Michael L. Ellmaker Missouri Cases

Michael Ellmaker was convicted of driving while intoxicated (DWI) as a habitual offender following a jury trial. On appeal, he challenged the sufficiency of the evidence for his habitual offender status and the admission of testimony regarding his post-arrest, post-Miranda silence. The appellate court denied his first point, finding that the State presented sufficient prima facie evidence for his habitual offender status. However, the court reversed his conviction and remanded the case, holding that the trial court erred in allowing testimony and arguments about Ellmaker's assertion of his right to remain silent as substantive evidence of guilt, which constituted a Doyle violation that was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.