Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District / Jun 13, 2023
STATE OF MISSOURI, Plaintiff-Respondent v. LONNIE JAMES SKELTON, Defendant-Appellant
Lonnie Skelton was convicted of first-degree assault and armed criminal action following a bench trial. On appeal, Skelton argued that the trial court abused its discretion by refusing to allow him to withdraw his jury-trial waiver, asserting a conflict of interest with his former counsel. The appellate court affirmed the convictions, concluding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion as there was no actual conflict of interest or appearance of unfairness, and granting the withdrawal would have caused hardship to the court and other litigants.