Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District / Mar 12, 2024
State of Missouri, Respondent, v. John R. Vitale, Appellant.
John Vitale was convicted of three counts of statutory rape and three counts of statutory sodomy. On appeal, he argued the trial court erred in responding to a jury note requesting his prior convictions outside the presence of counsel, and plainly erred by failing to ensure unanimous verdict instructions. The Eastern District affirmed the judgment, finding no prejudice from the jury communication and declining plain error review for the jury instructions due to invited error.