sentence, finding that follow-up questioning showed jurors could keep an open mind and, more importantly, Pendleton's defense theory was not a legal defense to statutory sodomy.